It's a scary feeling when you walk up a simple flight of stairs only to reach the top and be completely out of breath. This is the reality that many children face in America today. Obesity has become an epidemic in our world, it has many contributing factors, it affects learning abilities but there are preventative methods to combat it. Although little is being done about obesity, it is affecting the lives of many, especially children, and by a multitude of different factors. The increasing number of obese children has reached an alarming rate. For many Americans, “…'obesity'…has the connotation of being extremely overweight. [But] health professionals define overweight as an excessive amount of body weight that includes muscle, bone, fat and water; while obesity is specifically defined as an excessive amount of body fat” (Andrews 1). More often than not we tend to change these definitions and make false claims. Although there are many health threats in the world today, “…childhood obesity (is) a major health threat in the United States” (2). Statistics also show that obesity is becoming an epidemic. In fact, “since the 1970s, the prevalence of obesity has more than doubled for preschool children and adolescents and more than tripled for school-age children” (1). As the numbers increase, people are wondering if there are other causes for obesity. Through tests and observations it has been discovered that obesity can be caused by other factors. Many scientists “…believe there are other causes of the obesity epidemic besides too many French fries…” (Belluz 1). Eating habits may contribute to obesity, but they're not the only factor that plays into the bigger picture. For example, "pollutants, such as DDE, ... middle of paper ... are not thought to be the breathless ones." Work cited Andrews, Shirley P., and Stan Andrews. “Fitness fun for everyone: classroom games and activities to support reading and math.” Early Childhood Education 2009:97. Beebe, Ginger and Joe Thompson. "The problem of childhood obesity." Arkansas Business 2010: 7.Belluz, Julia. "Born to be fat: Does prenatal exposure to chemicals called 'obesogens' help explain the obesity epidemic?" Maclean's November 8, 2010: 89.DeSantis, Cari. "On childhood obesity." Policy & Practice 2010: 3."Move." Current Events, Weekly Reader publication October 25, 2010: 6. "Doctors' Group Urges Schools to Go Vegetarian." American School & University 2010. 5.Skolnik, Neil S. and Mackenzie Mady "Clinical Guidelines for Family Physicians: Obesity Screening in Children and Adolescents." 2010:49.