by Eileen Eva

Created on: October 02, 2010

Who is to blame when your kid carries a gun to school and starts firing shots randomly for being ridiculed by other kids because of being obese? You! How do you suppose it feels being named chubby, chubs or piggy? And when the worst happens, the finest you come up with is, it could be they don’t like the school or they need to see a therapist.  How about you help your kid lose some weight? They are having problems arising from their weight not their minds.

The problem with our generation as parents is we have no idea where the line amidst parenthood and friendship should be. That’s why your kid will ask for fast foods which you know are bad for their health but since you are afraid of being a parent and saying no, you opt for friendship and offer to drive to the food court. At least make the kid walk to the food store. They will burn some calories along the way and once there, buy them fruits and vegetables or at least lean meat. They might scream ‘I hate you’, just reply ‘you will love me when you are 40 and healthy’

Obesity is an epidemic and rates are soaring amongst our kids. Results of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007/2008 - “an estimated 17 percent of children and adolescents ages 2-19 years are obese.” Seriously, a two year old and already having to deal with obesity!

If you are not well versed with obesity here is a quick lesson. Being clinically obese is worse than being overweight. When a kid has Body Mass Index above 85th percentile and lower than 95th percentile, that is deemed overweight. If it’s above the 95th percentile compared to kids of same gender and age then that’s obesity and that kid is already at risk of Type 2 Diabetes or high cholesterol.

BMI calculation is no rocket science and since you pay your taxes, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a free online Child and Teen BMI Calculator.

What contributes to obesity in children?

- Genetics:  That’s the first to blame. It’s true if both parents are obese, there’s 80% chance of an obese offspring, but what would have happened if the obese parents put procreation on hold and maybe worked on their weight first?

- Sedentary Behavior: Our kids spend 90% of their time idling, playing video games, watching movies or any activity as long as it involves no exercise. Should we blame the cable companies or maybe Electronic Arts or Ensemble Studios for making such addictive video games? NO! You bought that PS3, Xbox and paid for cable, you are to blame.

- Overeating: You sit there and watch your kid chomp down half a pizza, two or three cans of canned soda and potato crisps and after they are through you have the nerve ask them, ‘honey would you care for some ice cream?’. They get obese and you start pondering over what you might have done wrong

Your responsibility as a parent goes beyond providing food, clothes and shelter. You must make sure you are involved in their emotional, psychological and physical well being as well. If you consider this a burden, try sterilization or maybe giving your kids up for adoption to ‘real parents’. Sorry if this article comes across as critical.

Learn more about this author, Eileen Eva.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.