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Archive for February, 2010

Child obesity statistics indicate that as many as one half to one third of U.S.children are overweight to obese. These statistics have a dire foreboding for the country as far as health care costs, and the productivity and global competitiveness of the next generation is concerned. For the first time in history, American children could have a shorter life span than their parents.

Because child obesity has been increasing at an alarming rate, it has become a hot topic for policy-makers.

On February 10, 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama  launched her ambitious four prong “Let’s Move” initiative to stem the tide of child obesity. Her initiative calls for steps to implement better school nutrition programs, educate parents on healthier food choices, provide community based opportunities for physical activity, and options for making healthier and affordable food available for purchase everywhere throughout the country.

A number of parents don’t believe this initiative goes far enough.  They want the government to tax or take certain tax incentives from those manufacturers/advertisers whom they see as directly targeting their marketing campaigns of unhealthy foods towards children. (In 2006, McDonald’s spent one million dollars per day on advertising geared to young people.  Some of that million dollar per day advertising budget was deductible as a legitimate business expense; in effect causing what some people see as the government, or American taxpayers subsidizing the fast food industry for peddling junk food to their children.)

When the dust settles, however, it’s still the parents fault their child’s fat. A large number of parents seem to be in denial of this fact.  After all the arguments that the fast food industry should do better labeling of the nutritional contents of the foods they serve, and that vending machines should be taken out of schools, and that schools should serve more nutritious meals, parents are still responsible for the food their child consumes.

It’s not as if some unknown virus or bacteria was suddenly making children blowup as big as one of the Macy’s Parade balloons.  It has been researched and well documented that the cause of the increase in obesity in children, and the entire population as well, is due to low levels of physical activity, frequency of eating out, and overconsumption of convenience and empty-calorie foods.  These child obesity factors are under parents’ control, and parents must be held accountable. The good news is that child obesity is preventable and reversible.

It’s time for parents to “Parent-Up” and step forward and perform their responsibilities and duties as parents. Parents are charged with the responsibility of feeding their children wholesome, nutritious foods from babies through young adults, and teaching them good eating habits. Young children are responsible for eating the foods parents served to them.

It really doesn’t matter how many times a McDonald’s, or a sweeten cereal, or a soda or juice commercial airs on TV. Parents don’t have to buy the stuff.  Children are at risk of developing type II diabetes, heart disease, bone and joint disorders–diseases that they may suffer from for the rest of their lives, all because their parents fed them an over abundance of convenience  and high calorie foods. Parents have to start telling their children “no” when they want fast food every night, or when they want to sit and watch TV or be on the computer hour, after hour, after hour.  If there was ever an area that requires tough love, then this is it.

It may be convenient to buy food at a fast food restaurant after working all day, but parents have to, somehow, find the time to shop for, and cook, nutritious food for their child. Just as some parents sacrifice to find money in the household budget, and time, to make sure their child can take music or dance lessons, or play on a pee wee swim, baseball, football, basketball or soccer team, so, too, parents will have to sacrifice some of their weekend rest and relaxation time to prepare the following week’s menu, or cook greater amounts of food for the upcoming busy evenings.

No one chooses to be obese, particularly a child.  It’s time for parents to take their role of doing those things that are in “the best interests of the child” seriously, and managing weight-related issues before they become uncontrollable is one of them.