It's Time to Weigh in for the Fight of our Lives

Even with all of the statistics and warnings from experts, childhood obesity has been on the rise for years. According to the Center for Disease Control’s 2010 data (taken directly from their website, cdc.gov), about one-third of U.S. adults (33.8%) are obese. Approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years are obese. As high as these numbers sound, this doesn’t even include the overweight category, which is far greater. Soon, the obese will outweigh the average, making the U.S. of A. the main contender for the title, “HeavyWeight” Champion of the World.

The experts are aware of the causes. Our food has been manipulated and contrived to give a better yield and to repel pests, making it lack the nutrients needed to satisfy our bodies and almost impossible to properly metabolize. The meat, fish and poultry we have been ingesting contains so much corn (from feed) it is more like a carbohydrate than a protein. The schools’lunch and breakfast meals have been considered, at the very most, fill for the masses and greatly contributed to the issue, although I am happy to report, this has been slowly changing.

The rationale for the pudge we see on our children is obvious. So why then aren’t we changing the statistics? Why an incline instead of a decline? Our government is part of the problem since current laws and conditions allow our food to be bastardized. And this is not obvious to most people. The food looks the same, so how can we tell that it has less nutritional value? Commercials on TV promote wholesome concepts--some being outright lies (take the pro campaign for high fructose corn syrup as an example), but it is legal. Food labels are misleading, and the names of chemicals and additives have been changed to confuse the already frustrated public to such a degree that some of us are ready to grow our own veggies and raise cattle and chickens in the backyard.

So what is the answer? Maybe we should begin with asking the right question. In my coaching practice, I see children as young as 4, 5 and 6 battling weight issues (either under or over), diabetes, depression, IBS, celiac disease, addiction and learning disabilities that are linked, and often times caused by, poor food choices, intolerances, chemical additives and allergies. One of the first things I do when taking on these clients is to check out their kitchen cupboards for any and all food culprits. These are the known allergens and additives that I have seen time and again to cause a negative response in even the healthiest people. When I spot junk cereals, prepared foods like rice, pasta and chips loaded with MSG and sugar-laden cookies, I know I am going to get resistance from family members when it comes time to go shopping. One of my questions to parents is, “If you know it isn’t good, why buy it?” The response is always the same, “The kids want it. We buy it for them.” This remark makes me scratch my head. If we are trying to do what is best for our children, and most of us are, why would we poison them? Why would we spend money on fodder with chemicals? Why would we threaten their very existence for no good reason other than, “It tastes good?” When it comes to the childhood obesity solution, there is only one legitimate place for us to look…the mirror.

First lesson in learning how to be a good parent, remind ourselves of who the parent is! We have control over our pocketbooks and wallets. We know what is best, or at least, we know how to find out what is. We are the more experienced and intelligent in the equation, so we get to dictate what goes into our cabinets and what gets ingested by our kids. I know...it’s hard. They fight tooth and tongue to get what they want. I am a single mother of two, and have heard all the whining, but it doesn’t matter. “If the other parents were letting their kids jump off of bridges, would you allow yours to do that too? Sorry to scold with a joke, but maybe it needs to be said. The truth is simple to comprehend. There would be no market for sugary cereal if we didn’t purchase it. There would be no way the mega food companies could make a living if we said "no" to their manipulated foodstuff. There would be no obesity if we fed our kids from the earth and taught them that everything going in their mouths needs to count for something. Instead, we allow the TV to teach them, and we convince ourselves that the food they want to eat must be okay because the government allows it to be sold. I have only one thing to say about that…obviously the government has no idea what they are doing or we wouldn’t be in the “shape" we are in today! To conquer obesity, we have to take the corn-filled bull by the horns. We have to remember that our dollar counts towards more than just a bag of chips. It is used as an indicator of what American families are buying and eating. If we change what we spend our money on, the companies that cater to us will have to change as well. We are seeing this happen already, but it is not enough. We are still being taken as fools and we have to be more aggressive in our stance and our fight for goodness to be brought to our tables.

I have made it my life’s work to bring wellness to the masses, but this doesn’t have to be your mission in order to create significant change. You can help yourself and your family by eliminating the unhealthy choices. Make every dollar and every calorie count towards goodness and watch the change in the shape of your household. And while you are at it, start moving! Combine your workout with spending time with the kids. Turn on the Wii box before dinner and play a sport, or better yet, go down to the school yard and shoot some baskets. Go for a walk or turn on the radio and dance in the living. Don’t just sit around and let the statistics dictate the direction your children’s lives are taking. Let these numbers be your wake-up call. "No” is sometimes the most forward-thinking and loving answer we can give. Our family's health depends on it. We have to change our attitudes about what participation we have in getting ourselves in this shape. When we do, we take control. Let's make each decision count for the good, not the bad calories in life, and when our country wins the championship of the world fight, it will be for our strengths, not our weaknesses.

Written by Donna Martini, 12/2/2011