Obesity is our fault

Okay – this is how I see it. Ronald McDonald is getting all the scapegoat crap slung at him because we-the-parents are blaming him for shoving fat inducing, high cholesterol producing, and Type II diabetes potential food down our kid’s throats?

I mean, c’mon. Where are the parents in all this? You’re going to tell me that parents, all of a sudden, just learned how to read labels on food products? Even if the labels lie (which they sometimes do) parents are bottom line responsible for the health of their kids. This means asking for the monthly lunch menu at school; monitoring the sugar intake of your kid, providing healthy fruits and snacks, and “making” them go out and play instead of letting them stay on the computer for hours. It also means providing home cooked meals (maybe even making them in advance) for “latch key” kids (those who come home everyday to an empty house because both parents are working.)

Parents have become lazy by sending kids off to school with money to buy whatever type of lunch they want. Be it McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, or whatever, parents when do you suppose they became fat? On your watch, that’s when. Most fast food is unhealthy food. It contains a large amount of calories, as do instant food which contains lots of additives and preservatives which are bad for our health. All these have contributed to obesity.

I know it’s a hard and exhausting job, especially for mothers who work outside the home. But as a parent it was your choice to bring that kid into this world – not the other way around. I admit I bite my tongue every-single-time an obese person tries to squeeeeeeze into a seat next to me on the bus meant only for a healthy normal size person. I feel terrible that at those times I exhibit pangs of prejudice.  What is more terrible is that I am not alone in feeling this way.

Most people feel obesity is the person’s fault; evidence supporting the view that some obese people eat little yet gain weight due to a slow metabolism is limited. According to the American Medical Association “...on average obese people have greater energy expenditure than their thin counterparts due to the energy required to maintain an increased body mass.” Obesity increases the likelihood of various diseases, particularly heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breathing difficulties during sleep, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. Only a few cases are caused primarily by genes, endocrine disorders, medications or psychiatric illness.

Although obesity was widely perceived as a symbol of wealth and fertility at another time in history, it is stigmatized in today’s world. Why? Because obesity is one of the leading preventable causes of death worldwide.

Put McDonald’s, et al on the back burner for a couple of months. Note if you and your child become healthier, have more energy and retain more information. Help me out here - I deserve a break today.

Peace.

JoAnn