Caring parents fuel childhood obesity epidemic

Most people will agree, there is some poor parenting going on these days. And as much as they deserve a slap around the head (that same slap that they’ve failed to give their children when throwing tantrums) for the obvious reasons of poor, lazy and ill-informed decisions causing obesity in children, a study has shown that it’s also the parents who are trying to do the right thing that helped the percentage of obese children jump from 5-30% within 10 years.

The Study showed:

• 70% of the children drank between two and five sweetened beverages a day
• 85% watched between two and five hours of television a day
• 42% ate two or more fast-food meals per week.

But these numbers, all hallmarks of childhood obesity, can be the unintended consequences of rational decisions.

• Children who are told by parents to avoid water foun­tains because of germs may instead drink sweetened juices.

• Fear of potential danger can prompt parents to restrict children’s play space to a backyard or inside the house.

• Parents trade sport or outdoor activity for homework and aca­demics as they try to raise test scores.

Eating fast food on the way to soccer may seem like a trade-off health wise. But, Terwilliger points out: One of the reasons fast food fits into a hectic schedule is that pro­cessed food, with its high fat content, literally slips down easily. And the quicker and easier it is to eat, the more you may consume.

There is a lot of data that say today’s kids won’t live as long as their parents, Terwilliger says.

“I now have 13-year-olds with type 2 diabetes.” Heart attack is the number one cause of death and stroke the number three cause, and diabetes and hypertension, both caused by obesity, con­tribute to both, she adds.

Right now we are all reaching into our pockets for the ageing population and their needs, soon we’ll be taxed even more to keep the younger ones healthy too. 

Have the next generation really got a chance if something drastic doesn’t occur soon or will we all be paying more later for the good and bad parenting currently?

What are your thoughts?