Too Much Of A Good Thing By Greg Critser

Educating the parents of today’s youth. Critser administers the solution by declaring the parents as the enablers to this rising epidemic. Critser attempts to educate parents by displaying an example of two age groups of children. He uses an examination done by Pennsylvania State University of three-year-olds and five-year-olds and describes how their eating habits differed. From the two age groups, Critser develops a hypothesis due to the fact that the three-year-old age group did not continue to eat when they were satisfied with their portion, while the five-year-old age group devoured the food until their plate was clean. This experiment confirmed that the children responded according to the diets their parents have continuously displayed upon them. In a case of overweight 6- to 12-year-olds, when persistently taught about restraint of food and diets, up to 30% were no longer considered obese. This, alone, exhibits the importance of educating today’s parents so they will deliver their knowledge of obesity, and how to prevent obesity, to their

The New England Medical Journal wrote a report that this was the first generation where the children will not outlive their parents. The magnitude of this study should be enough to cause a change in the general’s eating habits. The leading cause of childhood sickness is obesity. Making a conservative effort to change the way American’s think about food will significantly affect the health of the public. It takes minimal effort to make a change but like with any bad habit takes a strong will and mind. Making small changes in diet can begin a tidal wave of good habits that last throughout the rest of one’s life. Life is far too short to die eating a hamburger, make a change for the better of the future. By teaching children the benefits of healthy eating habits will decrease the chances of them becoming obese. Moreover, having to deal with the health complications that come along with it. Making the valiant effort to nourish the body from the inside out will create a more fulfilling, healthy life, that is free of obesity and

“Parental behavioral patterns concerning shopping, cooking, eating and exercise have an important influence on a child’s energy, balance and ultimately their weight” said diet specialist, Anne Collins (“Childhood Obesity Facts”). Childhood obesity has more than tripled since the 1980’s (“Childhood Obesity Facts”). Childhood obesity often leads to obesity as an adult which can put a person at greater risks dealing with the heart, diabetes, and many other obese related diseases. People want to blame the schools and today’s technology for childhood obesity, in reality, the responsibility lies in the hands of their parents.

As the obesity rate in America increases, people are pointing fingers at the fast-food industry. Teenagers, with the help of their parents, have filed lawsuits blaming fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s for their own health problems. However, parents, not the fast-food companies, are to blame for the amount of overweight children that are present today. They are the ones who teach their children eating and exercising habits, they are the ones who let their young consume unhealthy foods, they are the ones who allow their children to watch television and play on the computer for hours on end, it is obviously the parents fault for obesity in youth.

Parents continuously make choices for their children. Every day, they decide what the child will wear, what shows they watch, what time they go to bed, what they will eat, and so much more. When grocery shopping in the store, parents have to make conscious purchases in order to maximize their budget (Krukowski, West, Harvey-Berino, & Prewitt, 2010). These decisions will influence whether the family can afford a two-dollar box of Macaroni and Cheese, opposed to fifteen-dollars’ worth of items to create a salad. How will these decisions affect childhood obesity? The answer is simple; it will affect a child. Young children and even adults need a mixture of fruits, vegetables, protein, grains, and dairy on every plate in order to consume a healthy diet (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2017).

Eating a well balanced meal is crucial for someone in their early childhood stage. During this time period, between the ages of two and six, a well-nourished child can grow up to three inches and gain up to four and a half pounds per year (Berger, 2010). Children at this age also need fewer calories per pound of body weight than infants do. Since children need less food than they did before and many do not diminish the intake of their food consumed, obesity becomes a problem. The article “Child and adolescent obesity: a part of a bigger picture” states, “The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity has risen substantially worldwide in less than one generation” (Lobstein, 2015). Obesity is a main factor that is present and can lead to other diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. The article also states that, “The food industry has a special interest in targeting children. Not only can the companies influence children’s immediate dietary preferences, but they can also benefit from building taste preferences and brand loyalty early in life, which last into adulthood” (Lobstein, 2015). Once children are hooked on the foods they eat during their childhood, they tend to follow those habits as they grow up. Children in low-income families are vulnerable to obesity because they rely on cheap fast food.

For example, if a fire started, then one would go to the source of the fire and extinguish it there. Thus, humanity must fix the origin of the problem to defeat obesity: children. Unhealthy eating and physical habits tend to begin during early development stages in children. Fast food can play a role in a child’s life, for example, Pollan says, “The French fry did not become the most popular “vegetable” in America until industry relieved us of the considerable effort needed to prepare French fries ourselves”(583). By depending on fast food during growth stages, children are prone to develop poor eating habits. Consequently, children who develop lousy health habits have an increased likeliness of developing obesity. Beebe and Thompson also state a statistic that says, “By the time they reach 15-19 years of age, obese children incur medical claims that are 29 percent higher than those of healthy-weight kids”(1). Another statistics by Dailey and Ellin states, “But considering that the U.S. has already become a size XL nation- 66 percent of adults over 20 are considered overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control.”(577). When both statistics are examined together, they show that as Americans get older, obesity rates only increase. However, if students are able to acquire knowledge about health and eating from a young age, then it will create lifelong healthy

