Elizabeth Renter

Adults of today can remember their childhoods filled with hours of outdoor playtime and activities. They can probably remember playing outside until the street lights came on or they got called in by their mothers in the summer time. There's no doubt they were made to eat their vegetables and eating out was considered a special treat. Kids today, however, do not have the same experience.

Obesity in general has skyrocketed over the past few decades. Considered a national epidemic, Americans are growing at an alarming rate. The saddest victims of this epidemic, however, are the children. Dependent on adults to show them the right way to care for their bodies and minds, kids have followed in the footsteps of their parents and other adults in becoming another tally mark on the chart of obesity.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control childhood obesity has increased among children ages 6-11 from 6.5% in the late 1970s to 18.8% in 2004. In children ages 12-19, the increase was from 5% to 17.4%. One only has to look around at any park or schoolyard to see that the number of children battling weight problems has increased.

As with most health problems in this nation, when issues like this are brought to our attention we are quick to look around and find someone or something to point the finger at. With so many factors to consider in the cause of obesity among children, there is a lot of finger-pointing and blaming going on. While parents blame fast-food restaurants and lack of time, fast food restaurants offer healthier options and then subtly blame parents for choices made. Schools can be held accountable to a certain extent for the foods offered to children and the changing face of physical education. Food companies certainly play a part with the attractive packaging and commercials aimed at children. No matter how many hands are in the pot, the blame and the solution can be shared in an effort to cooperatively combat the problem.

There is no question that parents are busier these days. With the work week ever-growing and adults traveling further and further to get to work, there is less time for preparation of healthy and high quality meals. When kids are involved in extra-curricular activities, homework, and some playtime, it leaves little time for a sit-down dinner with the family, which has been shown to limit caloric intake. When parents are pressed for time and kids are hungry, fast food and convenience foods are the perfect fit. Nutrition aside, these seem like logical solutions to the modern time crunch. Unfortunately these foods are typically packed with preservatives as well as high in calories and fat. Kids have become accustomed to these good tasting, easily made foods though, so implementing change can be difficult.

Although children are involved in more activities now than ever before, they are still not getting the exercise they need to keep their bodies in good condition. It seems as if there are two types of children in modern America, those that are over-scheduled and those with no schedule. The over-scheduled and active kids may have a huge amount of physical activity and exercise on a daily basis and weight may not be an issue for them. The others, however, may spend their days in front of their video games, televisions, and computers, seeing little light of day. In looking at how childhood has changed, it is apparent that the majority of today's kids are less active then they were even 15 years ago. Children used to beg to stay outdoors and are now pleading to stay in.

We have created children who are accustomed to easy living. Convenience foods and inactivity are much easier than a high-quality diet and getting sufficient exercise. Children can't be expected to make all the choices on their own, however, as they are dependent on adults for their care. The children do not do the grocery shopping, nor do they make the rules in most houses. A collective effort to get healthy must be embraced by the family for a child to even consider changing their ways.

Parents must be willing to be inconvenienced for the sake of their children's health. They must take the wheel and steer their children in the direction of a healthy and fit adulthood. Because they cannot and should not expect outside sources to regulate and maintain their children's health, they must make healthy choices for their children until the children are able to make those same decisions for themselves.

If you want to help fight child obesity, join the organic and natural vending revolution and take a look at Healthy Student Vending by YoNaturals. Article written by Elizabeth Renter.

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