Childhood Obesity is a Form of Child Abuse

By Tommy Shook

Frederic J. Frommer Reports in the March 19 edition of The Washington Post that NFL football players were in Washington to lobby Congress to pass the FIT Kids Act. This legislation would require school districts to report on kids' physical activity levels and to provide health and nutritional education. This is being done to curb the rising childhood obesity epidemic. Approximately 15% of children in the U.S. are now classified as either overweight or obese. This figure has DOUBLED since the mid 1970's. Everywhere we are looking for someone to blame for this problem: the fast-food industry, video games, school budget crunches, etc. Children are extremely vulnerable to the effects of neglect, apathy, and poor decision making on the part of adults in our society, so all of these factors do contribute but the problem lies even deeper.

The real culprit in all of this is ourselves. We, as a society, have allowed this to happen. We are all to blame for the problem and unless we’re part of the solution…well, you know the rest of the cliché. We have created a society that favors sedentism over activity and that same ethos is impacting our kids. We have decided that children aren’t productive and valued members of society so we legislate money out of the budgets of school districts, causing administrators to make choices about where to spend their shrinking allocations. Guess what, that usually means that so-called non-essential courses are cut out. These include art, music, theatre and naturally physical education. In the same desperate attempt to stretch their budgets further, schools allow companies to place vending machines in their cafeterias and offer alternative a-la-cart items that generate more revenue for the schools. The snack machine suppliers are all too happy to oblige as it leads to increased profits. When was the last time anyone saw fruit in a vending machine? We tear down playgrounds to put up parking garages or we let them fall into such a state of disrepair that they become dangerous for kids to even play on. At home, parents allow their kids to watch television, play video games and surf the Internet for hours at a time. During those hours of television, advertising for junk food constantly bombards children. These same parents don’t require that their children get regular activity and they allow snacking and unhealthy foods for their children, usually setting the example themselves by exhibiting the same unhealthy habits. The parents, in many cases, believe that the responsibility of educating their children rests with the state. It doesn’t. It is the responsibility of parents to take an active interest in seeing to it that their children are properly educated and that education must include health and physical education.

We, as parents and citizens need to get involved. Turn off the T.V. and get your kids moving. Engage them in fun activities that promote exercise and play. Teach them the importance of healthy eating and prepare healthy meals for them. Limit their intake of junk foods. Get involved with the PTA, local school board, city counsel, etc. and become active in the decision making process. Demand that vending machines be removed and higher quality and healthier school lunches be provided. Champion the cause for physical education in schools, volunteer to coach an after school sport or activity group. Start a community project to build a playground or improve upon an existing one. We can no longer expect someone else to solve this problem, we must take action ourselves in order to give our children a healthier and happier life.