Too Much Of A Good Thing By Greg Critser

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).

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.

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

Parents and guardians are partially to blame because “parents can make an informed decision about the foods they feed their children” (Source E); parents are the ones who choose and buy the food for their children. It is simple for a grown adult to refuse their child’s guilt and make the executive decision: “to reduce kids’ waistlines” (Source E). Along with the everlasting goal to have a striving world, is to have a healthy world, and parents need to take the initiative in order to create a healthy environment for the world’s most important future - the children. An adult has the ability to see past the persuasive advertising techniques which cater so well to young children, so it is their responsibility to protect the younger generations from harmful and unhealthy

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.

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 ongoing controversy as to who is to blame for this unhealthy food/obesity epidemic is fiercer than ever. Fingers have been pointed in all sorts of directions and will continue to be pointed. The industries, personal responsibility, food culture, and parents have all taken heat for this rapid increase of obesity. But who is really the root of this ongoing problem? Though the industries affect the rapid increase of obesity and health problems correlating to this unhealthy food crisis, it is not fully their fault. If you sit down and think about it, the people who are to blame are none the less but the parents.

Families across the nation are affected by this issue. Many parents have a lack of knowledge in regards to nutrition and activity, in hindsight the food industry impact families. The article The Childhood Obesity Epidemic discuss despite the government pushing for healthy food choice initiates, have to continue to maximize selling of their products that include junk food, therefore blame shifting towards the food industry (McHugh, 2016, p. 95).

“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.

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?

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.

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