Childhood obesity has become a rising problem in today’s society. It seems as if in the past decade the average child size has nearly doubled, “Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years” (CDC). It has become an epidemic in America creating a significant medical concern of great urgency. “Also, while more children are becoming overweight, the heaviest children are getting even heavier. Overweight or obese preschoolers are 5 times more likely than normal-weight children to be overweight or obese as adults. As a result, childhood overweight is regarded as the most common prevalent nutritional disorder of US children and adolescents, and one of the most common problems seen by paediatricians” (Childhood Overweight). Factors such as genetics, unhealthy choices, and lifestyle changes have led to this widespread problem and we need a solution to help children get on the right track to a healthy life. These children are too young to make decisions on their own so the adults around them need to be aware of how to help. Obesity is determined by BMI stands for Body Mass Index, or Quetelet index. It is a unit of measurement used to calculate the percentage of fat vs muscle in the human body (defining). This number is then used to determine how overweight or obese someone is based on their average height and weight for their age group and gender. However, there is a fine line between being overweight and being obese. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) website provides information with which to distinguish between the terms “overweight” and “obese”. The term overweight refers to someone who has a weight that is higher than the average healthy weight for that individual’s height. The term being overweight actually does not mean someone has too much body fat at all. In fact, a person can be overweight and not fat. Example: someone could be overweight because they are retaining too much water, or perhaps because they have too much muscle mass. In consideration of this, one source points out that it is probably more accurate to say that someone is “overfat”, when referring to a condition of having too much body fat (Insel and Roth, 237). Obesity on the other hand is defined as “having an excessively high amount of body fat in relation to lean body mass” (Defining). However, not everyone that is obese is obese by choice. There are many factors that can cause someone to be obese without their choosing. Such reasons are rare medical complications (often not found in children) or family genetics. Genetics can often play a key role in determining whether a child will become obese. These factors can also be aggravated by certain non-genetic factors. One source explains that “obesity most likely results from the interaction of an individual's genetic makeup with the environment in which the person lives” (Smith, 82). Behavior and metabolism are two key factors that affect an individual’s weight. Both can be influenced by genetic factors or by other factors (Smith, 65). Not only is this a problem but as well as the continuation cycle of obesity. Family history and genetics play large role in this epidemic of childhood obesity. “If one parent is obese there is a 50 percent chance their children will be obese. However when both parents are obese, their children have an 80 percent chance of being obese” (AACAP). The scariest part being if someone is raised obese they are more likely to be obese as an adult, meaning they are putting their children at a high risk to become obese, thus the cycle of obesity can continue from generation to generation. In the past decade years, society has greatly changed, which has caused an increase in obesity. People now want instant gratification, meaning they want something “now”. This culture leads them to make more unhealthy food choices, often found in fast food menus. The quick rush Americans live in from one life event to the next has also increased the amount of fast food one intakes because it seems so much easier to grab food while traveling on a busy schedule, rather than going home and taking the time to make a healthier meal choice. Not only is this time effective, but is also becoming cost effective as in many cases, it can be more affordable to eat out as opposed to shopping for fresh grocery items and the associated preparation time, hence time is money. And although adults make the choice where and what their children will eat, the children are the ones who are showing the negative impacts. Public schools have also changed. Many schools have been experiencing budget cuts which mean many programs are being cut, after school activities are being eliminated and even school lunches are changing to cheaper foods. This can certainly result in a lower cost meal price, but often with a