Reuters reported today that Americans are fatter this year than they were last year. While this does not seem surprising, it did make me wonder what additional factors could have influenced the increase in obese Americans. The article indicated that organizations such as the The Center for Science in the Public Interest (who sued McDonald's last year) and the American Academy of Pediatrics believe that marketing fast food and large portions to children to be a large part of the problem. That's too easy. It's so cliche, really, to just blame it on big business. The root of the childhood obesity epidemic in this country are much smaller targets- parents.
It is the responsibility of parents to monitor what their children are eating. The duty does not lie with the education system, Sunday school teachers, and least of all, McDonald's. It is the parent(s) who drive(s) the child to the fast food chain and allows him/her to consume the contents of a Happy Meal. And by the way, McDonald's isn't just giving those Happy Meals away- parents are paying for them! And paying well; in some places the cost of these meals has reached nearly $4.
Blaming McDonald's and the Happy Meal only touches part of the problem though. What about adult obesity? The Reuters article also indicates that two-thirds of American adults are obese (compared to one-third of American children). The Happy Meals and brilliant toy marketing can't be to blame for this too. Maybe adults are fat because they are lazy and inactive. Or perhaps is it because they have no self control and eat anything in front of them. It could be because they don't understand the principles of good nutrition and how to eat well. It's actually probably a combination of these things but perhaps it also has something to do with the cost of healthier foods.
It's a well-known fact that eating healthy and fresh (and especially organic) foods costs more (and sometimes a great deal more) than eating prepackaged or prepared foods. Perhaps the recession and housing market are also culprits of this epidemic. If families are having a difficult time paying for shelter then their grocery budget is probably also suffering. Clearly, this does not apply to the parents who feed over-sized kids meals with large price-tags to their children, but perhaps it is a piece of the equation.
Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust for America's Health, said that "If we're going to reverse the obesity trends, willpower alone won't do it. We're going to have to make healthier choices easier for Americans," (click here for article of origin). Levi seems to think that it is up to someone other than the individual to help solve this problem. This article does not elaborate on how he plans to make these choices easier, but until American's are faced with and realize the truth, that there weight is their choice and responsibility, there probably isn't going to be much change in the statistics of American obesity. Personal responsibility for life, health, activity, and food choices are the answer to this problem.
No comments:
Post a Comment