Prospectus

Preliminary draft
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CANADA’S CHILDHOOD OBESITY AND NUTRITION

Subject

I will compare and contrast nutritional, physical, genetic, and psychological factors which contribute to obesity among children in Canada. While researchers agree that genetic plays the most important role in obesity, I will try to demonstrates that bad nutrition is the main factor and not genetic as they say.

Audience

The readers will be classmates and teacher but may apply to everybody.


Defence

Obesity in childhood interests me because it is a social issue that has been spread lately by the media and that needs to be discussed any further. Even though I have never been obese, by looking at people, I know there is urgency to change the way of life of people. And I do want to try to help people to change little to obtain better results with their overweight problems. This social issue is a major one that has to be considered seriously evaluating that if people are not healthy, they necessarily cannot do anything they would like.

Methodology

First, I will compare and contrast research that is already made about the factors mentioned above. Second, to help me find answers on my prediction that bad nutrition is the first factor implicated in obesity in childhood, I will show how to read nutritional facts labelling with the help of the appropriate documents and go to the supermarket to examine some selected products (probably yogurts, bread, cheese, chips, etc.) to see which one would be preferable to eat according to the labelling. Finally, since I am a full time worker, time does not allow me to go to school and look at what children eat for their lunch. Nonetheless, I will make 2 questionnaires that will be filled out by students and parents and compare their answers. I would like this questionnaire be filled out by parents and students within the same family to compare their answers, but if it becomes too difficult to collect parent’s questionnaires, I will ask these questions to other parents at the grocery store. We will see if both questionnaires reflect the same answers, or if there are some discrepancies among them.

Preliminary bibliography
WORKS CITED

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Cameron, Noël, Norgan, Nicholas, G., Ellison, George T.H. Childhood Obesity: Contemporary Issues. Boca Raton, FL: 2006. Taylor & Francis.

Deckelbaum, Richard J. and Williams, Christine L. Childhood Obesity: The Health Issue. North American Association NY: 2001, Jan. 21, 2007 .

Department of health and human services. National institutes of health. Guide to Physical Activity. January 28, 2007. .

Dietz, William, H. Critical Periods in Childhood for the Development of Obesity. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1994. Special article. Jan. 21, 2007. www.ajcn.org/cgi/reprint/59/5/955.

Goran, Michael I., Sothern, Melinda. Handbook of Pediatric Obesity: Etiology, pathophysiology, and prevention. Boca Raton, FL: 2006. CRC/Taylor & Francis.

Grenier, Mark. "The Increase of Childhood Obesity in a Limited Sample of Canadian Children Between 1979 and 1998". Ottawa, ON. 1998. University of Ottawa.

Health Canada. Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating Focus on Preschoolers – Background for Educators and Communicators. 2006. January 22, 2007, <http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/res/fg_preschoolers-prescolaire_ga_e.html14>.

Health Canada. Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating. Aug. 30, 2005. January 22, 2007. .

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Institute of Medicine (États-Unis). Commitee on Prevention of Obesity in Children and Youth. National Academies, 2005.

Koletzko, Berthold. Early Nutrition and its Later Consequences: New Opportunities: Perinatal Programming of Adult Health—EC Supported Research. Dordrecht:Springer. 2005.

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Public Health Agency of Canada. Canada’s Physical Activity Guides for Children and Youth. <http://www.phacaspc.gc.ca/pauuap/paguide/child_youth/m3dia/stats.html>.

Kurtzweil, Paula. Nutrition Facts to Help Consumers Eat Smart. http://www.fda.gov/fdac/special/foodlabel/facts.html.

Statistics Canada. Overview of Canadian’ Eating Habits. Sept. 19, 2006. http://www.statcan.ca/english/research/82-620-MIE/2006002/findings.htm

Statistics Canada. Childhood Obesity. Health reports. Vol. 17. No. 3. <http://www.statcan.ca/cgi-bin/downpub/listpub.cgi?catno=82-003-XIE2005003>

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Statistics Canada. Physical activities. Health reports. <http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-003-XIE/0040082-003-XIE.pdf>.

Torgan, Carol. Childhood Obesity on the Rise. http://www.nih.gov/news”WordonHealth/jun2002/childhoodobesity.htm, June 2002.

U.S. food and drug administration. How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label. <http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/foodlab.html, Nov. 2004>.