Childhood Obesity

Walking through Wolverhampton today, I saw the fattest kid ever! It was disgusting and he must have only been about 3 years old. The mother was stood talking to her friend and chugging away on a cigarette. Her friend was doing the same with her thinner child in the pram drinking a bottle of coke! What is the world coming to? How can parents let their children eat such rubbish. I myself have a young daughter and she does have chocolate and crisps, but she is given them in moderation, and only if she eats her food first. She has all of her food home cooked by me and does not have fizzy drinks. My daughter is at the level that she should be with development and is a happy child who does not have tantrums. She is just as happy eating an apple or banana...myself and my partner have raised our daughter to think of fruit as a treat instead of chocolate.

Looking at some children, there is just no need for them to be so fat. I blame the parents as a child cannot make its own choices as to what to eat or drink when under the age of 3. Children learn from example and if they are given these kinds of food and drink at a young age, they develop a taste for it and expect to be given it every day. I personally think that these parents are putting their child's health at serious risk, and they should be prosecuted for child abuse. They are abusing their child in giving it such junk food. I am not naive in thinking that perhaps some children have an underlying medical problem, or may be have a very slow metabolism, but that would not account for the amount of overweight children there currently are.

Childhood obesity is a rapid growing problem. I know that for older children it is harder to control what they eat, as they can make their own choice as to how to spend their allowance, and they can reach to get in the cupboards or fridge. Younger children have no excuse, and if the government or health authority starting prosecuting the parents, perhaps the problem would be reduced and stopped at an earlier age. Even adults are getting bigger, and i read lot about people saying that they do not have the will power to diet, and plump for the easy option of a stomach stapling or a gastric bypass. This is not the answer...if you got yourself fat, surely you can get yourself thin? I certainly don't agree with the NHS funding these operations either. Obesity puts extra strain on health and the taxpayers foot the bill for somebody elses weakness. I personally think that if you are a self abuser, IE, you over eat or are addicted to drugs, smoking or alcohol, you should have to fund your own health care for any illnesses related to this. That way perhaps there would be less people trapped in addictions. I don't think it fair that the NHS is available to all, especially when taxpayers are effectively funding this.

I have enclosed a link to the government website, where the "every child matters" white paper has set out how to tackle this problem

What are you thoughts on this?

http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/health/obesity/