George 1

Annotated Bibliography

Potential Causes and Solutions to Child Obesity

Suraj George

Professor Malcolm Campbell

URWT 1104

October 23, 2018

 George 2

Annotated Bibliography

Novak, Nicole L., and Kelly D. Brownell. “Role of Policy and Government in the Obesity

Epidemic.” Circulation, vol. 126, no. 19, 6 Nov. 2012, pp. 2345–2352.

This journal article assesses the role of the U.S government in obesity, shows some causes

of obesity and discusses some potential solutions that can help diminish the growing

number of obese people. The authors demonstrate their understanding by providing

detailed statistics about each numeric value they present. This article discusses multiple

potential solutions and discuss about current reforms that the government has taken and

how the government has changed their approach. For example, the authors state that

despite having clinical guidelines, educational programs, and social marketing campaigns,

they do not address the environmental contributors to obesity, such as food proportions,

marketing of foods, and price. They continue to state that these approaches rely too much

on the individuals to determine the right choices themselves without having the proper

knowledge to make right decisions. The information presented in this article is supported

by numerous studies which are random and unbiased to one population. Other information

is well presented and are from reliable, trusted sites, articles from professors, and

organizations. This article is particularly helpful for my research as they have discussed

about the governments role in obesity and assessing its impact on the disease, which is

what I want to analyze and discuss in my Inquiry Project.

 George 3

Thornton, J.(2013, September 30). When Schools Improve Meals, Positive Results Follow. U.S

Department of Agriculture. Retrieved October 23, 2018, from

https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2013/09/30/when-schools-improve-meals-positive-

results-follow

The U.S Department of Agriculture demonstrates that children in the U.S have been

eating healthier because of the nationwide movement of serving healthier school meals

and more time for physical activity. The USDA (U.S Department of Agriculture)

summarized that investing in better and cleaner food in schools is widely beneficial and

has very little downside risks. They have surveyed states and schools across the county to

see if there was difficulty in meeting the current meal standards and they have found out

that 80 percent of schools, who reported, are meeting the updated meal standards and

with some states reporting 100% of schools completely transitioned to the new standards.

Through another survey they conducted, they found that only .15 percent of schools have

cited difficulty complying with the new standards as a reason for leaving the program. As

this being a government source, it is fair to say that they are qualified to be discussing to

invest more in school food funding. Other sources, such as PewTrusts.Org uses data from

the USDA as a source of their claims and to reinforce their articles and blog posts. This

source is very beneficial for me as it holds information regarding my inquiry question,

should states invest more money in school food and other health incentives.
 George 4

Dawes, Laura, -. Childhood Obesity in America Biography of an Epidemic /. Harvard University

Press.

This book source closely examines the history of obesity and the path of it leading to present

day. The contents of this book are previous records of obesity and discusses how the

interpretation of obesity has changed throughout history. For example, she explains how a plump

kid a hundred years ago was considered to be perfectly normal and healthy, but now we know all

the potential diseases that are associated with that lifestyle. She also reviews many failed

attempts to keep childhood obesity in check, from the ‘endocrine vogue of the 1920s to the

1940s’ to diet drugs, bariatric surgery, and the leptin gene craze. She described that this book

places many of the issues that we face as a country into a historical context to help readers

understand the current state of childhood obesity. Laura Dawes is a historian of medicine and

has demonstrated on her website that she has covered a wide range of topics including the history

of biogeography, childhood obesity, public health, cancer, alternative and complementary

medicine, and activism. She holds a master’s from Oxford University and a Ph.D. from Harvard

University, and is a winner of the West Australian Young Writers’ Prize, recipient of the Parnell-

O’Conner Award for Creative Writing an was shortlisted for the ACT Book of the Year. This

book can provide some insight on past attempts the government has tried to reduce obesity

numbers and showed failed products and experiments that have paved the way to better, healthier

living. This book can potentially reveal problems in strategies we are utilizing now to combat

child obesity. Using some of the failed strategies and experiments that she mentioned in her book

can help me see different perspectives we used to tackle this issue.