There is a lot of press about the health of children and obesity. I have been poking around and researching different theories but I want to hear from you. What do you think is the cause?
Is it food additives and preservatives? Is it artificially hydrogenated fats and transfats? Is it the food kids get at school? Is it the food they are eating at home? Is it our portion sizes that are too big? Is it the amount of sugar and corn syrup in so many foods? Is it the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in many diets? Is is too expensive to eat well? Is it school gym classes and sports being cancelled? Is it fewer and shorter recesses at school?
Is it parents not letting children play? Is it homework overload? It is both parents working so neighborhoods don't feel as safe anymore? Are there more crimes against children or do we just hear about it more? Is it kids not having safe places to play? Is it fear of lawsuits or broken arms? Is it Is it the lure of TV, cell phones, video games and computers that are more attractive and captivating to kids after school and on weekends than the outdoors, where many of us spent hours daily? Are kids running the show at home with food and activities due to parental guilt for working or being divorced. Is it the amount of meat and dairy consumed?
Is is lack of cooking skills? Did parents and grandparents stop teaching kids to cook or was it when home ec stopped in school? Are people too busy to eat well from scratch and take care of their bodies? Is it because kids are better imitators than listeners so the kids are not healthy because the adults in their lives are unhealthy?
These are just a few of the theories I have found. If yours is not listed, please tell me what it is and the solution. I think that as a country we can figure this out and have the majority of people who want to be fit and healthy achieve that.
What do YOU think are the top 1-2 causes and what steps do YOU suggest we look at doing to move more towards healthy and fit?
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David Wallinga, M.D.: Challenging the Obesity System
http://www.biomechanicsandhealth.com/
It's not what most people eat anymore. They eat highly-processed "meat" and "cheese", wrapped in a terrible, processed "bread-like-product." Worse are the vegetarians, who end up poisoning their children with excessive tufo based products, one of the most highly GM crops out there, that even under the best of circumstances, has tons of anti-nutrients and plant hormones.
The problem is people don't know what real food is. Most nutritional information is based on what's easy to access, and marketing campaigns, like the ones calling a bowl of "whole grain" cereal "heart healthy". Yes, highly processed carbs (sugar... oh but it's whole grain), soaked in cow's milk, that's lots of excessive processed carbohydrate soaked in lots of bovine hormone (even raw milk, organic milk has an unhealthy dose of estrogen, especially for growing children) , and this is successfully marketed and endorsed as "healthy food", by companies and the government.
The single biggest thing we can do to stop the epidemic, is remove cereal grain (rice, wheat, corn, all of it) and their by products (HFCS, bread, cereal) away from being a staple of the American diet.
People look back fondly on the Leave it to Beaver lifestyle - that really only existed for a few.
But, mismanagement of the economy has forced both parents to work just to survive.
For many families cooking is now in a microwave - even Swanson TV dinners, which, in retrospect are often not that bad, take too long.
http://michellerodulfo.com/body-wellness-breaking-back-childhood-obesity/