Childhood Obesity Finally Hits Home–(Vol. 4, Issue 5)
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The little ones. They’re not just our kids. They are the embodiment of every good thing we ever did in this world. A buffer against those roads of vice we at times waver in taking. You wouldn’t feed a 5-month-old baby a spoon of chocolate syrup or bottle up some leftover grease to serve him the next day. And yet, the children of America, somewhere in-between age 11 months and 2 years old, all begin to face the unforgivably easy journey to becoming the princes of junk food and the princesses of fried food kingdom.
The manufactured food industry uses high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and inexpensive corn meal to whip up child-alluring “food”. Unfortunately, many parents do not rescue their children from the sticky hands of TV’s junk food circuit. Whether they’re too busy or just not paying attention, parents unwittingly assist the problem.
However, this past month the households of California have received a subtle, yet urgent wake-up call: “Mom, can I have some diabetes?”
A series of 3 very cute, very effective commercials, created by California’s First 5 Commission, have inched their way into the gaping sea of soaps, cartoons, and sitcoms—24 hours a day. Within an hour, a viewer can almost be guaranteed to see one of these commercials, all of whose daunting message paired with an adorable face highlight the critical health dangers that continuous consumption of unhealthy food can cause in children, such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
In March, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Commission was forced by “infuriated parents of kids with diabetes” to pull several original commercials which they felt sent the wrong message about children who don’t have Type 2 diabetes, but rather have Type 1. Unlike Type 2 which ideally can be delayed or even prevented by things like healthy eating and exercise, there exists no known source that can prevent the onset of Type 1. They wished to stress that Type 1 develops by no fault of the patient and that parents of children with Type 1 diabetes cannot be blamed for the circumstances of their child’s suffering, a notion which they feared the Commission’s original commercials did imply.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “approximately 85% of people with diabetes are type 2, and of these, 90% are obese or overweight.” Of the roughly 6.5 billion humans walking the earth, more than one billion of them are overweight “and at least 300 million of them are clinically obese.” Of course, some countries “weigh” less than others such as China and Japan that exhibit an obesity level of 5%, while others, like the potbellied United States, take the cake (literally).
WHO reports that an “estimated 22 million children under five are estimated to be overweight worldwide.” Since 1980, “in the USA, the number of overweight children has doubled and the number of overweight adolescents has tripled.” Also since 1980, obesity rates have rose three-fold or more in nations across the globe.
An “increased consumption of more energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods with high levels of sugar and saturated fats, combined with reduced physical activity” has led to these new obesity rates, explains WHO. Now, who, or shall I say what, is responsible for the "reduced physical activity" heightened by an constant intake of high-in-sugar, low-in-nutrient foods? Can it be the wide suburban designs that discourage walking from place to place? The internet and video games phenomena? Perhaps it is the result of a decline in blue collar labor jobs and an increase in sedentary white collar work. How about the lifestyle for kids? Can watching television five hours a day really affect the way they live, or more importantly, how long they live?
An article by Camillo Francassini in The Sunday Times (Scotland) highlights a study on more than 162,000 children in 35 countries that showed “their consumption of sweets and fizzy drinks rises…each hour they spend in front of the box.” Perhaps parents need to shape up and start shaping their child’s future—not to say they’re mostly the ones to blame, but they do play a large role in their child’s diet and everyday activity. Turning off the T.V. just might give their child the little push out the door (the backyard door) that they need.
Nine million of our American children over the age of six are obese. Since the 1970s, the obesity rate for children between ages of two and five has more than doubled, and today, 16% of all children and teens in the U.S. are overweight. The message of help is just starting to appear, but how can commercials like the three Commission ones possibly compete against the larger market of commercials for products like McDonalds food, sugary cereals, and Nestle Tollhouse cookies?
“Today's youth are considered the most inactive generation in history caused in part by reductions in school physical education programs and unavailable or unsafe community recreational facilities,” the American Obesity Association states.
A child’s struggle against the dietary world is a great one. Many factors are working against them, like four different fast food restaurants at every intersection, and the one full row dedicated to junk food and candy at the local Albertsons. Often times the child experiences the neglect of an otherwise loving parent, who is preoccupied with work and hardly minds the size of the Big Mac she stuffs into her 6-year-old’s face. It happens and it’s understandable, but it needs to change. Childhood obesity can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and an altogether difficult lifestyle. Before the routine of appeasing a child’s cries for junk food becomes the routine of daily insulin shots, it should be remembered that when diet is involved, a child’s life is always at stake.