Who Deserves the Blame for Obese Children?
By hcromer
@hcromer (2710)
United States
March 22, 2007 10:10pm CST
I saw on CNN today that a woman in South Carolina has a 250 pound 7 year old son. She says that she is not over feeding him and that it isn't her fault, but even on the list of food that he had eaten that day she had 4 eggs, a slice of cheese, another item, and some diet Sprite for breakfast. Call me silly, but that sounds like too much food to me?
5 people like this
15 responses
@lacurandera (335)
• United States
23 Mar 07
First, it falls on the shoulders of the parent. They need to be teaching their children healthy eating habits. Kids probably don't need to eat four eggs in one meal. that sounds like too much to me. Maybe he needs some fruit. So they need to instill good eating habits and encourage regular exercise. Take your kid for a run! bike with him! whatever it takes.
Then, there is the responsibility of fast food low quality restaurant chains that market their greasy fat laden food to children. It's still the parents fault for taking the kids to these places, but then again, if they didn't exist, then the kids wouldn't be eating McMuffins for breakfast every day.
Of course, this kid might have a genetic issue that causes him to be obese. But diet and parental influence is the place to start.
@freak369 (5113)
• United States
23 Mar 07
The bigest problem I have with this type of thing is that it really hits home for me ... I was a very obese kid and I know what it is like to have people watch your every move and what you eat. That usually means that you end up locking yourself in the bathroom with a bag of candy or something that you aren't supposed to eat and downing the whole thing.
When people see these obese kids they assume that it is the parents fault and in the case of a seven year old, it probably is BUT that doesn't mean that you can't fault the entire family. Mine were always shoving food at me or telling me that I wasn't eating enough. It took years and a lot of hard work but I eventually broke away from that mentality and dumped all the weight.
A lot of this also has to do with their activity level. The television and video game system doesn't do much good for them if they are there for six to eight hours at a time. Some parents just shove fodo at their kids to appeaase them or keep them from complaining.
My bottom line here ... some people just aren't cut out to be parents. Sure, some of the kids do have true medical conditions that cause them to pack on weight but a majority of them are the result of slacker parents. Harsh yes, but sadly it is true.
2 people like this
@romel_ece (1290)
• Philippines
23 Mar 07
I think parents should be responsible of the obesity of their children.Parents must control the food and sweets eaten by their children in order to avoid obesity.
@coolseeds (3919)
• United States
23 Mar 07
It is definitely the parent who instills the eating habits. If someone has a fat kid it is because it doesn't get enough exercise.
That is a lot of food for breakfast for an adult let alone a child. Like I said earlier it is the parent's fault. They are responsible for what is purchased therefore they are responsible for what their child eats.
2 people like this
@bhu_bhuvaneshwari (164)
• India
24 Mar 07
Definately its the fault of the parents why the children are obese. they have to control their kids eating habits and if they are not able to do so they have to face the consequences. Hopefull all parents realise this and takes car of their children.
@aprilsong (1884)
• China
23 Mar 07
well, i think the mother is responsible for her fat son.you know a little kid has no ideal how much he should take,and sometimes he just takes what he want.for example,some kids don't like eat vegetables,if u don't correct them,they will never get used to vegetables.so parents should choose the right foods for their kids.if a kid had bad habits in eating, it is his or her parents' fault.
@GardenGerty (160978)
• United States
25 Mar 07
I have run across some hefty little kids in my various jobs. In addition to heredity, poor eating habits and a lack of exercise really pack on the weight. Four eggs at one meal is not healthy for anyone, it is not just the weight, but the damage to his heart and circulation that would have me concerned. It is a vicious cycle--heavy kids do not feel good being physically active, and being physically inactive contributes to heavy kids. The family needs to set the first example of healthy eating and moderate activity.
@14missy (3183)
• Australia
25 Mar 07
Ewww. Diet sprite for breakfast? What happened to cereal and toast or milk or juice? My three children all eat cereal or toast or both for breakfast and a sensible (with a few treats) diet in general. None of them are overweight. I think some parents have the need to overfeed their child because of some psychological problem they have, not the child. It is definately mostly the adults fault when a child of that age is overweight and it is not a medical disorder.
