“Childhood obesity is best tackled at home through improved parental involvement, increased physical exercise, better diet and restraint from eating” ~ Bob Filner
The advent of the new century has bought many social problems along with itself; this is mainly due to the changes that came in the traditional way of living. Every social group and age cohort has been affected by the negativity of the changes. The children have also suffered from the adverse effects that have been instilled into our society. Obesity has become a common problem in children of American and European countries. Many researchers, social workers, parents, teachers, and physicians feel that it has become an epidemic that causes problems even in the later stages of life.
Until a few years ago, a “fat child” was considered to be “healthy,” since he was said to have the ability to fight off various diseases and have a strong immune system. This perception, however, has changed in the past few years as obesity was founded to be the cause of many health-related problems (Ebbeling, Pawlak, and Ludwig, p. 473, 2002).
Childhood obesity has been a problem in America for a few decades now, during the 20th-century measures were taken to prevent this epidemic. However, the beginning of this century increases the problem to a much higher rate than ever before (Krisberg, p. 1, 2004). Every “economic and ethnic” group is affected by the problem of childhood obesity, therefore a “single factor or sector” cannot be held responsible for this problem (Krisberg, p. 10, 2004).
The causes of childhood obesity are numerous and expand over a wide range of social elements. The medical cause is the mutation in the genes of a child before he is born; this mutation takes place in the “gene encoding leptin.” Another medical cause is the “tandem repeat region of the insulin gene,” however the causes of these mutations are still unknown to scientists (Ebbeling, Pawlak, and Ludwig, p. 474-475, 2002). The medical and genetic causes are not said to be the main cause of obesity, a very small number of children (throughout the world) have been known to suffer obesity because of mutations and gene make-up.
As mentioned earlier, the changes in the traditional way of living have contributed greatly to this problem. The traditional role of parenting was considered to be a home-maker, provider, caretaker, and role model. This has evolved to a new untraditional role in which parents are considered to be the provider of financial means. Today, every household has two people earning for the family; this is due to the requirement of the family to maintain their social status and do away with their money worries. However, this factor has lead to an increase in the un-traditional way of eating. Since parents, especially mothers, are working the traditional home-cooked meal is considered a luxury.
Most parents rely on ready-to-cook meals from fast-food restaurants. Americans and Europeans are always looking for the easy way out, therefore, the industries of ready-to-cook meals and fast foods are thriving. This concept is sometimes referred to as McDonaldization, where the parents or children order in food or survive on ready-to-cook meals. The usage of this type of food is said to deposit layers of fat as it contains much more calories and other unwanted ingredients.
Another factor is “eating out,” where families eat in restaurants instead of surviving on home-cooked meals. This factor affects obesity even in the households where single parents are earning. Restaurants are said to prepare “larger portions of energy-dense food,” which is why children “consume” higher percentages of fat from these meals. These factors combined with “television viewing” increase the possibility of eating an unhealthy diet. Eating and watching television at the same time has led to a stop in “family dinner” time; children now eat their meals in front of the television screen. Due to this, children become prone to consuming things that contain more fat and unwanted substances (Ebbeling, Pawlak, and Ludwig, p. 476, 2002).
The advent of computers and their presence in every household have led to a new form of entertainment, computer gaming, or simple web browsing. Television viewing is sometimes replaced by the usage of computers and the internet, thus this technological advancement also opens the door for unhealthy eating habits which ultimately leads to obesity. The presence of television and computers at home is called “pleasurable sedentary activities” that can cause health-related problems (Laing, p. 15, 2002).
The absence of physical activity in daily routine is yet another factor that has led to obesity in children in American and European countries. This factor has continued to increase because of television viewing and the availability of computers at home. It is known that obese children spent less time in physical activities than their “non-obese counterparts.” Television viewing does not only decreases physical activity but also leads to an increase in the unhealthy style of eating. Also, the companies have started advertising to children about food products which leads to the adaptation of unhealthy eating habits.
