Jul 13 2008
Super Sizing Our Kids
The last time I took my children to the dentist, the doctor approached me, after cleaning my 16 years-olds teeth, shaking her head and unevenly exclaiming through a thick Japanese accent, “no more coke, no more coke!” I stared at my daughter in horror. My shocked and wide-eyed daughter blurted abruptly, “No, Mommy, I don’t do drugs!” It dawned on me finally so I attempted a clarification, “Do you mean no more Coca-Cola, no more soda pop?” “Yes, no more coke!” the doctor replied. Upon taking a deep breath of relief, I informed the doctor that I thoroughly agreed. She definitely needs to stop drinking so much soda. How to accomplish this? How to control what our teens are consuming in disproportionate amounts? I don’t even keep soda in the house!
Wow, I thought providing healthy alternatives and keeping certain items out of the house was enough but it’s not even close. The problem is much more immense than that. We hear about the alarming rise of obesity in children and we see more overweight teens than ever. The news reports that teen junk food and soda consumption has more than tripled in the last 30 years.
We hear of teenagers with clogged arteries. What? Teenagers?
How could they possibly build up that much plaque from fatty foods in such a short time? Let’s dissect it logically, if one eats junk food every day since they were little children going to McDonald’s for their Happy Meals, what’s the result after several years?
The most prominent area of concern is the media. Commercials, advertising and peer pressure. It is popular to hit the convenience store after school and buy chips, candy and soda. If breakfast consisted of cupcakes and lunch was chicken nuggets, the only hope left would be dinner. Today, however, the family dinner is becoming obsolete. With half our households being run by single parents and the rest by double plus income parents; the stark conclusion is that there just isn’t time to make a proper nutritious dinner. The solution for many is fast food. Fast food with its well-documented contents of ridiculously high fat and sodium is the recipe for heart problems, cancer and stroke.
Teens today have more access to junk food than ever before. For one reason, many kids are home alone after school so if they have a few bucks, they’re off to buy a quick fix. Many teens do have those few bucks because over-worked, unavailable parents may use money to assuage their guilt for not being there. Another bane, of course, is the advertisement saturated media. Invading television, the internet, magazines and billboards these erroneous and misleading ads provide the teen consciousness with unhealthy ideals of immediate gratification.
Last, not at all least, and critically problematic: vending machines and fast food vendors in schools. What a profit for the big corporations! What a mistake for our kids! As long as these companies are allowed in schools, we will lose the fight for healthier teens. Unhealthy teens grow into unhealthy adults. The battle has begun and must continue to educate children about the fallaciousness of advertisements and advocate for the removal of vending machines and fast food in schools. Otherwise, the next generation will be short-lived.
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