The United States is mindful of this deadly disease and the lives it has taken, yet little has been done to spread awareness and decrease the amount of sugar, carbohydrates, and fat in foods sold. In fact, America encourages unhealthy eating by displaying advertisements which convince the audience that the food will not have a negative effect on their health. A majority of these advertisements are directed towards children due to the fact that they are easy to convince. And this is a huge reason behind the increasing obesity rate in the United States because the decisions made as a child reflect those made in adulthood. If a child is constantly eating unhealthy food, rarely exercises, and is unaware of the consequences that come from the lack of living a healthy life, he or she will grow up continuing this lifestyle. O’Connor explains that, according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, seventeen percent of American children and teenagers between the ages twelve and nineteen years old are overweight (39). Unless the child is taught about the harsh reality of eating so unhealthy, it may be too late before he or she becomes obese. Similar to tobacco and alcohol, food has addictive qualities which are hard to change. Another factor to consider involving the obesity epidemic in the United States is the expense of healthy foods. This high price hinders U.S. citizen’s ability to pay for a healthy diet. One of the many low income mothers in the United States, Maria Gonzalez, comments, “When you only have a dollar to spend and you have two kids to feed, either you go to the market and try to find something that’s cheap or just go straight through a drive thru and get two hamburgers for them and say, ‘Okay, here. Eat this.’ This is what’s going to fill her up, not that one single item at the market”

The question that has been debated for years is who is responsible for the children’s weight. In the articles that where researched during this paper the parents were responsible. The reason that they were responsible was because the decisions that parent make about their family and the lifestyle that they live affects their child’s health and it can also affect their health in the future. When you move out of your parent’s house you tend to mimic things that they did such as if they always bought Tide as their laundry soap when you got out on your own you probably bought Tide. Now when you were in a pinch one time you may have tried another brand because it was cheaper but for the most part you revert back to what you know. As a parent you should want your children to be as healthy as they can be a lot of parents that where talked to while researching the subject of childhood obesity seemed to just not have the knowledge about obesity.

According to the case study and our textbook obesity has become an epidemic due to a decline in physical activity and poor eating habits. Children are spending more time watching television and playing video games instead of being active and playing outside. According to our text book “on average U.S children watch almost 6 hours of television programming a day” (Anderson, Root, and Garner, 2015). Another contribution to the obesity epidemic are parents. According to our textbook, “if both of the parent are obese, chances are that their children will also become obese”. (Anderson, Root, and Garner, 2015). It is very important that parents make an effort to lead by example, by being physically active and having more healthy non processed real

For years it has been heard that obesity have strong consequences for health, and unfortunately it's true. In recent years we have seen the growth of obesity worldwide. But more troubling is to see how the children are reaching a level of extreme obesity. Many times we are in the street and we see children with big bellies or with big cheeks or perhaps children who appear to be 13 years when in fact only are eighth years old. We can also see how children in such a young age are suffering health problems; health problems over the years will bring more problems. Parents are not realizing how badly are doing to their children by allowing them to eat bad food, until they begin to have problems with their kids for their obesity.

Childhood obesity is an unmet problem all throughout the world, including in the United States of America. According to Greg Critser, a writer of medicine and science, in his excerpt, "Too Much of a Good Thing," childhood obesity is a growing health issue and has been for over a decade. He claims that approximately one quarter of all Americans under the age of nineteen are overweight (161). However, Critser states that parents are not to be blamed for childhood obesity because "a child restrained from overeating will either rebel... or suffer such a loss of self-esteem that a lifetime of disastrous eating behavior will follow" (161). He also points out how the stigmatism of being weighty can be reduced by stigmatizing unhealthy eating behaviors (161). Using a study by Pennsylvania State University on the eating habits of children, Critser displays how three-year-olds ate generally the same amount of food each serving, while five-year-olds consumed all that was on their plate (161). In addition, Critser claims, while parents believe children have the right to choose their own poor nutritional decisions, fast-food chains, such as McDonalds, spend a billion dollars a year to influence families to eat at their chains (162). By providing examples of stigmatisms for unhealthy behaviors in his essay, Critser effectively proves that childhood obesity can be expelled if people are willing to take the proper steps to do so.

Childhood obesity has been the cause of around 70,000 deaths annually, because of the fact that everyone just wanted to save some cold hard cash, but is it worth more than your child’s life? So many children are overweight or obese due to the fact that parents look for the best deals on the menu. Now there are so many fast food joints that one would rather get an inexpensive meal than a homemade one. The prices of fruits and vegetables have increased by the day which caused the candy, soft drinks, and chips to get cheaper. This topic may have you asking questions like whose fault is this. Or how can we improve are children’s life style. The answer is everyone has a part in this problem. For generations this has been an issue around the world and it needs a solution fast. The life’s of are kids are at risk, we as a nation need a solution to this. My research question is why are so many children obese?

On the other hand, not all cases of childhood obesity are a result of external forces. In some cases a child’s problem with their weight is mainly a genetic problem. In this case even the healthiest of habits may not be enough to prevent a child from becoming obese. (American Obesity Association) Yet the dramatic increase of overweight adolescents in the past few decades has clearly not been a result of genetics, but rather has in fact been do to poor health habits.

Parents usually complain of the corruption of today's society, how values and morals have gone down the drain, and the annoying sight of their children pounding away on their miniature gadgets. Immediately dismissed without any forethought, kids think of their parent's grievances as something just inherently programmed into their character. But maybe the older generation is on to something. Modern-day society is drastically different from life thirty or forty years ago. With the advent of various technological innovations have come changes in thought, behavior, and even dietary patterns. Perhaps the hoary-headed have detected what so many of us have missed. The obesity epidemic is negligibly showing signs of relenting. Recent reports warn