The obesity debate rages on
Amidst all of the hubba hubba about Iraqi elections (which I'll probably end up getting back to in future posts), I noticed another interesting story on NBC Nightly News tonight dealing with child obesity.
Of course, we've all been told that somewhere around 2/3 of American adults are considered to be overweight (which is ridiculous as it is), however, I was almost sickened to learn that, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture, over 1/3 of school-age children in that state are overweight or obese. In the wake of this sea of pork chops and cheesecake, Texas lawmakers have decided to pass a bill that requires that a BMI (body mass index) rating to be displayed on school report cards. And the purpose being: inform parents of their child's overall physical condition, which will then proceed to (at least the lawmakers are hoping) scare the living crap out of parents who don't want their kids getting diabetes at the age of 10.
The only real problem here is: how are the parents supposed to help the situation if most of them are obese themselves? In fact, I would even go as far to say that they are at the root of the problem by allowing their kids to get so fat and out of shape. Why can't you just say no when they ask you for more brownies or mini-muffins? Why can't you tell them to go outside and play ball like kids used to do instead of sitting in front of the Playstation? Is that so hard to do?
However, even though the parents are mostly to blame, I do agree with actions taken by school districts (aka the big, bad, "telling everyone how to live their lives" government) to combat this national epidemic. The whole BMI on the report card thing might not be the best approach, but I do think that public schools need to take responsiblity for what kinds of foods they sell to kids. I mean, sure, in terms of school lunches, there are supposed to be federal nutritional guidelines, but most of the food I've ever seen served at my school still seems unnecessarily packed with fat and calories. Do we really have to have pizza as the main course twice a week? Or how about the infamous "appetizer boat," which consists of a generous helping of greasy french fries, mozzerella sticks, and breaded chicken nuggets thrown together into a cardboard tray. Mmmm...I just love getting triple bypass surgery. And of course, how could we forget the soda machines? Need I say more?
America, please, do yourself a favor and buy a friggin' treadmill.
Of course, we've all been told that somewhere around 2/3 of American adults are considered to be overweight (which is ridiculous as it is), however, I was almost sickened to learn that, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture, over 1/3 of school-age children in that state are overweight or obese. In the wake of this sea of pork chops and cheesecake, Texas lawmakers have decided to pass a bill that requires that a BMI (body mass index) rating to be displayed on school report cards. And the purpose being: inform parents of their child's overall physical condition, which will then proceed to (at least the lawmakers are hoping) scare the living crap out of parents who don't want their kids getting diabetes at the age of 10.
The only real problem here is: how are the parents supposed to help the situation if most of them are obese themselves? In fact, I would even go as far to say that they are at the root of the problem by allowing their kids to get so fat and out of shape. Why can't you just say no when they ask you for more brownies or mini-muffins? Why can't you tell them to go outside and play ball like kids used to do instead of sitting in front of the Playstation? Is that so hard to do?
However, even though the parents are mostly to blame, I do agree with actions taken by school districts (aka the big, bad, "telling everyone how to live their lives" government) to combat this national epidemic. The whole BMI on the report card thing might not be the best approach, but I do think that public schools need to take responsiblity for what kinds of foods they sell to kids. I mean, sure, in terms of school lunches, there are supposed to be federal nutritional guidelines, but most of the food I've ever seen served at my school still seems unnecessarily packed with fat and calories. Do we really have to have pizza as the main course twice a week? Or how about the infamous "appetizer boat," which consists of a generous helping of greasy french fries, mozzerella sticks, and breaded chicken nuggets thrown together into a cardboard tray. Mmmm...I just love getting triple bypass surgery. And of course, how could we forget the soda machines? Need I say more?
America, please, do yourself a favor and buy a friggin' treadmill.
posted by Remz Pokorny @ 8:20 PM
1 Comments:
At 8:15 AM,
Anonymous said…
Having the soda machines and appertizer boats for lunch isnt a HUGE problem, please also keep in mind that at MANY schools across the nation, the soda machines do not usually work during lunch time, and are not turned on until after lunch. But if the kids DO want to drink soda and have the appetizer boat, so be it! NO ONE is putting a gun to there head, if they can drive to school and some even VOTE then they can decide what to have for lunch, and there are usually PLENTY of alternatives.
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