Getting Real about the Epidemic


    

 Let’s be honest here, childhood obesity is a topic that has been overused and exhausted with possible solutions that have yet to work. Parents do not know how to keep their children healthy much less how to get them healthy if they are overweight. With all the studies and suggestions who would know where to start? There are good and bad ways to go about solving the childhood obesity crisis in America. The key to the crisis is not the fault of advertising or marketing of this ‘bad’ food to children. So don’t get confused.  Janice Crouse in "The Fast-Food Industry Intentionally Markets Unhealthy Food to Children” explains that television and Internet marketing to children is what is causing them to eat this unhealthy food. While this is a contributing factor, it is not the main reason! If parents would limit their children’s time when it came to internet and television, the marketing of the “bad foods” would not have any affect on the children.  It is not just the type of food that America’s children are eating that is causing this epidemic. Whether it is lunchroom food or fast food neither is the driving factor in childhood obesity, regardless of the portion sizes. Gregory Green argues that it is fast food that is causing this issue, but fast food has been around for decades and it is just now having a colossal effect on our youth. This proves there is no way that it is purely fast food. However, many people are under the impression that schools or the government should be responsible for childhood obesity. America wants to rely on the government to set standards for lunchroom food or other types of food. The real truth behind childhood obesity is that it starts at home. Yes you read that right! Parents are solely responsible for their children’s health as they grow up, and getting children involved in team sports is the easiest and best way to do so. Although this solution seems simple, it will work. For so long people have tried to solve it all at once, that is not the answer. Starting from inside each home is a direct way for each and every parent to have an affect on his or her child’s health.

Check out this video for more information on childhood obesity: 

Web MD: Childhood Obesity   

Food is Not the Only Issue Here

                 Food in today’s society has a bad wrap. Is it the fast food companies’ fault for Americans eating the food they sell? No, that is crazy! Again, people want to blame someone or something for obesity in general and more specifically childhood obesity. Although there are many other factors that influence obesity in children most of the time the blame is placed on food. Regardless of what the children eat, it is a direct result of what the parent purchasing the food gets for them! A child simply does not order what him or her wants. If it were up to children what they could eat the obesity rate would be higher than it is now. Gregory Green says that, “children normally buy food that is convenient but unhealthy”(Green). While this sounds good on paper in reality children simply are not buying their own food. The parents ultimately decide what the child is eating. When a child sees one of their parents eat hamburgers and french-fries for every meal then that is what he or she will want also. It is that simple. Children see the choices that role models in their lives make everyday and will almost always follow in their footsteps. Anne Moore in “Dieting and Exercise can help People lose weight” says that “we got off the scale and turned a blind eye to the kinds and amount of food we put in our bodies.”(Moore). While this is true, it proves that not only do you have to eat healthier; you also have to work out. It does require actually being active. If you get started in sports early on then it is way less likely for you to stop working out when you get older. Working out is said to be calming and addictive so losing that source of stress relief or not having it at all can be very detrimental to mental health as well as physical health.  Food is the easiest thing to blame when it comes to childhood obesity.  Although working out is very beneficial to the body and mind, it does not mean that eating healthier gets thrown out of the window.  The main point of working out to lose weight is to expend more calories than are taken in. Diets and supplemental meals have been common in the race to solve the epidemic but the truth is there is only one best way to solve the crisis and it is getting involved in something that gets your children and you active.

This map shows the percentages of teens that were overweight in 2011.

Here are some things you should check out: Mayo Clinic Basic Information on Childhood Obesity

                                                                   

 

'Fat Letters' Spark Outrage Among Parents: ABCNEWS.COM - One mother is fighting back after her daughter was labeled overweight by her school.

A Different Way of Advertising? This video shows a different way of advertising for childhood obesity that is quite controversial.

It is the Parents Responsibility!

Blame can be placed on many things when it comes to childhood obesity. It can be placed anywhere from the fast food industry and it’s marketing to just simply a lack in regular physical activity. However, marketing to children is useless. A child cannot go to the local fast food chain and buy their meals by themselves. It is not just food that is making Americas children obese. Since parents feed their children, it is always at parental discretion what their children eat.

People want to say that sitting in front of a screen is the issue. This leads to another misconception, that a child being obese is directly linked to video games and television.  Although time in front of a screen can affect the child’s physical activity these things are also partially out of control of the child. Computer, television, and video game time can all be regulated and monitored by the parent and should be! If monitoring does not happen that is when children become lethargic and it is difficult to get started working out. The reason that gaming is related to childhood obesity is because it is what that child does in their spare time. If the child were to get involved in team sports there would be less time for gaming and watching television and more time playing the sport. When children get involved in a sport it becomes their life almost. All they want is to get better, to go to practice, to see their teammates, or to go to their game.  So just joining the team creates a completely different lifestyle, a lifestyle that promotes health and exercise, not dieting and counting calories.

Team Sports are Simply THE Best Option

            There have been many different efforts to abolish childhood obesity and yet America’s children are getting fatter. It is not food, nor advertising for food that makes our children fat. It is simply children not getting the exercise they need. Normal gym exercise or track running is not always enjoyable and I will be the first one to admit that but getting out on a field or court and playing a team sport is hard to beat. The hardest part about getting children to play team sports is getting their parent (YOU) to bring them to registration. Chris Moerdyk says in "Advertising Alone Cannot Be Blamed for Childhood Obesity" that “It's all about being accepted and being cool. Kids don't just get into bad habits on their own—they're influenced almost entirely by their friends. Frankly, banning advertising is hardly worth bothering about,”(Moerdyk). So if a child’s friends are involved in sports then they are more likely to want to do the same. After getting the child involved, he or she will make new friends; and having friends that lead a healthy lifestyle will greatly influence them. Richard Berman in "A Lack of Physical Activity Causes Obesity” states that, “the vast majority of people believe that parents, not food advertising, represent the primary factor in kids' food choices and weight.” Americans lead a very busy lifestyle and moms have trouble taking their kids with them to the grocery stores or to do their shopping. When you stop and think though, if a mom could drop the child off at practice, she could run to the store get her shopping done and then pick up her child. This solves two problems, not only does she get her shopping done quickly and without interruption; but the child gets lots of exercise, makes friends, and has fun doing it. The simplest way to solve this issue is to push parents to take action and to get their child involved in team sports and see what a difference it makes in their child’s life.