Obesity in

Children and
adoscents

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION

METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH PLAN
Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

RESULTS

MEAL PLAN

RECOMENDATIONS

REFERENCE PAGE

ABSTRACT
Obesity is one of the new diseases of the 21st century. This disease is
affecting more people year by year. Being, that this is a relatively new disease that
the majority of the people do not know that it is affecting them, they are suffering
the consequences and they dont know what can they do to counteract it. This
article focuses on the obesity in children from the Benjamin Franklin High school.
There was an 80% of obesity in the students last year. The schools director
George Sabatka proposes a plan against obesity, due to children starting to get
diseases like diabetes, and developing heart problems. Parents of the school
started to complain about the food the school was serving. Director Sabatka hired
a nutritionist and a personal trainer in order to make a whole new menu at lunch
and a new class schedule for the students that includes hours of physical exercise
(PE) in between classes. The results were better than was expected and they
could bring obesity to about 20% among the students.
INTRODUCTION
Benjamin Franklin High School is experiencing a serious problem of obesity.
It is important to fix this problem being that obesity in the students is increasing
year by year. This problem needs to be attended. Parents do not want to send their
children to this school anymore because they do not want them to get obese. Last
year, 80 percent of the total of students were obese. The goal is to lower the
percentage to 40 percent by the next year. The director of the high school
Benjamin Franklin, George Sabatka, is willing to make the change as soon as
possible. The nutritionist, Alejandra Chlastawa, was hired to work in together with
the current chef of the school, Andre Moisand, and Ted Stinson. Together, they
created a whole meal and workout plan. The results exceed the expectations of the
director Sabatka because now the obesity percentage of the school is 20 percent
instead of 80 as it was the year before.

Methodology
Furthermore, this seems to be a rising problem in the last few years. People
think that it is normal and no one wants to do something to counteract obesity.
People in general do not know what the consequences of this disease are,
therefore they dont really worry about this subject. This is why it is important to talk
about this disease and explain how we can counteract it.
The first step is to define obesity. Give the biology, chemistry, and medical
side of the disease, in few words give the scientific explanation of obesity.
Secondly, we need to talk about the consequences that this brings to the life of a
3

teenager. Bullying is one of the big consequences of obesity in Benjamin Franklin

High School. This issue is one to mention since it can impact a teenagers selfesteem and possibly cause depression. After this step we are going to make a
survey in order to know how many people actually acknowledge the problem and if
they want to make action against it. Then, we are going to state a plan to
counteract the problem. And finally we are going to show the meal plan that we are
going to give to the students and the workout plan that we prepared for them.
Research Plan
Step 1: Definition of Obesity
Obesity is the disease of the 21st century. It is really common in the
occidental countries to find a lot of people with overweight. This is due to lack of
physical activity and poor diet that people adopt over the years. They are too
focused in work or family and they dont have time to make their own food or go to
the gym. This is a problem that Benjamin Franklin High School has been
experiencing for a year. The school preferred to invest in academic services rather
than in the food they served at lunch and in the athletic department.
There are four ways to define obesity: the first one is the Anthropometry,
which is the observed weight times 100 over the expected weigh for height. If this
gives you more than 120% when you are obese. The second one is by skinfold
measurements and if it is in 95th percentile they youre obese. The third one is by
body mass index (BMI). In this one, you divide the weight in kg over the square of
the height in m. The normal range is 19 to 28. The four and last one is by body
composition. In this one the normal range for total body fat goes from 12% to 30%
of weight (Barness 2). Now that we define obesity it is time to talk about their
consequences.
Step 2: Consequences of Obesity
It is scientifically proven that 70% of the adolescents with obesity will be
obese when they grow up and this will bring bad health implications with it.
Teenagers with obesity are more exposed to have cardiovascular diseases, cancer,
diabetes and asthma when they grow up (Liria 359). This are the major problems
concerning physical health, but there is a big consequence that affects the mental
health of teenagers. This is the bullying. Bullying was a prominent issue in
Benjamin Franklin High School. Guys and girls that were thin or in good shape
usually make fun of their obese colleagues. This generated a lack of self-steam
and in consequence unhappiness in the other student. This is why the director
George Sabatka needs to take action on this problem. He hired Alejandra
Chlastawa, a nutritionist graduated from the University of South Carolina with a
masters in education in child development. Alejandra working together with Ted
Stinson (an athletic trainer) and Andre Moisand (the chef of the high school)
created a plan to counteract obesity in the Benjamin Franklin School.
4

Step 3: Schedule and Meal plan

Alejandra, Ted and Andre made a whole new schedule for the students, and
changed the type of food they served at lunch. They had to buy more expensive
but healthier food for the students to consume. They created the schedule
illustrated below that every student will be required to follow with the exception of
athletes that practice their own sport. Athletes are not obligated to attend physical
education except on Fridays. They need to participate in other activities than their
own sport occasionally.

7:00-8:00
8:00-9:00
9:00-10:00
10:0011:00
11:0-12:00
12:00-1:00
1:00-2:00
2:00-3:00

Monday
class
Class
Physical
Education
Break
(Lunch)
Class
Class
Class
Physical
Education

Tuesday
class
Class
Class
Break
(Lunch)
Class
Class
Class

Wednesday
class
Class
Physical
Education
Break
(Lunch)
Class
Class
Class
Physical
Education

Thursday
class
Class
Class
Break
(Lunch)
Class
Class
Class

Friday
class
Class
Physical
Education
Break
(Lunch)
Class
Class
Class
Physical
Education

Meal plans are personalized for each student because it depends on the weight
and height of the person. This is the meal plan that was made for a student athlete.
..\..\Ingrid Gutierrez 1.pdf
Results
The results of this plan were better than the expected ones. The obesity in
the high school went from 80% to 20% (See the chart below). This is 20% lower
than what was speculated. Bullying is no longer a problem in the high school and
according to surveys based from the students, they are happier than before.
Students started to have better grades and chronic diseases are no longer a
problem. The figure bellow contains a chart with the percentages of students with
obesity in the Benjamin Franklin high school for the past two years.

Recommendations:
The most important recommendations to prevent obesity in childhood are:

Good diet at any time.

Workout for at least 30-60 minutes a day.
Meet with a nutritionist at least once a month

It is really important to take care of your body because the consequences can
be really lamentable. It is more than recommendable to get used to eat healthy and
keep a workout diary starting from a young age. This way it is going to be easier to
maintain the habit in an elderly age.

References
6

Liria, Reyna. "Consecuencias De La Obesidad En El Nio Y El Adolescente: Un

Problema Que Requiere Atencin." Revista Peruana De Medicina
Experimental Y Salud Pblica 29.3 (2012): 357-360. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2016
Barness, Lewis A. "Obesity In Children." Fetal & Pediatric Pathology 26.2 (2007):
75-85. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.
Puchau, Blanca, et al. "Dietary Total Antioxidant Capacity And Obesity In Children
And Adolescents." International Journal Of Food Sciences & Nutrition 61.7
(2010): 713-721. SPORTDiscus with Full Text. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.
Curtis, P. (2008), The experiences of young people with obesity in secondary
school: some implications for the healthy school agenda. Health & Social
Care in the Community, 16: 410418. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2524.2008.00759.x