Childhood obesity!

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   sunflower1posted 14 years ago

   Whose job is it to monitor the diet of our children, the parent or the government?

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      NewYorkerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Parent. Government doesn't give a shit. Why would they? Not their kids..

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         sunflower1posted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Oh but they do! They dictate what can be offered in a cafeteria setting for your children.

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      rebekahELLEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      is this a serious question?

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         sunflower1posted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Yes! The government sets nutritional standards for products offered to your children in the school lunch programs.

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      shazwellynposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      blame it all on the parents!  Afterall they get blamed for everything else in UK society!! *sorry being sarcastic here!* x

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   blondepoetposted 14 years ago

   Parents of course.

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   Cagsilposted 14 years ago

   It's obvious, the problem is the parents. They are the ones feeding the child.

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      sunflower1posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      They are also the ones teaching the children food choices. Do you agree?

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         rebekahELLEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I do understand your statements, but being a parent and a teacher, I believe it is the parents responsibility to educate themselves on what their children should be fed. It's easy to blame government for everything, but the parents are responsible for their children, from eating to education.
         
         I would say the best idea would be to pack your own lunches.
         

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            sunflower1posted 14 years agoin reply to this

            That is my favorite response when someone complains. BROWN BAG IT! But this would take effort and commitment on the part of a parent. And so the school lunch program is the answer to the laziness.

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               Flightkeeperposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               I thought the school lunch program was implemented to help families who didn't have any money to bag lunch for school.

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                  TheGlassSpiderposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  I'd have to look more into this, but I was under the impression that the FREE lunch program was for those who couldn't afford it, and that the lunch program in general is there to provide lunch for all students (some of whom pay for the lunch with money from their families).
                  
                  ETA: well...any student who wants it, anyway. I.e. one with money instead of a bagged lunch...Maybe Mom was just running late this morning, you know?

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                  sunflower1posted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  I  am not talking about money . I am talking about nutritional choices we teach our children.

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   stuart747posted 14 years ago

   as a parent i know more often than not you go for the easy option of letting the children have whatever they want just to keep them quiet, however as a parent you are responsible for nearly every thing that your child becomes and must make sure they have a healthy diet and plenty of exercise

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      sunflower1posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Good for you stuart747 you are on track, but you can not monitor their choices outside of your home. So what is the other option?

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   torimariposted 14 years ago

   Parents primarily. I've been overweight since I was 4. Now, I am just chubby and it is slowly coming off and is MY responsibility but I can't say that I ever had healthy meals often.
   
   Now, if god forbid I have kids, I really would buckle down to make sure they have a healthy diet and understand how to eat well on their own. My childhood was a mess because I was morbidly obese up to highschool and I don't want them to go through that and more importantly, have medical issues.
   
   With all the crap us Americans have and the portions I don't really know what the government could do to influence our diets to be better in general.

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      sunflower1posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Why would you do for your children what you can not do for yourself?

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      shazwellynposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Well... there are so many external factors you have to consider... these are beyond your control.
      
      Peer pressure
      McDonalds
      Advertising
      lovely packaging encouraging kids to eat bad food
      cheap rubbish food..  for example, chocolate is cheaper than fruit (and tastier.. gives you a hit.. endorphine rush etc)
      
      What you mostly have to consider is that our genetic makeup makes us crave high sugar, salt and fat.  It is a survival gene .. it is the i want, i need, satisfy me instinct.  A very hard one to fight.
      
      Our environment holds lots of places that offer bad food.  When we are hungry we just grab the nearest tasty thing and bosh... more bad food taken in.
      
      Does that make sense?

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         TheGlassSpiderposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         It makes plenty of sense to me. In my opinion we're all responsible for the environment we've created. I have no children of my own, and yet I think I personally have a responsibility to be aware of and try to do something about childhood obesity (i.e., spreading awareness, voting for better school lunches, advocating for children who have no voice of their own in this country).
         
         It's not our government's job to watch what our children eat at home, but if they are the regulators of school diets, then they need to perform that part of their responsibility appropriately (that means making nutritional lunches and choice available at affordable prices for our children).
         
         Local governments can also reduce the number of zoning permits they allow for fast food. As hard as it is, we could all force grocery stores to sell better foods at more affordable prices. But it would take ALL of us.
         
         The responsibility rests with us all. Each individual determined to make the right choices to support one another, together.
         
         It takes a village...
         
         IMHO.

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   Jumpnessposted 14 years ago

   Parents for sure. More and more children are playing video games eating the quick food. They need to be out playing and exercising once in awhile. I've been in the bounce house business for awhile now and it is one of the best ways for a child to exercise. They only see it as fun, but they are exercising like no other. This is just one creative way that parents can help their children exercise.

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      shazwellynposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Look im not promoting my hub, but you should really read my hub blame it on the parents, scapegoats of society... you just might understand how we have all tied ourselves up in knots.
      
      http://hubpages.com/hub/Blame-It-On-The … UK-Society

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   Mishaposted 14 years ago

   As much as I despise any government, no government is capable of reversing the the healthy eating habits if parents do and always did eat healthy. There will be temporary deviations, though.

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   Eaglekiwiposted 14 years ago

   Its called demand and supply ,so if the main household shoppers quit buying the high sugar products then guess what ,the manufacturers quit producing it ie demand equal supply.
   
   Government too, have some accountability in the tariffs or taxes they levy which obviously manipulates profitabilty.
   
   ( Fast foods are cheaper than fresh products ) and $1 value meals are the perfect example of aggressive marketing.
   
   If say the apple board could afford to promote fruit along similar lines , affordable , fresh and easily accessed then maybe the choices would be more realistic and an attractive option.

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   shazwellynposted 14 years ago

   It is all too easy to blame everything on the parents. 
   
   The fact is that if fruit and veggies are dirt cheap, perhaps via government subsidise, not only will it help growers, but families will eat more of it.  It really is expensive, speaking in terms of the UK, to buy essentials like fruit and veg.  People are filling up on cheapo carbohydrates and fats... is it any wonder that people are getting fatter?

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