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 Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 9:51 pm
We all know about the craze regarding the film "Super Size Me" and we all wonder what we are consuming because of said film. If you havn't seen it, it basically describes how eating McDonalds food is not healthy. The main character puts himself on an all McDonalds diet for one month as an example of this. Needless to say, his doctor told him it wasn't a good idea and, in the end, he became heavier, more sluggish, and had his stamina diminish. We all know that this food is good for you, but who is to blame for obese kids? Some people say that the fast food industry is to blame: Large corporations such as McDonalds, A&W, and Burger King make greasy, salty products and children have become addicted to the products and become unhealthy because of it. This view has been the cause of many lawsuits and possibly many more to come. Some people say it's the parents that should take the blame: Parents don't moniter their children enough to make sure that they get the diet and exercise that they need. This view is widely ignored, since, generally, parents don't seem to like to take responsibility for what their children are doing. Some people say that it's the school system's fault: The school system did not give the children the proper education that they needed so they could learn proper eating habits and that McDonalds should be eaten once in a while. There are sects of parents who are specifically targetting schools as the holder of the blame. So far it has produced interesting schools where every student has a healthy breakfast and lunch. Some people say that it has to do with the children's body types: Some people naturally process food at a faster rate than other people. The types fall into endomorphs and ectomorphs. To quote bodybuildingpro.com: Quote: The ECTOMORPH * Definitive "Hard Gainer" * Delicate Built Body * Flat Chest * Fragile * Lean * Lightly Muscled * Small Shouldered * Takes Longer to Gain Muscle * Thin The extreme ectomorph physique is a fragile and delicate one. The bones are light, joints are small and muscles are slight. The limbs are relatively long in proportion and the shoulders droop. The ectomorph is a linear physique. Straight up and straight down, and may appear longer than he or she really is, due to the length of limbs coupled with lack of muscle mass developed on those limbs. The ectomorph is not naturally powerful and will have to work hard for every ounce of muscle and every bit of strength he or she can gain. The ENDOMORPH * Soft Body * Underdeveloped Muscles * Round Physique * Weight Loss is Difficult * Gains Muscle Easily Like the Mesomorph. The body of the extreme endomorph is round and soft. The physique presents the illusion that much of the mass has been concentrated in the abdominal area. This may or may not be true. The arms and legs of the extreme endomorph are short in length and taper. This may give the appearance of stalkiness. The hands and feet of the endomorph are comparatively small, and the upper arms and thighs are often more developed than the lower parts of the arms or legs. The body has a high waist. The arguement is that the children that get obese from eating too much fast food are naturally endomorphic and that they are not an example of the typical North American child. There are other opinions on the matter as well. Where do you fall under? Do you believe that the faceless corperations just want to suck the consumer dry at any cost? Or do you believe that the food is only meant for an occasional treat and education is to blame?
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Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 10:01 pm
Not only this, but I think that there may be a link between incresed school activity and obesity.
Here goes:
People blame TV and Video Games a lot. They say 'TV and Games make kids sit down for hours every day, so they aren't getting exerise!'
Lets look at schools.
You are forced to sit for around 6 hours every day, often starting in you early years, when your body is really forming its shape, etc. Sitting in school for 6 hours isn't going to cause much more harm than a few hours of TV every day. At least with TV you can get up and get something to eat whenever, whereas in school you have to wait until lunch time.
And while we're talking about lunch, let's look at school foods. They aren't exactly a marvel of modern health food sciences.
You also have homework, and in some places lots of it. Hell, I even got a butt-load of summer homework for my AP Junior English Class. Homework forces you to sit and waste away even more.
Then, after all that, you are not exactly chipper. You want to sit, relax... maybe watch some TV...
It's a vicious cycle, and I think schools may be partially to blame.
And before you say 'That's never been a problem before!' you have to think about the fact that there is an immensly increased focus on academic excellency, so people are studying more and more and are, afterwards, tired more and longer.
Save the children... cry
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Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 11:06 pm
I blame neither the Parents or Fast food eating places. Now 'days, almost all Fast food places have a side menu, with salads, things boiled instead of fried, etc.. The menu that takes the fat out of everything. The kids choose what to eat, and I think the parents should let the kid know what he/she is doing to their body when they eat excessivly. As Snog said, School does have as much as a role in this as poor decisions. All kids have different metabalisms (sp?) and you can't expect every child to develop to be slim at first. Best thing to do is even out a schedule. Limit TV and other forms of entertainment, but let them have their freedom.
