Contributing Factors to Childhood Obesity

It is not a secret that our children are overweight or obese. Parents can cook healthy meals at home and provide appropriate snacks. They can limit their offspring’s time on gaming platforms and initiate exercise with their children. When children are away from the home, fast food and junk food becomes readily available at a young age.

Consuming food not approved by parents starts young and begins on playdates. Children are served snacks and beverages typically if staying over four hours at their play date. The most a parent can do is request that your child is served no sodas or calorie laden foods. This request will not always be adhered to. There are parents who will feel sorry for your child and give them junk despite your wishes.

Once in school, as young as 6 years old, children will trade food in the lunchroom. Sandwiches and other snacks alike are often traded. Teachers are aware that this takes place and do their best to discourage this practice. The more industrious children will bring extra snacks from home to “sell”. Allowances are used to purchase sweets or chips. Other children get money by not buying school lunch and saving that money to spend on junk.

In fourth grade, students in the appropriate settings are able to walk to school with friends. The path from home to any school will have a Cumberland Farms or other convenience stores. At my local Cumberland Farms, sales are brisk before and after school. I should know as I avoid stopping at my local Cumberland Farms in the morning on my way to work. There typically a line of perhaps 10 kids. They are allowed in 2-3 at a time with no book bags allowed to prevent shoplifting.

Junior high begins and kids continue the before and after school convenience store plunder. But, the stakes get higher as many neighborhoods sport fast food restaurants or Dunkin Donuts, again not much consumed would be on a parents approved list. of appropriate eats.

School lunches are not healthy and tend to be carbohydrate heavy. Schools do not have a big enough budget allowed for food to serve their students healthier lunches. In addition, when in junior high and high school there are alternatives to the school lunch such as eating ice cream, french fries and pizza. Soda, chips, candy are available in vending machines to further push students to junk food consumption.

The eating of junk foods continues through high school and with driver’s licenses, these same children have access to food at all hours outside the home. Teenagers are limited in where they can go. It seems the two popular places are the local mall, which has a food court, or meeting at a fast food joint which again, includes eating too many empty calories that are high in fat.

Parents can only do their part in serving healthy food at home and hope that their child will not become too fond of fast food found at local McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger Kings that is only too available outside of the home setting.