| Topic: |
Science > Prophecies-Of-Nostradamus |
| User: |
"Definitely a sick minority..." |
| Date: |
11 Feb 2006 03:27:20 PM |
| Object: |
***** AMERICA: From lazy parents to chubby kids, bad habits weigh down Americans |
From lazy parents to chubby kids, bad habits weigh down Americans
Contributed by Ashley McKee/ Montana Kaimin
Tuesday, 07 February 2006
Once again, Americans are trying to discover why their pants don't
fit, and they are blaming it on the foods and beverages they choose to
eat and drink. This time their attention is not focused on the greasy
cheeseburgers from Burger King, but the liquid candy served in vending
machines. Richard Daynard, the leader of the tobacco wars, and his
group are targeting soft drink companies as the reason why children in
America weigh an average of 11 pounds more than they did 45 years ago.
Children's obesity cannot be blamed entirely on soft drink companies.
The increasing obesity numbers in children can be blamed on their
biggest outside influences: the parents.
Parents need to rip their children from their videogame sanctuaries and
make them play outside. The hour kids spend in gym class will not cover
the amount of exercise they need to keep fit and healthy. A healthier,
wiser lifestyle will spur more from a game of catch or a small walk
then laughing at a lousy joke from SpongeBob while they eat an
after-school snack of Cool Ranch Doritos. If the parents choose to sit
on their couches and watch Seinfeld for a few hours so will their
children.
A parent from a Boston Globe article, "Hard on Soft Drinks,"
complained that she gave her daughter money for juice, but had no
control over whether her overweight 12-year-old daughter would choose
the juice or the soda when she got to school. Parents need to make
their children more informed on healthy food choices and how they
impact their body's future so they won't have to worry about what
their children are eating at school. If the daughter was told that
drinking even a soda a day will affect her chances of becoming obese,
or contracting Type II Diabetes or tooth decay, she may think twice
about drinking a pop every day.
A kid's choice in the lunchroom can only be reflected by what he or
she is given at home. A child who eats a lot of pizza at home is more
likely to keep that trend going than to choose a salad. A kid who eats
donuts regularly in elementary school isn't going to choose
whole-grain toast and eggs when he gets to the breakfast line in high
school.
No one can blame a single industry for causing obesity in children.
Pointing fingers will never work. Two girls already tried to sue
McDonald's for making them fat. Why not just sue every single
fast-food corporation, every candy company, every soda company, every
snack company, etc.? The reason America consists of the fattest people
in the world is because they eat bad food and sit on their butts.
America's children are not fat because they choose to drink a can of
Coke, but because they are mimicking the lifestyles of the people who
raised them.
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