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Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 11:11 pm
(If my red text is distracting, just tell me. I don't have a problem changing it, but it's habitual for me now.)
I think that a good chunk of the childhood obesity problem is caused by the fact that unhealthy foods are the most affordable and readily available. If you look at it that way, then it does ultimately come down to the discretion of the parents. After all, a business can't be rightfully criticized for franchising so avidly when there is a demand for their "quick fix" cuisine. If authority figures (which in this case could include the school board) begin sacrificing convenience in favor of a healthier future, the "powers that be" would start selling more nutritious food in light of the demand. McDonald's has already begun the process. Consumers may not realize that they hold the power to curb the national vices that so heavily influence our economy, but they should at least realize that their personal choices and the daily choices they make on behalf of their families cannot be controlled by a corporation that can only succeed if they keep coming in the door.
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Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 4:03 pm
Am I the only one who blames primarily the child? Ultimately, human beings have choices to make. Eat what your mother makes you, or the school makes you, or figure out a way to make it yourself. If you're obese, and aren't content to stay that way, then say something. If that doesn't help, get off your oversized cheeks and do something about it. The blubbering, whiny little twits who are seeking reparitions from fast food companies are, to me, nothing less than disgusting for this reason, as are the media-pandered tubs who have become so large that they can no longer move themselves from bed. At what point does someone have an internal conversation to the jist of, "Hey, I can no longer move my legs. Perhaps I should lay off the cheetos and beer a bit?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 4:46 pm
I believe that it comes down to the parents. They have the job of raising their children. I think if parents kept their kids on a healthy diet and excersice regimen from the time when they are very little all the way up when they turn 18, their children would be very healthy individuals.
Most parents nowadays seem to leave it up to their kids to raise themselves. The parents may be too busy and they'll give their kids a t.v. dinner or take them to get McDonald's, drive through style.
Some people like to argue that since children have free will just like adults, it can be their fault, but I think that if the parent perserveres in getting their message through to the child, they can stop their obesity. If the parent truley cares about their child's individual health, they will go to every length that they can to help them. Even if the child puts up temper tantrums about what they don't want to eat, if the parent wants their child to healthy, the parent will put up with the temper tnatrums and eventually get the child to eat the healthy food. There are also situations where the child may want to play on the computer instead of running outside, and in these situations, the parent may want to take it upon themseleves to think up fun activities for them and the child to both enjoy. That way, the parent and the child will be having fun keeping themselves healthy. I believe it all depends on how much they want their kid to be healthy, what lengths they are willing to go to, and how much time are they willing to put into it.
(I hope that was a good enough post for this guild, and if I'm wrong anywhere, could you please correct me so I could learn more on the issue?)
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Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 7:10 pm
While the parent has some duty to try and encourage a healthy lifestyle, if the child is too unmotivated beyond a certain age, so be it. The parent's responsibility has to end somewhere. If their offspring is willing to leech of them into their mid-twenties, as so many do now, and parents are willing to tolerate it, there is something very wrong. I think a parent who would try to force their child to eat healthy will only meet with childish, rebellious, "You aren't the boss of me" responses. All a parent can do is teach and encourage, and beyond that, very little.
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Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 8:08 pm
You have a good point, but, even with the "you aren't the boss of me" responses, if a parent is truley commited to ensuring a child's good health, then the parent would put up with that. Of course, the parent forcing their want of a healthy child would end when the child is 18. After the kid turns 18, guardianship ends, so the parents are free of responsibility of how the kid acts. He's no longer a child, so it's his decision if he wants to be a fat adult, which he might want to do as a form of rebellion against his parents. But, that would result in more obese adults, not more obese kids. It's in the parent's responsibility to do all they can to keep their kids healthy while they're still considered children. It's their duty to feed them right and raise them right. Many of parents do not do this, and that is a major factor of why we have so many obese children.
I do agree with you that a child still leeching off their parents after they're eighteen is a bad thing. If the child still feels the need to be with his parents, then the parent did not do a good job in teaching their kids of how to live on their own in the real world.
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 5:03 am
Ah, the magical, magfical, meaningless age of 18. Why is it that one day, people are 'minors' and, acording to the world, unable to make thier own decision, and the next day, they are 'adults' and somehow mystically accquire all their magical decision-making intelligence?
People are determining what they eat (among many other, more important things,) by fifteen or sixteen. It is the parent's responsibility to make sure that the healthy option is availabke, but, if they fail at that, it does not excuse the child if they are above about fourteen.
