Childhood Obesity

American Childhood Obesity: Are Parents To Blame?

             Childhood obesity is at such an all time high that it is becoming an epidemic. According to Rosemond (2011), one in five children ages 6-19 are obese which is a huge increase from 1 in 20 in 1980.  Additionally, children that are overweight or obese can have several health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, bone and joint issues (Rosemond, 2011). Most importantly, to any child, is the public humiliation he or she receives from classmates and the general public thus causing students to avoid school and get bad grades. There are many opinions as to why children growing up in America in the 21st century are so overweight. Some say it is the lack of parental supervision over their children's overall well-being and sedentary lifestyle at home with endless hours of watching TV and playing video games (Rosemond, 2011). Some claim it is only affecting low-income families that don't have the access to healthy fresh food other Americans have. (Anonymous, 2011) Others want to point the blame at the education system, saying children are not required to participate in school physical education classes, or the classes have been cut due to budget restraints (McWinney, 2011). Additionally, school lunches are poor in nutrition, and thousands of schools have vending machines filled with high sugar soft drinks and snacks.  Some blame the bombardment of TV ads selling high sugar content cereals, soda and snacks (Holmquist, 2008). Yet other groups say children are overweight because they can't play outside like their parents did due to fear of abduction and unsafe sidewalks and parks (McWinney, 2011). “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stated, “The causes of childhood obesity are multi-factorial”. " No they are not. The reason so many of our children are obese is they consume too much bad stuff and move too little.” (Rosemond, 2011. Para 4). So, whom do you believe?...