Who 's For Blame For Childhood Obesity?

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.

In the essay, “Don’t Blame the Eater”, David Zinczenko, editor-in-chief of Men’s Health magazine, discusses the recent lawsuits against fast-food chains. He does not deny that there should be a sense of personal responsibility among the public, but has sympathy for the kid consumers because he used to be one. Zinczenko argues that due to the lack of nutritional facts and health warnings, it’s not so ridiculous to blame the fast-food industry for obesity problems.

In David Zinczenko’s article “Don’t Blame the Eater” he focuses on the fast food industry and their role in the increasing health and obesity issues of our nation’s children, as well as these issues potentially becoming a serious problem that we will all have to deal with if we collectively don’t do something about it now. When it comes to the topic of fast food, most of us can agree that it is not the best source of nutrition. It is unhealthy and can be the cause of many serious health issues with our children such as obesity related Type 2 diabetes, stomach ulcers and even heart disease, high cholesterol, sleep apnea or even cancer. We can even agree that fast-food diets are a major contributing factor to

Judging from the title of David Freedman’s “How Junk Food Can End Obesity” published in The Atlantic, Freeman's audience, the upper middle class of America, conjures up an image of a crazy Freedman throwing away every piece of scientific data that shows junk food is hazardous to your health. However, this is not the case. Freedman brings to light a more compromising approach to solving America’s obesity problem. His opinion is that by manufacturing healthier fast food we can solve America’s obesity issue and that his method would be able to be established nation-wide in a cheaper, fast and more effortless way than some other methods proposed. Not all, but the majority of The Atlantic’s audience cares about

According to his article, “The Battle Against Fast Food Begins In The Home”, the author, columnist and blogger Daniel Weintraub, argues parents, not fast-food companies or the government are responsible for their child's health and well being. Weintraub supports this claim by providing data from the Center For Public Health Advocacy on the subject of overweight schoolchildren, State law recommendations outlining nutritional standards, and his own experience with the problem. Weintraub intends to convince or persuade the parents or parent to accept the blame for their overweight child. From my standpoint, however, it is clear the

In 2014, two parents were arrested because their son was obese. The boy weighed 210 pounds; however, his parents did not consider his weight to be a problem. They did not think that being obese was a big deal. Like this case, these days, the rate of childhood obesity is increasing greatly, and childhood obesity is becoming a serious issue for children. Childhood obesity has many poor aspects for children. For instance, it is unhealthy for children’s bodies, and it also negatively influences their future bodies. Also, it causes bullying at school because of childhood obesity and truancy that are related to mental issues. Scholars assert that childhood obesity is the fault of parents; however, some scientists claims that it is due to genetics or diseases, such as an internal predisposition and hypothalamic disease. Despite these claims, the evidences shows that childhood obesity is a result of a lack of parental care, and parents should be held accountable on childhood obesity.

The statement made earlier in this paper, “high levels of dietary cholesterol is the leading cause of heart disease and obesity” is troubling. Primarily due to what a statement of such simplicity represents. If dietary choices were so simple obesity and heart disease would not have gone unchecked for a generation of American’s who increased their consumption of both sugar, and unsaturated fats. Indeed, strict scientific review, and contextualized in-depth analysis are the only way to tease out accurate understandings in helping people make more informed decisions about what they

This source provides a lot of study based research information on several topics that relate to obesity. The article gives a lot of information about the battle between for fighting obesity and advocates that want Americans to make their own choices about the food they consume. This article covers a wide range of informative data from food served in schools, to the rise of industrial farming. The author is a freelance reporter that does not seem to have a bias for the obesity subject. Instead this author provides information for the government to regulate or not regulate the food Americans consume on a day to day base. The article’s audience could be made up of people looking to for the pros and cons of government regulations to help fight obesity. This source provides information to help anyone with some research material to in order to form their own opinion on the problems of obesity in this country. I found this source while using the CQ researcher website and searched for obesity in America.

In “Parents, not bureaucrats, should decide what kids eat” Darren Bakst initiates a strong argument by describing what would happen if the government had control over what children eat, for example, “School boards cannot ignore the higher costs and operational issues created by the rigid mandates of the Health, Hunger- Free Kids Act”(Bakst 12). But on the other hand, author of “First lady’s fight for healthier food needs broad support”, William Rice combats the argument of Darren Bakst by stating, “Organizations that work most intensively to promote good nutrition, such as the Food Research and Action Center, and most closely, with students, such as the National Education Association, wholeheartedly support the meal standards and are fighting efforts to water them down”(Rice 12).This shows that these two articles are contrary of each other; however, they both use strong evidence and wording to prove their

In 2003, while speaking before the Subcommittee on Education Reform of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Dr. Richard Carmona, the Surgeon General of the United States in 2002-2006, claimed a health crisis that was affecting young Americans all over the country. He defined this issue as “the crisis of obesity” (Carmona par. 5). The Surgeon General appealed to the Committee and the community of the United States for health improvement of the nation. However, 10-14 years later Carmona’s testimony, the situation continues to look epidemic. The studies argue that fast food still remains preferable for the overwhelming majority, and teens and young adults represent the main target objectives of the food producing companies. Although

Political activist Yves Engler’s article “Obesity: Much of the Responsibility Lies with Corporations,” blames corporate capitalism for the obesity of children. Engler urges the government to put tighter limits on fast-food marketing not allowing them to reach the youth of America. Also Engler proposes that availability of junk food in the school system should decrease. Engler writes about how the government could help the obesity rate in children by creating more parks and funding physical education programs in public schools. Engler and Zinczenko both talk about the government’s ability to intervene in the fast-food industry, and both offer valid solutions. Engler talks about the

The author asserts that the food companies involved in the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative were hiding behind vague criteria that was loosely followed as they continued to advertise poor quality foods to youth and adolescents by finding loop holes in their established guidelines. One example the author points to involved junk food companies pledging to terminate marketing nutritionally deficit foods in schools, these companies, however, were sure to make an exception by allowing schools to use and promote their products in “fundraising activities, public service messaging, or items provided to school administrators” (Dawes 197) which accounted for the most significant portion of junk food advertising in schools in the first place. Notably, Dawes recognizes that the food company’s involvement in the initiative granted them the ability to hide behind the façade of proactively taking action to aid the plight of obese children as well as indicating that they could regulate themselves without

I believe that it is the parents fault for their child being obese. As they do not choose healthy foods for their child and eventually many of these children are used to these unhealthy eating habits. And many of these unhealthy eating habits continue into adulthood and can lead to disease.

Over the past 50 years, the way we eat has changed more than it had in the previous 10,000. Now, 60% of Americans over the age of 20 are overweight. The fast-food industry is highly responsible for today’s health epidemic. Some people choose to blame the government for not balancing individual rights, and the common good. However, the government is not forcing you to eat. You put yourself at risk of diet related health problems.

The important piece which is missing is the support of this country, laws and regulations among government, and the public decision to change diet and physical activity not only on a individual level but as well on a group level. Notwithstanding the fact that obesity is a multi-factorial problem that involves a number of health problems (CDC, 2004). Poor eating habits and lack of physical activity account for a larger proportion of this growing epidemic worldwide. According to CDC, unhealthy diets and lack of physical activity are among the leading causes of the major non-communicable diseases. This contributes to a major part of the global burden to disease, death and disability and even obesity (CDC, 2004).