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 7:43 am
Wow. As a child, I was an ectomorph.
I'm 18 now, so I guess I'm still a child, but i'm certainly not an ectomorph anymore. XD.
I think it's definitely the fault of the parents for not watching what their children eat. Of course, I attribute it to how not many parents cook proper food anymore! They allow their children to eat things like microwave dinners or eat out.
And I definitely do not think school lunches are really all that healthy.
I ate school lunch all year long my senior year and that was the year I gained the most weight! I'm spending this summer trying to work it off! A lot of the food was extremely greasy and fatty. And the vegetable choices were rare and not that good. I think they need to work on the quality of school foods. It would also help if they made sports more accessible! I was never able to afford a physical for school sports, so I was never able to join. And I notice a lot of the healthy, fit kids were involved in some sort of sport or other.
Especially as of kids, in our modern day rush society, nutrition is greatly ignored.
Fast foods are food for the masses though, and I highly doubt they're going to get any better.
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 7:45 am
TenNoKen Ah, the magical, magfical, meaningless age of 18. Why is it that one day, people are 'minors' and, acording to the world, unable to make thier own decision, and the next day, they are 'adults' and somehow mystically accquire all their magical decision-making intelligence? People are determining what they eat (among many other, more important things,) by fifteen or sixteen. It is the parent's responsibility to make sure that the healthy option is availabke, but, if they fail at that, it does not excuse the child if they are above about fourteen. True.
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 7:51 am
I really don't see how you can be too busy to knock up some mackncheese with a little tuna in it. (Gross? But my favorite!) There are quick cooking solutions, believe me. Like "breakfast for dinner," homemade soup, etc. I don't understand the reasoning of parents who drive their kids by a grease bucket and spend about twenty bucks on average. (I bought my family food at BK and that's about how much it was - for four people.)
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 8:41 am
I have always been a healthy weight all my life and I credit that to my mother who was very strong on healthy values. She didn't make me diet or stop me from enjoying my favorite foods but she sure did influence my tastes and my eating decissions now as an adult.
Although when I turned 15 and got my first job, and thus money, I started eating more crap because it was a novelty. I gained a little weight from that but soon I started eating healthy again because I had my mother's values on my mind and when it comes down to a burger or a sub, I choose the sub. My favorite foods to this day are lobster, all fruits, raw vegtables, sushi and yeah, cheesecake.
I think everyone plays a part in nutrition but chances are, if parents set a good example, children will follow. If there is an obesity problem in NA, it's because parents aren't showing their children healthy choices.
Ever see 'Honey, we're killing the kids' that TV show on TLC, 99% of the time, the parents are the ones with the bad habits that transend to their children.
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 10:40 am
TenNoKen Ah, the magical, magfical, meaningless age of 18. Why is it that one day, people are 'minors' and, acording to the world, unable to make thier own decision, and the next day, they are 'adults' and somehow mystically accquire all their magical decision-making intelligence? People are determining what they eat (among many other, more important things,) by fifteen or sixteen. It is the parent's responsibility to make sure that the healthy option is availabke, but, if they fail at that, it does not excuse the child if they are above about fourteen. Magfical? lol I love that alliteration! That's a very interesting question. I honestly have no idea about how that came into play. I'll look into it later. But I did use the age of 18, because technically we're talking about "childhood" obesity, and for reason that I don't know of, we're not considered "children" anymore when we turn 18. Our parents loose their guardianship over us. Yes, they are determining what they eat when they're younger than 18, but I believe that if the parents are truely committed to keeping their child healthy, then all their influence from the child's younger days will stay with them whne they are older. For example, if the parent feeds the kid right when they're only infants, continue to do so, give them healthy choices when they're kindergardeners, continue feeding them right when they're elementry students, always serve healthy meals at dinner where the child must eat what's set before them, then when they're in highschool, they've already been raised to only eat the right things. The same example can be used for excersise.
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Anxious Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 3:11 pm
Parent's don't fall under the- "I blame you completely and you shall forever rot because your kids are FAT", but neither do the schools or the companies.
-If companies are honest and give all the details (most do)
-If parent's advise the child and give them proper information and stimulation (Uh. . .most do)
-If schools teach their regular health classes and give students the opportunity to take them (most do)
Then it all falls under the child being able to make an educated choice on what they eat and making an effort at curbing their eating habits into a balance of "healthy" and "junk". 3nodding
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