To say that the awareness campaign against childhood obesity has been a big one is something of an understatement. There are healthy vending machines getting put into schools, students' BMIs are getting put on report cards and junk food ads have been banned from many televisions. But despite all efforts, there hasn't yet been a noticeable change in the way children eat or a reversal of the trend towards obesity.
A new study illustrates the fact that the impact of all such measures has been minimal. Kids snack more than other age groups, with the average 5-9 year old child consuming $114 worth of candies and sugary treats, $30 of ice cream and $58 of salty snacks each year. "Tweens," the next age group up, consume "40 percent more carbonates per capita than the population average." The same study found that kids are exercising less than ever before, as well, leading to their prediction that childhood obesity rates (including both "overweight" and "obese") will move up from the current 32% to 42% by 2011. European kids aren't too much better off with rates around 35%.
The advice for a turnaround - eat less, exercise more - still stands, but unless something motivates a change, it doesn't look like there will be a radical decrease in the near future.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-05-2007 @ 5:51PM
Michael Schmitt said...
Will any parents of young children in today’s society actually DENY food to their kids if the kids are telling Mom and Dad that they are hungry? I doubt it. If a child is hungry, they get fed.
It’s up to the parents to regulate the food intake for themselves and their children. Forcing food manufacturers and government to post nutritional information and how to read it has done some good by providing information for the layperson. However, the “eat less, exercise” more advice from WAAAAAY back when may still stand, but until overweight Mom and overweight Dad decide to start taking care of overweight kid, this complex problem won’t be solved through awareness campaigns. It’ll have to be solved through more responsible parents, guardians, or caregivers.
When will that happen? I don’t know…
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2-05-2007 @ 7:40PM
Kat said...
When I was a kid, my parents had no problem denying me food if it would spoil an upcoming meal. Of course, I still managed to get pudgy thanks to scant, but available candy and soda vending machines in school (middle/high).
Parental responsiblity will only take you so far before there's temptation to give into societal pressure. It's sad that society as a whole doesn't wake up to what a sensible diet is.
What is that kid eating, btw? Looks like one of those Chinese mooncakes ("gappe"?).
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2-05-2007 @ 9:15PM
kate b. said...
I work in this field and don't understand that point of this article. Is $30 worth of ice cream a year a lot? Is $20 better? Should children not eat any ice cream? I hardly eat ice cream but at $4 per cone at Ben & Jerry's that's only 8 cones over the course of a year. Also, the article tells us that children miss an average of 35 breakfasts a year. 1 out of 10 days kids don't eat breakfast, is that alarming? Obviously childhood nutrition and obesity is a major concern but I'm not sure what this research adds to the debate.
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2-06-2007 @ 10:18AM
Adriane said...
When I was growing up, snacks/junk food like chips, fruit snacks, soda etc were always TREATS...something not often in the house but once in a blue moon.
I wonder- and it seems like a fair assumption- if there is a correlation to how parents eat having impact on their children. Even just a few weeks ago a friend remarked we had nothing "good" to eat in the house- sure we had cheeses, crackers, fruit, veggies...but seemingly abnormally I had no junk snacks.
I don't think a child is programmed to go out and raid the vending machine any chance they get, but rather they are used to having these snacks around as a daily food source so they naturally gravitate towards it. Thus the mentality that these foods are "treats" to be eaten sparingly gets tossed out the window.
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2-06-2007 @ 11:01AM
Shawn Flattery said...
STOP FEEDING YOUR KIDS PRESERVATIVES AND CHEMICALLY ALTERED FOODS!
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