Assignment III Final Draft

7/30/2019 Assignment III Final Draft

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Woodson

Community Needs

a New Playground

and a Community

Center

April 24

2013 Letter of Transmittal Introduction What does it mean to be Obese?

Overweight? Causes of Obesity Effects of Obesity How can we prevent this?

Advantages of putting in better

playground equipment and addinga community center


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To Jessica Sahene:

The Woodson Community needs a new playground and a community center. In the report

that is attached, I would like to propose a solution to decreasing the percentage of children and

even adults who are obese.

There are statistics about the percentage of children that are obese and there are also

statistics about the percentage of obese children who go on to be obese as adults. You see people

who advertise that you should get out and play an hour a day, but there really isn't any

motivation behind it. The kids look at the person behind the message and see a fit person. It's not

someone their own age and was overweight until they decided to lead a healthy lifestyle. I'm

more likely to buy a skincare product because the commercial is tailored to an audience around

my age. It shows people around my age who have used the product and are telling the things they

liked about it. Granted, they don't tell what they didn't like about it. If the children can relate to a

point that is trying to be brought across, they are more likely to listen and then act upon what

they have heard. If the kids in this community had a new playground, it would decrease the

obesity rate and create active, healthy kids.

Thank you for taking the time to read my proposal. If you have any questions, I would be

more than happy to answer them and if I don't know the answer, I will find someone who does.

Sincerely,

Rachel Chatwood


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Introduction

Childhood obesity has been a growing concern over the last decade all over the world.Built environmental characteristics such as parks and playgrounds serve as a reference point for

physical activity in children (Qazi).

The National Center for Health Statistics reports that the percentage of elementary-agechildren who are considered obese has doubled since 1980, from 7% to 14%. Generally, children

who are between 10 and 20% over the appropriate weight for their height and age would be

classified as overweight. Children who are 20% or more over the ideal weight are classified as

obese. About 85% of obese children continue to be classified as obese for the rest of their lives

(Brown, Sutterby, and Thornton).

Improvements to the playground will help to prevent childhood obesity and will promote

physical exercise for future generations. If the kids have somewhere to go to have fun in their

own neighborhood, they will start having a healthy lifestyle at a young age and it will be with

them as they get older. Additions could also be added for adults. I've heard adults say if only

they didn't have to go so far to work out. There are many directions we can go with

improvements to our neighborhood park.

What does it mean to be Obese? Overweight?

Obesity is defined as an excessively high amount of body fat in relation to lean body

mass. Overweight refers to increased body weight in relation to height, when compared to some

standard of acceptable or desirable weight (Marcus and Baron). Growing up in a family that

cooked nearly every night and had fast food on other nights, I gained weight over time. I was

considered overweight in the second or third grade and obese in the fifth and sixth grade. At first,


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I didn't mind. My friends didn't treat me any differently, so what was there to worry about. It

didn't really hit me until high school. The weight had shifted by then because I had grown a few

inches, but that didn't stop someone from bullying me. I didn't like it when that person picked on

me because of the way I looked and the fact that I could do the same things as them and was

getting praised for it. I don't want others in the same boat as me to feel like they have to hide

who they are just because of the way they look. If children are given the choice to have fun at a

young age and begin a healthy lifestyle, they won't have to go through the same thing that I have

had to go through.

Causes of Obesity

Although there are some genetic and hormonal causes of childhood obesity, most of the

time it's caused by kids eating too much and exercising too little (Staff, Mayo Clinic). I read

somewhere that children tend to eat some of the same things that they see their parents and

grandparents eat. If their parents and/or grandparents eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and

proportion sizes, then children are more likely to have the same eating habits. If parents and/or

grandparents eat a lot of sweets, junk food, and bigger proportion sizes, then children are more

likely to do the same.

There are cases where parents and/or grandparents give children junk food as a reward

for doing a good job at something. This causes the child to do good things, expecting a reward in

return. Also, letting your child eat whatever they want could also cause childhood obesity. Start

kids out young eating lots of different vegetables, fruits, and proportion sizes. They may not like

everything they eat, but you can't say they didn't try it first.

Effects of Obesity


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Overweight children, as compared to children with a healthy weight, are more likely to

develop many health problems such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure, which are

associated with heart disease in adults. Type 2 diabetes, previously considered an adult disease,

has increased dramatically in overweight children and adolescents (Marcus, Baron).

The most immediate consequence of being overweight as perceived by children

themselves is social discrimination and low-self-esteem. In a recent study by Schwimmer, et.al.

(2003), obese children rated their quality of life with scores as low as those of young cancer

patients on chemotherapy. In the study, 106 children aged 5 to 18 filled out a questionnaire used

by pediatricians to evaluate quality of life issues. Children were asked to rate things like their

ability to walk more than one block, play sports, sleep well, get along with others and keep up in

school. The results indicated that that teasing at school, difficulties playing sports, fatigue, sleep

apnea and other obesity-linked problems severely affected obese children's well-being.

Interestingly, parents answered the same questionnaires, and their ratings of their children's well-

being were even lower than the children's self-ratings (Marcus, Baron).

How can we prevent this?

We can work to prevent this by educating the children about why exercising is good for

them and ways they can eat healthy and make wise choices. Giving them somewhere to have fun

while doing so is just the icing on the cake.

The new park will have more and better equipment and it will tailor to toddlers, school

age children, preteens, teenagers, and adults. It will have some equipment and a tiny sandbox for

toddlers. Swings, see-saws, slides, and a tree-house will be for school age children and preteens.


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There will be a dirt track around the playground area for running, biking, and racing when there

is no one else using the playground area for teenagers and adults.

The community center would have an exercise room, gymnasium, dance room, and

swimming pool. The community center is for everyone. There will be classes held that are

tailored to the ages of the people most likely to attend. Getting and keeping the neighborhood to

live a healthy lifestyle will be emphasized throughout.

I'm not really sure about costs, but I'm pretty sure it could cost anywhere between 50,000-

75,000 dollars to build a new playground and community center. But we could raise revenue by

charging reasonable prices for using the exercise room, dance room, and swimming pool. We

could raise this money by hosting bake sales, car washes, garage sales, accepting donations, and

lots of other things. We just need the motivation and to open our eyes and hearts to the change.


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Works Cited

Brown, Pei-San, John A. Sutterby, and Candra D. Thornton. "Combating Childhood Obesity

With Physical Play Opportunities." Ptotoday.com. PTO Today, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2013.

.

"Facts about Physical Activity." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention, 07 Aug. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.

.

Marcus, Lauren, and Amanda Baron. "Childhood Obesity: The Effects on Physical and Mental

Health." Aboutourkids.org. NYU Child Study Center, n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2013.

.

Qazi, Hammad Ali. "Childhood Obesity and Parks and Playgrounds: A Review of Issues of

Equality, Gender and Social Support." Journal of Research in Medical Sciences16.4

(2011): 553-58. National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of

Medicine. Web. n.d. 07 Apr. 2013.

.

Staff, Mayo Clinic. "Childhood Obesity: Causes." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical

Education and Research, 04 May 2012. Web. 08 Apr. 2013.

.


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Woodson Community Center

&

Neighborhood Park

Before

Children need somewhere to go where they can havefun, but be healthy at the same time.

With the addition of a new neighborhood andcommunity center, the children will have

somewhere to go that promotes a healthy lifestyle.

The new community center could also be adultfriendly; there's an exercise room for both men and

women and weekly classes can also be held for

additional workouts in other categories.

After

Documents

Assignment III Final Draft