Obesity Trends In Children – Who Is To Blame?
September 3, 2009 by admin
Filed under How to get Kids to Eat Great
By Christine Wood, M.D.
The public health alarm has sounded and most people are well aware of the increase in overweight children in the U.S. The questions we are grappling with – why is this trend occurring and what does it mean for the future of our children?
Answering the first part of this question could be stated very simply – too many calories and too little activity, but in reality it is more complex.
The media marketing food and sedentary activities to our children, cheap processed food choices, the ease of fast food for stressed out parents, schools offering sodas and candies, communities that make driving necessary and walking almost impossible, and the list could go on and on.
But who is ultimately responsible for the problem?
In many cases, we need to take a good look at the family. It is not the overweight 6-year-old who is doing the grocery shopping or running to the local drive-thru to pick up dinner. Parents need to take the ultimate responsibility and this can be taken in many ways despite the challenges. Parents are still in control and they can set limits.
For example, examine what foods are brought into the house (do the parents understand how to read a nutrition label?), set limits on media (does a child need a TV in their own bedroom?), decide what types of restaurants are frequented (there are better choices out there), and get involved with the schools (school boards need to hear from parents voicing concerns about food choices in the schools).
The problems for the future of our children is not about the cosmetics of looking skinny, but more about the health impact and risks for diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. The concern with diabetes is that overweight children are being struck with a disease that was considered to be a grown-up disease for old people.
As waistlines of our children continue to expand, their lifespan will be shortened and dollars spent on healthcare in treating their diseases will skyrocket. Is this the future we wish for our children?
We as parents can not only take responsibility for what occurs in our homes, but should be out there advocating with the schools, restaurants, food industry, businesses and our government to ask them to support us to keep our kids healthy. No one wants to be blamed for the childhood obesity epidemic, but if everyone claims they are not to blame and chooses to do nothing, well-needed changes will not happen.
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I believe parents are to be blamed. We are the ones responsible as to how to they will become as we are the ones raising them up. Thanks for an interesting post here. By the way, these best gifts that you could give your better-half might interest you too. Thanks and have a nice and fulfilling day.
i was obese a few years ago but now i have reduced my weight by diet and exercise.
Obesity is really a bad condition to be with. it is the cause of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. i always see to it that i have a healthy diet and a good exercise to avoid being overweight.
Obesity is a growing health problem these days because people are too lazy to do some extra exercise and they eat too much. i always exercise and do cardio regularly to maintain a healthy weight.
Obesity is really an epidemic these days. People have become very lazy and does not want to exercise anymore. I do a lot of jogging and brisk walking everyday just to be fit and healthy.
Obesity is really an epidemic these days. People have become very lazy and does not want to exercise anymore. I do a lot of jogging and brisk walking everyday just to be fit and healthy.
here in Philippines, obesity is also becoming a problem. More and more children are getting obese due to a lifestyle that is not fully of physical activities. most kids just wants to watch TV, play computer games and surf the net.
Obesity and diabetes are becoming more and more of a problem these days. Actually it is easy to avoid being overweight by just having the proper diet and exercise.
A healthy diet will always be composed of high fiber frutis and veggies, low sugar, low carb and rich in protein.`*”
Healthy weight is easy to maintain, just watch your diet and always exercise.,.~
actually, it is easy to get a healthy weight if people are just careful on what they are eating`.;
maintaining a healthy weight can be tricky because it revolves around genetics and some other factors *,`
Obesity is becoming an epidemic in all parts of the world. It’s a combination of so many factors that is too many to list. Basically it’s like me asking you if I gave you a glass of antifreeze even though it’s sweet and won’t kill you right away would you drink it? But that is a metaphor for the food supply.
Corn syrup (fructose) – made from GMO corn
GMO crops themselves – look at the birth defects in animals fed GMO
Bromine in everything grains – causes hypothyroidism and obesity
Endless vaccines – if a baby drinks breast milk from the mother they get the entire linage of immunity….so what is the purpose of vaccines? I’ve yet to see one iota of proof that vaccines do NOT cause more harm than good in vaccinated populations. 1 in 96 kids with autism cannot be by accident.
Asparatame in everything that used to have cane sugar.
Increasing % of fluoride in the water (my biochemistry professors taught us about this huge racket to dispose of toxic aluminum manufacturing byproducts)
I could go on an on. The point is that this obesity epidemic is no accident. Next to the oil industry the food, drug, and medical industries are the biggest rackets of all.
I dropped out of medical school after realizing how you have no freedom to practice medicine. You do what you are told and if you dissent, you are blackballed and blacklisted from the medical associations that are controlled by special interests. The whole system is rotten to the core and the rest of the world is now following suit.
When royalty or heads of state travel, they bring a private chef who prepares organically grown vegetables from their own farms. Ask yourselves why the truth is kept from you. These people know exactly what they are doing and why things are happening. When billions of $$$ are on the line, greed is a powerful motivator for those who are willing to generate the biggest profit.
If you want to get rich, buy Monsanto. I hate the company so I won’t do it. But if you want to know why everyone is sick, look into that company and those related to it. They’ve positioned themselves to be one of the most powerful companies in the world in the next 3-5 years.
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