CHILDHOOD obesity.
The fact that these two words are even together makes me pissed. Yes children should have a little meat, but quite frankly, being 20 pounds overweight is not BABYFAT. It's "cute" only until the child starts to develop conditions such as metabolic diseases, type 2 diabetes, thyroid issues...not to mention the psychological effects it has on the child.
Here's the deal. We are so afraid to tell children NO because they might get mad at us or say that we are the worst person in the world. WE (meaning any one of us that has interaction with children) need to teach children HOW TO BE HEALTHY. PART of teaching to be healthy involves a little bit of discipline. If you tell a child they can have all of the sugar in the world, aren't we teaching them to eat that way? YES.
What would happen if we don't allow children to eat macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, pizza, chicken fingers, pop tarts, etc for meals? Are they going to hate you forever and develop this life long grudge? NO. I'm thankful my parents didn't allow me to eat whatever I wanted to eat because they actually taught me healthy eating. I was not allowed to have dessert until I ate dinner...or at least the majority of the veggies and meat. They wouldn't force me to eat everything...we need to teach children how to listen to their bodies...actually, they are much better at this than adults...so maybe kids should be teaching the adults...but let's not get too a head of ourselves.
ANYWAYS. I'm over Childhood Obesity. Sorry for the language, but this is bullshit. Kids are supposed to be active....parents/grandparents/babysitters should be feeding their children healthy food (and the occasional sweet treat). OH and how many of us as children were rewarded with a cookie or some type of sweet treat? ....now how many of us NOW do the same to ourselves? It's so true.
What we do in our childhood greatly affects us later in our lives. Teach children how to eat healthy...or just don't buy crappy food. All people do is complain about how much money healthy food is....I think it's time we cut the shit. Seriously, a bag of doritos and a box of macaroni and cheese HAS ZERO nutritional benefit really...so actually the money you spend on junk food is TOO EXPENSIVE since it's a waste of money. It's too expensive to buy healthy food yet we don't mind spending money on products that do NOTHING for us...actually those products cost even more than healthy food because you are going to have to spend that much more on healthcare later on. Whether that be dietitian appointments, physician appointments, gastric bypass surgery, diet books/food/magazines, cancer treatment, insulin for diabetics....that's the expensive part.
SO do me a huge favor and take some responsibility for the children in this nation. Teach them how to live active and healthy lives. Make fruits and vegetables something that is part of their diet and not just the evil green peas on the plate...oh and parents, don't pass on your eating preferences to your kids....they LOOK UP TO YOU for what is right or wrong or delicious or gross.
KIDS look up to ADULTS. It's our responsibility to take care of these children. Our kids should not be obese and we are going to be the ones to change that. Set a good example for the kids around you....whether they are yours or not.
IF we buck up and take care of ourselves, kids will follow suit. IF we show children how to take care of themselves, they will love us forever. IF you say no to having 5 cookies after dinner, they will not hate you, they will thank you later on. IF we get kids to be active and eat healthy, we will prevent Childhood Obesity. That's my solution.
Childhood Obesity...it's something we are all shaking our heads about but doing nothing about. And that's a shame.
1 comment:
I could not agree more, I have a two year old son and a three year old daughter and kids are able, when given the options, to make healthy and smart choices when it comes to foods. My daughter when she asks for a snack may occasionally get baked goods from her grandmother, but more often asks for a fruit or vegetable because she has been introduced to them and knows what they are. The thing I find a bit worrisome is that other parents give me confused looks when my daughter asks for broccoli or a carrot, and then ask me how I do it. Parents need to be more aware of the effect that diet has on their children and put together meal plans that offer healthy (and sometimes not so healthy :) ) options to show kids that some foods are good all the time while other foods are ok with moderation.
Post a Comment