5/1/2014

WHY AM I FAT MOMMY?

Why are so many of our children FAT? | William Duke

Table of Contents
Who decides what our children eat? ............................................................................................................ 2 Our Parents ................................................................................................................................................... 2 The Schools ................................................................................................................................................... 4 The Government ........................................................................................................................................... 4 Works Cited ................................................................................................................................................... 6

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Who decides what our children eat?

Who decides what our children eat? That is a good place to start, with regards to childhood obesity. Is it our schools, is it the Government, our neighbors, people who do not have children, or is it the parents decision? Most people would say it is the parents decision; but if the parents are not educated, or dont even care what their kids eat. What about those kids who decides for them? Do our schools need to be a-part of the decision making process? If our schools are part of the decision process, that who tells the schools what to do? The government. The answer to the first question; is everyone.

Our Parents
Everyone should be taking part in our childrens diet. Starting with the parents. Parents often fail to recognize obesity in their own children and parents also tend to minimize the risk that obesity poses to their childs future health outcomes. Latina and Black mothers commonly equate excessive weight with good health. The prevalence of overweight in children was below 10 % in 1971, but by 2008, had increased to more than 30 %, with the prevalence of obesity in children above 15 %. (Maria Ness) High levels of sedentary behaviors, such as watching television or playing video games, also contribute to childhood overweight .The family environment has a strong effect on a childs risk of overweight and obesity. For example, having an overweight or obese parent is a strong predictor of child overweight or obesity, regardless of SES (Social economical statue). When two people decide to conceive a child, they are taking on a grand responsibilitynot just to
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feed, cloth, and put a roof over their head, but also to be concerned about their overall health and wellbeing. One of the problems is that not all parents care about their childrens overall health and wellbeing. In the Pennsylvanians Court of Common Pleas, placed continued legal and physical custody of a morbidly obese sixteen year old with the countys Children and Youth Services, above both his and his mothers objections. Standing five feet and three inches tall, and weighed approximately four hundred pounds. His medical complications attributable to obesity included an enlarged liver, a precursor to cirrhosis of the liver; hypertension; respiratory problems to the extent that he required oxygen at night; sleep apnea; and knee pain. (MITGANG) Similar cases in New York, Texas, and Iowa had the same outcomethe removal of the obese child from the home. We are finally holding parents accountable for their actions. Parents are also obligated to provide financially for their children, but Children of low SES are 1.6 times more likely to be obese than high-SES children4 and have steeper rates of increase in obesity One in 5 US children (16.4 million) now live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level. (Hedwig Lee) Is it the parents fault that they live below the poverty line? In some circumstances no. So what about those families; families where a parent was laid-off from work because of cut-backs? The schools can be there to provide adequate nutrition.

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The Schools
A child may spend half their day at school, eating two of the three meals of a day. Presumably, schools have a duty to maintain a safe and healthy environment for their students. Schools have a responsibility to schoolchildren because children, while at school, are a captive audience, and in most jurisdictions students are not permitted to leave the premises during lunch period. Moreover, schools have a duty to act as a reasonable parent in making decisions that affect the health and wellbeing of their students. Schools may well breach that duty by serving, and thereby implicitly endorsing, unhealthy fast food, beverages and snacks in order to generate a profit. (Bartlett) Some parents feel that it is the schools responsibility for educating, and feeding their children. For some children, the schools breakfast, and lunch is the only food they see in a day. If the schools are not providing nutritional meals, than those kids will not be receiving adequate amounts of their nutritional needs. What about WIC and Food stamps, arent parents that are below the poverty line receiving those benefits?

The Government
The South-central regions of the US have the highest of 18% and the Mountain region has the lowest of 11.4%. Children in West Virginia, Kentucky, Texas, Tennessee, and North Carolina have a percentage of 18.3%, and had over twice the odds of being obese than their Utah counterparts who had a percentage of 10.4%. Individual characteristics such as race/ethnicity, household socioeconomic status, television viewing, recreational computer use,
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and physical activity accounted for 55% of the state and 25% of the regional disparities in obesity. Area poverty rates accounted for an additional 18% of the states obesity percentage. The other states showing at least 75% higher odds of obesity than Utah include Indiana, South Carolina, Oregon, DC, Missouri, and Illinois. Children in Wyoming, on the other hand, had 32% lower odds of being obese than their Utah counterparts. (Dyck) As you can see in newly developed communities, there are parks with soccer fields, tennis courts, jungle gyms, and running paths. State policy measures have include health promotion campaigns that provide increased opportunities for physical activity by improving the existing, or adding trail/path system, sidewalks, and creating bike trails, playgrounds and recreational facilities. (Dyck) What about food Stamps? The Government provides assistant to those families that are below the poverty line with supplemental income for the sole purchase of food. So why are families that are using food Stamps not getting the proper diet? SNAP(Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) participants are below national recommendations for whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fish, and potassium, while exceeding recommended limits for processed meat, sugar-sweetened beverages, saturated fat, and sodium. Zero percent of lowincome children met at least 7 of 10 dietary recommendations. (Wilde PE) No matter what schools do or what the Government does for the nutritional benefit for families, it comes down to the parents to provide a nutritious diet.

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Works Cited
Bartlett, Caroline Fabend. "You Are What You Serve: Are School Districts." (n.d.). Dyck, Gopal K. Singh Michael D. Kogan Peter C. van. "A Multilevel Analysis of State and Regional Disparities." (n.d.). Hedwig Lee, PhD, Megan Andrew, PhD, Achamyeleh Gebremariam, MS, Julie C. Lumeng, MD, and Joyce M. Lee, MD, MPH. "Longitudinal Associations Between Poverty and Obesity." (n.d.). Maria Ness, Danielle T. Barradas. "Correlates of Overweight and Obesity Among American Indian/." (n.d.). MITGANG, MELISSA. "Childhood Obesity and State." (n.d.). Wilde PE, McNamara PE, Ranney CK. "The effect on dietary quality of participation in the Food Stamp and WIC programs. Washington, DC: Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture." (2000).

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