Thesis Statement Childhood obesity is one of the biggest developing health problems associated with the things such as types of foods that children consume, genetic factors, addiction to highly pleasurable foods, and diminished physical activities. Therefore, failure of the government to take precautionary measures such as controlling the foods served to children, introduction of BMI checking to schoolchildren, and planning of anti-obesity campaigns amongst others will automatically threaten the health of children and that of the population of the nation at large. Introduction Obesity is the development of more weight than the body of an individual is supposed to carry. Ideally, the body of a person should carry weight within a certain range according to the height of the given individual. Much weight for a specific height is deemed overweight and consequently underweight for a much less weight for a specific height. Therefore, childhood obesity is the development of more weight, which is mostly fats, more than the height can accommodate. It is usually 20% more body fat weight in a child. Childhood obesity is a serious health problem to society due to the frequency of obesity cases that are being reported of late. The greatest concern brought about by childhood obesity is that it has been identified as a precursor to certain adulthood ailments if not controlled. Thus, controlling it is a way of eliminating some adulthood ailments. As Riley reveals, childhood obesity leads to such ailments as; “hypertension, respiratory ailments, orthopedic problems, depression, type two diabetes, and high cholesterol among others” (395). Statistics about the problem According to Green and Riley, childhood obesity has increased threefold since the year 1981. Sixteen per cent percentage of the population of children between the ages of 6 and 19 years suffer from obesity (917). In the United States, 23% of children coming from poor families are likely to suffer from obesity compared to 14% of those who come from families that are doing well socially and economically (Riley 395). Obesity has led to a rise in the cost of healthcare for the national government with obesity cases consuming up to 71million dollars in terms of treatment between the years 2008-2009. According to statistics, there has been a 50% increase in obese cases among children of 7-12 years during the years 1991-1998. Eyler finds that the United States of America government has had to come up with policies and legislation that would reverse the trend by the year 2015 (2294). This effort is an indicator to the seriousness of the problem and the concern that the government has towards it. What causes childhood obesity? Causes of Childhood Obesity The Foods in the Market One of the biggest causes of childhood obesity is the type of food a child eats. Following the increase in populations and the decrease in the land for agricultural production, scientists have come up with ways of producing high yields of crops on remarkably small pieces of land for feeding the populations. Most of these foods are produced using biotechnology and bioengineering, which lead to high crop yields. Most crops produced using the methods have been cited as sources of obesity upon producing food from them. High yield crop production involves alterin