Across the world, children's obesity rate increases. Alarm bells continue to ring, prompting most governments to declare a public health crisis. Studies conducted point to a link between childhood obesity and cardiovascular disease & other serious illnesses.
Reducing the prevalence of obesity, though, is not the responsibility of government alone. There ought to be concerted effort among individuals/families, agencies, government, media and other entities.
It's heartening to find well-meaning souls like British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver launching a campaign to combat childhood obesity. He has urged everyone -- including governments of the G20 countries, whom he said have both the tools and the vested interest to address the global problem -- to take action. He's targetting a million supporters for a petition for schools to provide compulsory food education to youngsters. This includes knowing how food is sourced/purchased and cooked.
Oliver has appealed to audiences using both logical reasoning and the 'gloom-&-doom' approach in enlisting support for his petition. The problem of childhood obesity is a real one. It's a problem that has plagued many families for decades, creating major health issues that arise & continue later on in life. As Oprah Winfrey uttered years back in her tv show, "No child is obese alone." Nowadays, more people should be realizing that no child should be made to suffer the repercussions of obesity alone.
Beyond the taunting, it's the life of an obese child that's at stake. Unfortunately, many families who grew up on comfort foods and fastfood fare choose to overlook this.
Most overweight kids who grow up to be obese adults tend to think that they are stuck with the excess pounds for life. They've been caught in the so-called fat trap, paying little attention to important lifestyle changes they're capable of, much less to all the factors linked to weight loss. If there's effort coming from all fronts, we may be seeing less obese and hence, less sickly kids in the future.
Oliver had the good sense to note that the current & next generation will be cutting their lives short if no action is taken to curb the ever-increasing incidence of obesity. Are you with Oliver, then? If yes, then sign the petition on food education today.
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