Psychology

Childhood obesity is becoming a serious source of concern in the United States. Already, there 9 million children are suffering from, or are prone to obesity. There are wide expectations that this number will translate into 25 of children, with another 11 being seriously prone to obesity in the next few years (California School Health Centers Association, 2009).

Childhood obesity is a source of concern for health specialists because of the following
It can lead to serious cardiovascular diseases
Currently, type 2 diabetes has seen a recent increase, which is directly linked to obesity
High cholesterol

Psychological Trauma
Another shocking revelation is in the fact that never in 200 years has there been a generation which has had a shorter life span than the one preceding it. This generation of young adults will have shorter life spans because 70 of those children that are currently obese will lead to obese adults.
Obesity is caused by the following factors (Dehghan, 2005)
Diet
Calorie intake
Fat intake
Dietary Factors
Lack of physical activity

To target these root causes, more and more health specialists are now considering school based intervention techniques to reach the right people at the right time. Since most children are in school 6-8 hours a day, this becomes an effective medium. School infrastructure, and the ability to be more interactive in a school atmosphere, can help change lifestyles of children at risk.

Strategies, such as the one employed by Edison High in California involve multidisciplinary approaches targeting fitness and nutrition of a child (Okie, 2006). By using schools to provide clinical support, nutritional information, after school activities and psychological assistance, school based intervention programs has become highly successful in changing lifestyles (California School Health Centers Association, 2009). The changing of lifestyles is necessary to root out child obesity.