Child obesity. Is it really all about the food?

Its the food (bad food choices) & but it is also the lack of exercise.

I kind of have to blame the parents on this one...

When I was growing up before dinner- if it was nice outside we HAD to go outside and play. There was no sitting around watching tv & playing video games. We spent most of our time outside & after dinner we could sit down and watch tv or something. I am going to do the same thing with my kids...We never complained we liked being outside & no one was over weight- and theres 15 kids in my family.

Kids these days eat junk food constantly and then don't want to do anything but sit around.... thats where child obesity comes from. Bad eating choices & and laziness.

The toys not the problem... its the parent that feeds the child fast food constantly. The child doesnt buy the food him/herself!

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Actually, if you do exercise regularly, your muscles have after burn as they rebuild themselves. Heavy exercise can keep your metabolism raised for hours after you finish it.

Schools have reduced PE or cut it out altogether. They have reduced recess time. Exercise through the day not only helps the body, but it helps the brain as well. A 10 minute break in the morning and afternoon can be enough to get the kids focused again on the task at hand.

Sure. Part of the problem is junk. Junk doesn't fuel a body properly. It's more than just calories in, calories out to make someone healthy. If you're skinny and don't eat a wide variety of healthy foods, you're still not healthy.

Ultimately it's up to the parents. Turn off the TV. Put away the video games. Go out and play with your kids. Throw around a frisbee. Go on a family bike ride or walk through the neighborhood. Feed your child healthy foods. Laugh. It's a stress reducer. Spend your time outside. It baffles me that people don't play and eat well intentionally.

I don't care for the fact that for years McDonalds has marketed their unhealthy, starch/fat laden foods primarily at kids..still, I see your point. Children need to exercise.

I think overly permissive parenting has also played a big role. If a child does not want to eat his/her dinner, many parents will just let it go, hoping that they can make up for the deficiency with a sugary vitamin. Later, these children eat candy, chips, and other junk food because they are hungry rather than as treats or for a quick energy boost after their bodies burned off all the calories from a healthy meal. This can eventually led to obesity in children and develop unhealthy habits that often last a lifetime.

I think its the parents but a product of a work driven society. Over the last few decades we have been so product oriented, technology advanced which shows a 2 part domino effect. First we are overworked and dont have time for family anymore, or at least it hasnt become a priority anymore. Priorities lie with in how much we can work and produce and how much money we can make. By the end of the day no one has time for kids anymore. Which leads into part 2....quick and easy. Why spend and hour cooking after a long day at work when you can just pull up to the McDonalds window and get Happy Meals. Kids are coming home alone, sitting in front of the couch with a bag of Hot Cheetos. Advertising may help but what really needs to be done is a culture shift where as we find our priorities again.

It's the PARENTS ! It doesn't matter if there's a damn toy with the burger and fries .. it's not the kids driving to MacDonalds and buying it, it's mom and dad. Then after the parents allow their child to scarf down a few hundred calories they let them go home and sit on their chubby little bottoms and play video games instead of saying "go outside".

My kids get MacDonalds maybe 3 times a month, and Pizza night is the last Friday of each month. Other than that it's home cooked meals .. my two youngest get 1.5 hours daily on the computer and the TV doesn't come on until it's dark and they're done playing around outside.

People just need to learn how to parent. It's not the kids, they don't have income so they aren't buying the food .

I think exercise is huge but a healthy diet is also important. I think the more prone you are to gain weight then the more careful you have to be. I was always the type who could eat and eat and not gain anything even if I didn't exercise. My younger sister was always outside playing and running around yet she didn't always eat very healthy and she was overweight and still is. Even if you are active, if you don't eat right and you are prone to gaining weight then it's just not enough. It's a combination of genes, what you eat and your activity level. If you have the genes to be overweight because your whole family is then you have to be more careful all around. I find now that I am getting older (about to turn 39) I gain weight a little easier than I used to and have to be more careful about exercise. I can still pretty much eat what I want because for me exercise burns it pretty well but that's not the case for everyone.

I still don't agree with banning the toys from the meals because that's not fair for children who don't have any weight issues. It's up to each individual family and parent to decide what they want their children to have. Sure it would be nice if everyone made healthier choices but having a fast food meal once in a great while isn't that big of a deal, leave the toys in them or at least provide toys that would need to be played with outside!

well being active DOES attribute to a high metabolism...lol...and secondly you are right...if they really want to reduce child hood obesity...then they should really mandate the physical education in schools...much like we do in Wisconsin...darn californian lawmakers...they need to really see that it's not the toy...the toy is only a couple times...what kid wants many toys of the same thing? just variety...so just enough to have 1-2 of each...where as school? kids spend a lot of time in school...increase recess time by 5-10 minutes and mandate gym class and it's curriculum...if kids can't do that then get a doctor's note explaining the condition that doesn't allow for a child to participate...IE bad heart/etc...NOT because the kid's out of shape

Childhood obesity is a complex health issue. It occurs when a child is well above the normal or healthy weight for his or her age and height. The main causes of excess weight in youth are similar to those in adults, including individual causes such as behavior and genetics. Behaviors can include dietary patterns, physical activity, inactivity, medication use, and other exposures. Additional contributing factors in our society include the food and physical activity environment, education and skills, and food marketing and promotion.

I think it's more about the food than exercise. Video games and computers are more prevalent now than when I grew up in the 80s, and it's not helping kids today, sure. I am 30 now and I was never one to exercise. Even as a kid I had my nose in a book. My mom always said I didn't want to get dirty playing with my brother. I was never overweight. I am still not overweight and I eat a fair share of junk. I weigh under 100 lbs and I never exercise. I watch what I eat though by counting calories.

I think obesity is first caused by the sheer quantity and quality of food one eats. Kids eat Pop Tarts or Egg McMuffins for breakfast, have pizza at school, then chips and cookies after school and spaghetti with garlic bread and dessert for dinner. And they sit in front of a computer or TV all evening. Advertisements for junk food is in our faces 24/7. Those companies know exactly how to suck us in. They have it down to a science. It tastes great and it's cheap. You can feed 3 people at McD's for the cost of one grocery bag of organic fruits and veggies.

Our country is definitely in trouble. They say one in three children born after 2000 will develop diabetes due to being fat. Parents need to wake up. We are slowly killing our children.