This week I decided to explore the vast realm that is the blogosphere. I was especially intrigued by a couple of blogs I came across that dealt with the issue of childhood obesity. The first one is by a blogger referred to only as “hbvx713112.” This blogger focuses on the role that parents play, changes that can be made to reduce childhood obesity, as well as gives a quick overview of the topic with a few statistics thrown in. After reading this blog I felt compelled to leave a comment, which can be read either by clicking on this comment link, or by reading it below.
The second blog I came across was presented by Entertainment Consumers Association. This blog dealt with a new PC video game Kaiser Permanente has created that is aimed at promoting healthy attitudes about nutrition and exercise. I had never heard of this before and was so impressed that I felt I needed to leave a comment, which can be read by clicking on this comment link, or by reading it below.
Comment on "Childhood Obesity: Your Kids And Heart Disease!":
Thank you for this post. It is refreshing to hear someone bring up this issue in regards to changes that should be made in the home and modeled by parents. I believe that too often parents look to shift the blame to institutions, such as school, when the focus should be in the home. While I acknowledge the school system must accept its own part of responsibility in the sense of providing healthier options for the kids to choose from, I firmly believe that the attitudes children have toward exercise and food choices begin in the home. If a child sees his/her parent reaching for a bag of potato chips to stave off hunger before dinner, then in that child's mind it is not only okay, but it is how life is.
I think often times parents forget that children are born into this world without any understanding of how things are suppose to be. Children look to their parents for guidance and understanding that they then take out into the world. If they learn that sitting on the couch, watching TV for hours, and munching on chips, cookies, and sodas is how life is in their household, they will associate that with what is normal and will seek it out once outside the home.
I remember one morning when I was in high school and I saw my aunt packing up my 6-year-old cousin’s lunch and she put a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (no problem there), a bag of cheesy Doritos (okay, maybe a problem here), a bag with at least a half dozen Oreo cookies (okay, definitely a problem here), and a can of Coco-Cola (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!). I was horrified! But at the same time, that one lunch I witnessed being packed explained a lot. My little 6-year-old cousin was overweight. She never seemed to lose her "baby fat" and then just kept gaining weight. Each time I would see her she would be bigger and bigger.
This is why I believe that childhood obesity starts and needs to end in the home. Children eat what is provided to them by parents and what they see their parents eating. Children engage in activities approved by their parents and that their parents participate with them in. Parents need to make the time in the craziness of life to teach and model good behaviors. After all, it's the lives of children that are at stake here. Is there not a better reason to make changes than that?
Comment on "TV News: PC Game Targets Childhood Obesity":
This is a step in the right direction. I have not previewed the game so I cannot comment on the quality, level of engagement and so forth. However, I can say that for a major healthcare corporation to create a game with the goal of improving the attitudes of children toward diet and exercise is huge. This shows that childhood obesity is no longer something people reference in passing or mothers talk about with other mothers at the park. Instead this is heralding a new wave of awareness and action. Perhaps this video game is not going to be the flagship of effectiveness, but it marks a huge step in the right direction. Children of today are immersed in technology and so to create a game they can play and interact with that teaches them something helpful shows that the adults of the world are addressing children at a level they are interested in and can relate to. I also think that the game shutting down after 20 minutes is a great idea. I myself was once a child who was allowed to spend every waking hour in front of a video game machine and looking back it was definitely not healthy. Again, I'm not here to say this is a phenomenal video game that will change the face of obesity; however I think this signals an approach toward really facing and dealing with the issue of childhood obesity that not too long ago people were not willing to acknowledge, let alone take responsibility for. But I must say, I'm intrigued enough to want to see this video game for myself.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
First I would like to say that this is by far one of the most important topics in the world today and it was good to see that your post was directed towards obesity. I liked the introduction very much. It lead well into your two comments below it. The only think i would have liked to see more of was a picture or two of either an obese child or a picture of the video game system which the 2nd blog was about. Now regarding the post, i think they were wonderful. You took a great angle towards supporting the post and then giving your opinion about the topic. In the 1st post, i liked how you argued that parents need to set an example for their kids and either not let their eating get out of hand or by controlling how they eat or act around food while the child is present. My younger brother used to be obese and he just recently lost close to 80 lbs and i remember when we were young how our parents would lets us have all the fast food we could eat and eat at whatever time we wanted which eventually hurt not them but us. If they have been more restrictive and aware of the things we were eating, then my brother probably wouldnt have been obese and wouldnt have spend all the time he did working hard to lose all the weight he did lose. Regarding your 2nd comment which is also well done, i like how you supported the game system but i also think it would have been interesting if you had maybe taken the aspect as to what if the kids just decide not to play the game at all and why they should close to play this game which turn off after 20 min instead of their xbox or playstation which im sure has more exciting and fun games than this system and also that maybe to help the kids towards playing this game instead of the xbox by providing some kind of reinforcement like taking them to the park or to a movie. The comment you left is perfectly find but i just though that might be another aspect of looking at the game system and not just thinking it would work but what might be the flaws of it. Over all, great job!!, great post!!, just a picture or two here and there would be wonderful.
Post a Comment