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The
Skinny on Fat
By: Nina Munizaga
America's
youth is at its heaviest ever according to recent government reports.
Bad lifestyle habits, like lack of exercise in and out of school and
poor diet are tipping the scale toward a fat, lazy America. The same
government report revealed that there is some hope for the future,
because American children are less prone to violence and less likely
to get pregnant. However, the bad news is that the nation's past time
has been replaced by convenience: television, junk food and video
games - all part of a sedentary lifestyle that has caught up with
our nation's youth.
When did six-piece
chicken nuggets, biggie fries or junior whoppers become staples in
Americans' diet? One reason may be marketing strategies. In today's
world, children are attacked from all angles by fast-food corporations
who tie-in products to popular media.
Susan Linn, a psychologist
who studies children's marketing at Harvard's Judge Baker Children's
Center, acknowledges the influence that the media has on children.
"It used to be
just Saturday-morning television. Now it's Nickelodeon, movies, video
games, the Internet and even marketing in schools," said Linn.
Children spend most
of their waking hours in school. Now, schools have become a marketing
agent. Some schools have contracts to sell fast food, while others
have special days designated for fast food. According to a survey
conducted by the Center for Disease Control, about 20% of the nation's
schools now offer brand-name fast food like McDonald's, Pizza Hut,
and KFC in their cafeterias; vending machines filled with Coca-Cola
and Pepsi soft drinks dominate school hallways. The Miami-Dade County
School Board recently approved a proposal that would place ads on
all of the ceilings of the county's 1,700 school buses.
America's fast-paced
way of life (though not fast enough to burn calories) is another reason
for obesity rates. Instead of walking, many Americans drive down the
block to run errands, and many times working parents pick up fast
food for the family because they are too tired to make a nutritious
home-cooked meal. Besides, even if dinner was cooked, there is rarely
a time when the whole family sits down to eat.
"Our whole family
is out of the house by 7:30 am," said Carmen Gonzalez, a nurse
at Hialeah Hospital and mother of three. "With our schedules,
sometimes we don't all get together until 9:00 or 10:00 pm, and by
then its bedtime."
So what should
we do about the situation? Well, parents and educators are pushing
for nutrition classes along with sex-ed and violence prevention in
schools. And, some food companies are joining in on the nation's new
"healthy conscience." Though fast food restaurants are partially
to blame for an unhealthy lifestyle, some restaurant chains are attempting
to inform consumers.
Applebee's, in conjunction
with Weight Watchers International, will add healthy items to its
menu and list them on a separate section for easy visibility - the
reason for the sudden concern isn't out of sincerity. High obesity
rates in the U.S. (a 16% obesity rate for American children, which
is more than double what it was in the 80's) have drawn waves of publicity
and, along with that, lawsuits.
According to CDC researchers,
"to control the obesity epidemic, a wide range of population
groups, including physicians and other health care professionals,
public health professionals, legislators, communities, work sites,
and organizations, must become engaged in working toward a solution."
"Combating obesity
relies on well balanced, healthy eating and an increase in regular
physical activity," said Dr. Vivienne Press, the assistant medical
director of the British Heart Foundation in a BBC interview.
Press also mentioned
that children "should be encouraged to develop healthy lifestyles
so they can carry those habits into adulthood."
Other organizations
are taking steps to combat the rise in obesity. The International
Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) is a nonprofit
association "dedicated to the growth, protection and promotion
of the health club industry, and represents nearly 6,000 clubs worldwide."
IHRSA plans to "introduce education, tax and health reforms,
and identify new ways to encourage people to take an active role in
protecting their own health." They sponsored a citywide health
club open house in San Francisco, called "Get Fit San Francisco
Day," where member clubs in San Francisco invited the public
to tour and workout in their clubs for free.
Though we are far
from permanent solutions and although no one is to blame for the rise
in obesity except for the people who eat the food or the parents who
feed it to their toddlers, all players must take responsibility. If
corporations weren't so money hungry, children so lazy, and parents
so indifferent, perhaps the weight scale could start heading in the
opposite direction: towards a healthy, fit and energized America.
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