Author: Anne Cherian

School/Organization:

Overbrook High School

Year: 2008

Seminar: The Public Health Issues of Child Obesity

Grade Level: 10-11

Keywords: childhood obesity, eating behaviors, exercise programs, growth patterns, obesity, obesity prevention, physical activity, weight control

School Subject(s): Algebra, Math, Science

One of the challenges the nation faces today is obesity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that though there has been an alarming increase in the number of Americans who were overweight over the past 25 years, although there was no significant increase between 2003 to 2006 among adults. However, the levels are still high with 34 percent of the adult population being obese. Conversely, there was an increase in overweight among children and adolescents in that same period. During that time there was also an increase in diabetes, a disease associated with obesity. This increase was found even among children and teenagers, indicating obesity is not just a major problem but has become a national epidemic.

I teach at Overbrook High School, a comprehensive high school comprised exclusively of African American students. Since epidemiological studies indicate obesity is higher among adolescents than in other groups, I feel it is essential to constantly reinforce health issues related to obesity and the importance of eating healthy and staying fit. I teach Algebra 2 to 10th and 11th graders at Overbrook High school. Since data analysis, statistics, ratios and proportions are part of the math curriculum, I plan to use this module as a real-life connection.

Download Unit: ANNE-CHERIAN-2.pdf

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