@bkittybaby (87)
• United States
25 Mar 07
At the age of 7 it is definitely the parents' fault. A child that young has learned how and what to eat from their parents. The adult should be responsible for making sure that the child has some idea of portion control but also nutritional value. Why is a 7 yr old having Sprite for breakfast?
My neice never had anything but milk and water to drink before she was 2. If you don't give them junk, they won't think they need it. She was perfectly happy to drink milk or water and she loved it. She is now turning 4, and still frequently asks for milk or water rather than juice or lemonade.
In order for a child to get to the weight mentioned, it must have taken some time. Kids don't get that unhealthy in just a year. This child has probably been eating bad foods and too much of them for quite some time. Once you stretch your stomach out, it is easy to keep stretching it even farther. Then the child feels like they need that much food. The parents need to limit the amount of food that they feed him and make sure it is nutritious to keep him healthy.
Most important is exercise. What is the boy doing all day? Does he sit around and watch TV and play video games? Does he ever go out and play at all? A healthy 7 yr old spends a lot of time outside running around with friends.
What about sports. Get the kid involved in a little league, or after school rec tem. Some type of regular exercise needs to be included in our kids routines. We are tending to let our children come home from scholl and just veg. That is why we are getting fatter as a country.
Finally, after doing all of the above mentioned things, if the child is still not loosing any weight, then go seek a specialist in childhood obesity. there could be an underlying medical issue.
@michelledarcy (5220)
•
24 Mar 07
I think parents need educating in what foods children should be eating. They seem to give in to what they want all the time instead of trying to give them a healthy diet. I tink they need to see what this diet at a young age will do to them when they get older.
My kids do eat a lot of breakfast so that doesn't seem like to much for a 7 year old but it depends what else he has.
My 5 year old has a bowl of porridge with a banana and a piece of toast for breakfast and a glass of apple juice.
She has fruit for a snack then lunch is a sandwich with salad, a fruit bar and some nuts, some more fruit after school then dinner is vegetables usually with pasta, rice or potatoes. Then she has supper as well usually of some cereal. I think she eats a lot, but she is skinny and has been underweight for her age. But she is very active so this is something parents have to be aware of too.
1 person likes this
@ma_belle (1357)
• United States
29 Mar 07
I 90% of the time blame the child of the parent for obesity issues. The parent is the one that feeds the child a majority of the time. It is the parent who decides what to feed and what portion amount to feed the child. I feel that parents are either too weak to stand up to children's desires for bad food (ie mcdonalds); aren't educated about food choices or portion sizes; and/or don't care enough about food choices and examples that they make or set for their kids; nor want to show how to live a healthy lifestyle through healthy food and exercise.
It is true that some kids are predisposed to obesity due to genetic factors, but a huge majority aren't, showing that childhood obesity is a problem caused by lifestyle choices of parents.
@gbaben (509)
• Russian Federation
23 Mar 07
I will say without doubt that the mother of the boy has to be held responsible.Assuming she thought that what she had been giving the boy is not too much,the state should subject her to such diet for like 3 month,and let the world know maybe what they are giving the boy as food is good or not.
1 person likes this
@princcharles (43)
• India
23 Mar 07
see dear, we cannot blame that mother for giving her son that much food because if the son cries for food obviously not only she every mothere will give more , that time she wont think that her son is so fat , what she want is here son to get satisfied. and she will do that what ever you say. and now that bulkiness is might be due to some hormoanal change , ya the amount of fodd that kid was eating was too much for 7 year old kid , but i yhink u havint been in suchh a kind of situation , u also will end up doing that , but my advise to the mom to that kid is to better put a holt to that
1 person likes this
@tinasujith (5)
• India
30 Mar 07
Obesity is due to many reasons like heriditary,over eating,sedentary life,due to harmone imbalance etc.
4 eggs a day for a 7 yr old kid is too much.I accept with u.One egg a day for adults and 2 eggs a day for children would be sufficient.
@abednego7 (1060)
• Philippines
24 Mar 07
The kid is only 7 years old thus what he knows about food is just about how it would satisfy his hunger and appetite. So for me the bigger responsibility must lie on the his mother.
She should explain to her son that food is not just for stomach that it should have vitamins and minerals for his whole body. That he needs exercise to burn his fats and consume what he eats.
She should apply some strict rules in order to control her son appetite and save his health in the long run.