Childhood Obesity?

Question

Wondering what your view points are on childhood obesity. Is it really a problem, or is it something hyped up by the media? Should the government intervene, or is it really a family problem that needs to be handled by the parents?

Answer 1

I was wayching one of those talk shows and these parents feed these kids more than most adults eat. One lady said she would give her daughter whatever she wanted, the poor kid would eat a whole pizza for a snack, for lunch it was like 3 cheeseburgers and a pound of fries.

Its not cool for a 3 year old kid to weigh 120lbs.

Parenting, parents need top be parents or have their prental rights stripped away.

Answer 2

Should the government intervene? No. Is it a government issue, yes, absolutely. The government, meaning all of us, have to pay for the effects of childhood obesity, and are largely responsible in the culture that it creates that helps lead to it.

The government should change the culture it is responsible to a healthier one. This will lead to less childhood obesity. It will always be there, but now there will be better tool and education to help everyone that it touches, from parents to teachers. From friends, to those that actually have the problem.

Using intervention as a word here, unnecessarily politicizes the issue. It doesn't need to be.

Answer 3

It definately appears to be a problem. This is most likely a direct result of kids having access to electronics like never before. Instead of going outside and actually playing and running around they sit at a desk on the computer or sit and play video games. Meanwhile they are eating crap food the whole time they are doing it. Their parents are too busy being wrapped up in themselves to really truly care what their kids are doing.

The government doesn't need to intervene, people just need to start parenting again and take better care of their kids.

Answer 4

I think it is a problem but it is not the government's place to try and fix it. It is something that should be handled by the parents. There are so many different reasons that could cause a child to be overweight (diseases like diabetes, inactivity, overeating and poverty). The government would not be able to deal appropriately with some many different causes.

Answer 5

It is indeed a very real problem with todays youth, but I don't feel the government belongs intervening in the family like that. Offer support programs to teach families how to help their kids, but not direct intervention. There are places government does not belong, and this is one of them.

Answer 6

I'm just always wondering what the parents are thinking.
I see them at restaurants, feeding their kids high fat foods while the parents themselves should not be out eating at those places.

If the parents can't bahave themselves, how are they going to teach their kids to eat properly?
I was at a buffet the other night. It was sick how many obease people were there trying to force feed their kids.
Personally, If I were more than 20lbs overweight, I would ban myself from going out to eat at all.
Why is it so hard to discipline yourself?

It is not media hype. It's not the government's responcibility either. It is a family and lifestlye issue.

These people need more full sized mirrors in their houses.

Answer 7

It really is a problem. Have you seen some of these kids now-a-days? They eat just french fries for lunch, skip gym class, and don't go outside to play anymore. Instead, many of them sit in front of the tv or computer or video games for hours on end. Many also have obese parents who also do not set a good example. It's disgusting. In no way am I hating on fat people either. I, myself, am a good 20 lbs overweight. However, I also do my best to eat my vitamins and to exercise. I am in good health, low blood pressure, low cholesterol, blood sugar is normal, etc. But many of these kids will go on to develop serious health problems in the future. It's funny how people blame so much of health care's rising cost on smokers (even though that is bad for you too) when the vast majority of expenses are spent on easily preventable diseases which are caused by obesity. It disgusting. Parents need to take their kids outside to play and set a good example. We are the fattest nation on earth!!!

Answer 8

let me start off by saying that I am a Child Care Health Coordinator and I deal specifically with helping improve the nutrition and physical activity of children in my state. In todays world, we are seeing more and more children who are in what is known as being at risk for overweight.. or being overweight.. based on past trends.. 2 to 3 times the number of children are in these two categories that should be. weight in and of itself is not the problem.. the problem is the secondary effects of having too much fat in your body and your diet and when you are in one of these two categories you are statistically more likely to have these secondary health issues.. we are seeing children as young as 13 developing full blown type 2 diabetes.. what was once called adult onset diabetes.. due to their diets.. that means many of these children are looking at blindness, amputation and all the rest of the terrible side effects of long term diabetes by the time they are in their 30's and 40's.. and it is effecting our children at younger and younger ages.. just this week I was reading about a child that .. at the age of 1.. weighed a little over 60 pounds. Other side effects of this issue are Heart related issues that used to be reserved for people over the age of 40.. yes we are seeing these problems in our teens these days.. and finally.. the psychological effects of such a thing.. which has also lead to the exact opposite extreme.. our anorexics and bulimics .... but nutrition is only one part of the problem.. did you know that the people who have the longest lives are those that are slightly overweight but are still in good shape? Physical activity is very important.. many of our youths today are spending 4+ hours a day in front of a screen... gameboys, tv, nintendo's.. (although I love the Wii).. these have placated our children.. they are sitting.. and many times eating.. not getting the MINIMUM exercise they need. Here's another fun fact for you.. you burn more calories SITTING AND THINKING than you do watching TV.. you brain produces Alpha waves at only 2 times.. one is when you are asleep.. the other is when you are watching TV.. we zone out... there is also some research (not confirmed but still interesting) that due to the way the programing is set up we may actually be training our children to show ADD tendencies. Here in my state.. 36% of children enter Kindergarten in the at risk or overweight categories.. that's insane.. and we are the only state in the US that has shown a downward trend over the past few years (due to our state programs).. I do believe that parents should be educated and they should take the responsibility for their childrens health.. but the sad fact is they aren't.. as the numbers clearly show.. so what do we do? say forget about it and prepare to pay out the *** in health care costs when these children grow up and need a lot of medical attention? We have shown here in my state that we can make a difference by taking the junk food and sodas out of school, putting a little more time in for PE and offering education for students, teachers are parents on nutrition and physical activity. I could literally sit here and type/talk about this for another 6 or 7 hours.. so I'll cut it off here (I give trainings on this, how to prevent it/fix the problem to teachers around the state) so if you want to know more or have any other questions feel free to ask me.. my email is open.

Answer 9

I see alot more fat kids now then when I was in school.


There used to be like 1 fat boy and 1 fat girl in every class, now its like 4 and 4.

Answer 10

I think that more should be done to tackle it, because obesity has been linked to such illnesses as heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension. Unfortunately, though, there are a lot of parents and school cafeterias out there feeding these kids food that is laden with fat, sugar, salt, and cholesterol.