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Number of Words: 212

Overweight children in America seem to be growing at a phenomenal rate. It seems that every time I go somewhere there is an overweight child, including children in my family. So the question is ‘Who’s to blame?’, the restaurants we eat at, the children themselves, or the parents? In my mind it’s all three, but mostly the parents. Although sometimes there are genetics that come in to the equation, more times than not it’s the lack of activeness, unhealthy eating, over-eating, and the lifestyle their parents have provided for them.

In the parents defense this world has become so fast paced that most don’t have time to go home and cook a healthy, nutritious, meal. It is much easier to go by a fast-food restaurant, get in, get out, and go about your day. Some families, including some in my family, eat fast-food 4 or 5 times a week. Even though fast-food restaurants have had to change their menus, because of this growing problem, to have yogurt, apples, or salads offered as sides, it’s still unhealthy as ever. This is what we put into our children’s bodies.

Children these days are so sedentary. Instead of playing outside and being active, you find many sitting on the couch playing video games and watching T.V.

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Number of Words: 422

As I’m flipping through channels, I come across a show that’s talking about obese kids. A 4 year old that weighs 100 pounds. Her mother says there’s nothing wrong with her. I thought to myself, ‘How could somebody be so ignorant?’ Her daughter is dying right in front of her eyes, and there is nothing wrong with her!?

Overweight children in America seem to be growing at a phenomenal rate. It seems that every time I go somewhere there is an overweight child, including children in my family. So the question is, ‘Who’s to blame?’ our restaurants, the children themselves, or the parents? In a way it’s all three, but mostly the parents. Although sometimes there are genetics that come in to the equation, more times than not it’s the lack of activeness, unhealthy eating, and the lifestyle their parents provide.

In the parents defense this world has become so fast-paced that most don’t have time to go home and cook a healthy meal. It’s much easier to go by a fast-food restaurant, get in, get out, and go about your day, sometimes up to 4-5 times a week. Now let’s think about this, were giving our children a meal where practically everything is dipped in grease. Although these restaurants have had to change some menu items to be more ‘healthier’, because of this growing problem, it’s still unhealthy as ever.

As an overweight kid, looking back on pictures, I asked ‘Why did you let me eat so much?’, my dad replied ‘Because you were hungry’. Afterwards I thought how I could have been so short- sighted; I was old enough to know better to not eat all of those extra servings. In this case, when I child is old enough to know better, it starts becoming their responsibility to know when they’re full and to stop.

But, I think a lot of parents have the same mentality as my father, ‘I don’t want to starve him, if he’s hungry I’ll feed him’. I believe that you shouldn’t let your child go hungry: But when your child becomes overweight you should take a step back and ask yourself if they need everything that’s going into their body.

How many children have you seen playing outside lately? I don’t see very many because our society has become so sedentary. Instead of playing outside and active, kids are usually found watching T.V. or playing video games. I think if we could get kids to have a little more activity in their routine and eat better, this growing rate of obesity would drastically fall.

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Number of Words: 430

As I’m flipping through channels, I come across a show that’s talking about obese kids. A 4 year old that weighs 100 pounds. Her mother says there’s nothing wrong with her. I thought, ‘How could somebody be so ignorant?’ Her daughter is dying right in front of her eyes, and there is nothing wrong with her!?

Overweight children in America seem to be growing at a phenomenal rate. It seems that every time I go somewhere there is an overweight child, including children in my family. So the question is, ‘Who’s to blame?’ our restaurants, the children themselves, or the parents? In a way it’s all three, but in my opinion it’s the parents. Although sometimes there are genetics that come in to the equation, more times than not it’s the lack of activeness, unhealthy eating, and the lifestyle their parents provide.

In the parents defense this world has become so fast-paced that most don’t have time to go home and cook a healthy meal. It’s much easier to go by a fast-food restaurant, get in, get out, and go about your day, sometimes up to 4-5 times a week. Now let’s think about this, we’re giving our children a meal where practically everything is dipped in grease. Although these restaurants have had to change some menu items to become more ‘healthy’, because of this growing problem, it’s still unhealthy as ever.

As an overweight kid, looking back on pictures, I asked ‘Why did you let me eat so much?’. My dad replied ‘Because you were hungry’. Afterwards I thought how I could have been so short- sighted; I was old enough to know better than to eat all of those extra servings. In this case, when a child is old enough to know better, it starts becoming their responsibility to know when they’re full and to stop.

But, I think a lot of parents have the same mentality as my father, ‘I don’t want to starve him, if he’s hungry I’ll feed him’. I agree that you shouldn’t let your child go hungry; But when your child becomes overweight you should take a step back and ask yourself if they need everything that’s going into their body.

How many children have you seen playing outside lately? I haven’t seen very many because our society has become so sedentary. Instead of playing outside and being active, kids are usually found watching T.V. or playing video games. I think if we could get kids to have a little more activity in their routine and eat better, this growing rate of obesity would drastically fall.

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February 5, 2008

Number of Words: 411

The occurence of obesity among children in america seems to be growing at a phenomenal rate. It seems that every time I go somewhere there is an overweight child, including children in my family. So the question is, ‘Who is to blame?’ our restaurants, the children themselves, or the parents? There is blame with all three, but in my opinion the parents should be held accountable. Although sometimes genetics enter into the equation, more times than not inactive lifestyles, unhealthy food, and the lifestyle choices parents provide are the reasons for obesity in our children.

In the parents defense; society has become so fast-paced that most do not take time to go home and cook a healthy meal. It is much easier to go by a fast-food restaurant, get in, get out, and go about your day, often up to 4-5 times a week. Now let’s think about this, parents are giving children a meal where practically everything is prepared in grease. Although many restaurants have added some healthy menu items, the majority is still food high in calorie and fat content. This only escalates our unhealthy, fast growing problem of childhood obesity.

As an overweight kid, looking back on pictures, I asked “Why did you let me eat so much?” My dad replied “Because you were hungry”. Afterwards I thought how could I have been so short- sighted? I was eventually old enough to know better than to eat all of those extra servings. In such cases, when a child is old enough to know better, it starts becoming their responsibility to know when they are full and to stop. A childhood of these bad habits leaves a cycle that is difficult to break.

I feel many parents have the same mentality as my father, “I do not want to starve him, and if he is hungry I will feed him”. There is a big difference between hunger, starvation, and overeating. But, when a child starts showing signs of obesity, a family’s lifestyle choices should be analyzed in an attempt to identify the problem and implement change.