Advertising to children is not ethically allowed but the companies have started targeting the age cohort in an indirect manner (Ebbeling, Pawlak, and Ludwig, p. 475, 2002). The availability of entertainment inside a home has decreased the number of outdoor activities performed by children. Since parents are not available 24/7, the children continue to enjoy the untraditional means of entertainment while increasing the levels of unhealthy substances in their bodies. Also, the non-exercising attitude leads to the storage of the fat instead of burning it right after its consumption.
According to Ruskin and Schor, the government of the nation of the United States is not concerned with the problem of childhood obesity. Senators of various states blame the lack of physical activity rather than the unhealthy food products that are being marketed to the children. The manufacturers of the food and beverage products also fail to realize their social responsibility and blame “lack of exercise” rather than focusing on the real problem, or “junk food” industry.
The manufacturers of unhealthy products should start assuming their responsibility by eliminating the unhealthy contents from their products or at least by marketing responsibly to the children. These manufacturers continuously argue that none of the contents can be labeled as “good” or “bad” instead the only thing that can put a stop to the obesity problem is “balance” (Ruskin and Schor, p. 17, 2005). The other problem related to the unhealthy eating patterns and junk food eating is of the foods available in the schools for children. School cafeterias are supposed to provide children with nutritional food that obliges with the standards of the school board or any other governing committee.
The availability of “competitive food” in the vending machines and nearby shops opens doors to the availability of the same unhealthy and junk food that causes obesity in children (Krisberg, p. 10, 2004). Another common cause of obesity in children is the lack of information regarding the healthy eating styles and the nutritional values of food groups (Laing, p. 15, 2002).
Childhood obesity is said to cause problems in the short-term as well as long-term, especially during the adult years of one’s life. A child with an obesity problem does not only suffer medical complications but also social problems due to the unacceptable image of a ‘fat child’ by other ‘normal children.’ The obese child can face diabetes and adverse effects on the cardiovascular system during the adult age. According to research, an obese child can face problems like “persistence of obesity,” early age death, “impaired social and educational prospects” even in the adult stages of his life (Reilly, p. 92, 2007).
As recommended by Feeg (p. 362, 2004), every player in society is responsible for the problem of obesity in children. The government should assume the role of the leader and make “prevention of obesity” a “national public health priority.” The manufacturers in the food and beverage industry should act as a socially responsible company and promote a healthy way of eating among the youth of the nation. It can be easily done by displaying “media messages” about the importance of healthy eating. Thirdly, the social workers can form committees to check various stores, schools, and restaurants to ensure that the food provided to the children contains healthy content.
The schools and colleges can also get involved and eliminate the presence of unhealthy food in their buildings. Lastly, the parents need to start assuming the traditional role again and encourage physical activities among their children. Parents can also take away television and computer privileges to aid their children in adopting a healthy lifestyle. It is not the responsibility of one group to work towards the elimination of this problem, instead, everybody needs to put joint efforts to promote a healthy lifestyle. After all, healthy children mean a healthy and better future for the world.
References
Ebbeling, Cara B., Pawlak, Dorota B., and Ludwig, David S.”Childhood obesity: public-health crisis, common sense cure.” The Lancet, Vol. 360 (2002): pp. 473 – 482.
Feeg, Veronica D.”Combating Childhood Obesity: A Collective Effort.” Pediatric Nursing, Vol. 30, No. 5 (2004): pp. 361 – 362.
Krisberg, Kim. “Institute of Medicine plan takes on childhood obesity.” The Nation’s Health, (2004): pp. 1 & 10.
Laing, Peter.”Childhood obesity: a public health threat.” Pediatric Nursing, Vol. 14, No. 10 (2002): pp. 14 – 16.
Reilly, John J.”Childhood Obesity: An Overview.” Children and Society, Vol. 21 (2007): pp. 390 – 396.
Ruskin, Gary., and Schor, Juliet. “Junk Food Nation: Who’s to blame for childhood obesity.” The Nation (2004): pp. 15 – 17.