We've all heard the hype about children eating too much unhealthy food, and we've all heard about how we need to exercise more. Are these claims based on anything? Is obesity something that we really need to worry about?
And if it is, as the presidential debates continue unfold and candidates discuss obesity and what they think they can do to fix this problem, can government really do anything to correct the lifestyle choices of its people? Can they really teach parents how to raise and feed their kids healthily, and can politicians on Capitol Hill convince kids like you and me that an apple or broccoli is better than skittles or hoho's? If policymakers do think they can curb the problems by influencing our lifestyles in such a drastic way as what we eat, does the government have too much power over it's citizens?
Personally, I think that the only thing government can do is offer healthy options. The people are too strong willed and too set in their ways to easily change to healthier lifestlyes. In the end, it will be up to the individual.
If you have any comments or thoughts on obesity at all, or even a response to my post, feel free to hit the comments link below and tell us what you think.
Monday, June 18, 2007
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6 comments:
That is a very valid point, Devin. I agree that this "epidemic" will only be changed by the individual. Furthermore, I believe that it is a cultural issue. In today's society, everything is done as efficiently as possible. This means that we would rather drive three minutes than walk ten. In addition, it has become the norm to hit the drive-through and eat a burger on the way. We need to promote the idea of just getting together with some friends to go shoot hoops at the park. People need to remember that physical activity is crucial to their health. Maybe that means that we need more support from our cities to provide and maintain parks for the convenience of our residents, especially our youth. It seems to me that our culture is just getting too busy to make time to get out and exercise.
I think this is a very important topic to be discussed, so thanks Devin for bringing it up! Have any of you seen Supersize Me? I love that movie because of the incredible message it has. And really its more than just a message, its fact!
On a federal level I believe that it shouldn't really be the government's responsibility. However it has become an epidemic. In the movie, he makes the point that it has become okay to hackle people about smoking because it is common knowledge that it is horribly unhealthy. He wonders, when will it be socially acceptable to yell at an overweight person to stop eating those fries?
If there was some horrible disease going around killing our population, we would expect the government to stop it. The difference here is that it is self-inflicted. But does that make it any less harmful? And does that take the responsibility off the government's hands?
On the other hand, do we want the government super involved in our eating habits? No, of course not. Which is why we need to stop it ourselves before they have no choice because it is so ridiculous.
On a youth level, I have to talk about school lunches. This drives me absolutely crazy. In the movie, he visits a normal school where they've banned soda and expect kids to make healthy choices without inhibiting them from what they really want. These companies are so ridiculous, and the schools are too for allowing this--they are just addicting kids young to junk so that when they grow up and spend their own money they buy junk! Okay, but back to the movie. He interviews the lunch ladies and finds out several things:
1. only 6 meals out of a month are actually made from scratch
2. they assume that the kid buying just fries brought a healthy lunch
3. the lemonade has more sugar in it than a coke! (solution-diet soda!)
4. this system sucks
Then he goes to an alternative school that has found a different lunch program where the cooks actually cook and the food is colorful. And guess what? the kids do better in school and are happier in general. Here's the kicker--its costs about the same...
Childhood obesity is a problem in our community, so our council decided to try to do something about it. We had an all night lock in at our city's fitness center that focused on all aspects of being fit. We learned many things that night, including the fact that kids do know the difference between broccoli and skittles and would really rather have the skittles. We wanted to teach the kids that healthy meals were yummy and easy to make, but because there were too many kids, we ended up just giving them the food. Several then came back to the kitchen asking for more food. Lesson two: kids get hungry when they've been doing all sorts of sports for four hours. Lesson three: kids are just so patient with learning all these sports that they can play any day with their friends and get fit... eventually, they are ALL going to demand to go swimming.
If cities had the choice of either providing more recreational options for fitness or providing healthier food options through restaurant variety, which should the city choose? Which side of the issue, fitness or nutrition, should we tackle first or is more important?
I think cities should tackle healthy eating choices first. I think the food side of the issue has gotten way out of control. With all the television ads for junk food, on-the-go life styles and general lazyness that encourage fast food, and parents struggling to make good eating choices for themselves (therefore unable to teach their kids healthy eating) its (dare I say it) an epidemic. The way I see it, kids are naturally active. Its not until you give them free reign of electronics that they CHOOSE to spend their days on the couch. However, kids don't naturally choose healthy foods. Kids would rather have ice cream than grilled chicken and green beans. And this is not new, its true for nearly every generation.
Now, I'm talking a lot about kids, but there is also a problem with adults. If all adults ate healthy we probably wouldn't have such a problem with childhood obesity. However when you start talking about adults, Devin's question gets harder, because adults aren't naturally active. I still say heathly eating choices is more important because simply by changing your diet, you can lose weight and feel better in general. I know exercise can do the same, but the benefits from exercise have a hard time outweighing (no pun intended) with the downfalls of unhealthy food intake.
Did anyone see Shaq's reality show on kids being overweight? I haven't but heard about and wanted to know whether you thought it was good
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