I was reading an article on MSN news about the rising obesity problem. Here is an excerpt explaining why there is no personal responsibility for the problem.
"The average American child sees 10,000 food advertisements a year, and most promote foods with questionable nutrition profiles. Research has shown that for each hour of television watched per day, a low-income preschool child's risk of being overweight increases by 6 percent. Children in the U.S. watch an average of 3 hours of television per day. A study in the medical journal Pediatrics found that, for each hour of television watched by 11-year-old children, fruit and vegetable consumption decreased by 10 percent. The investigators concluded that the relationship "may be the result of the replacement of fruits and vegetables in youths' diets by foods highly advertised on television." "When David Ludwig hears arguments that food choice is an issue of personal responsibility, he shakes his head. "This is a questionable argument at best when it comes to adults, but it breaks down entirely when we're talking about kids. Where is the personal responsibility for the 6-year-old who sees an average of 10,000 food commercials a year, the 10-year-old who is offered soft drinks and fast food at school, the inner-city child who walks home past a dozen fast-food restaurants and can't find a single healthful alternative? Where is the personal responsibility there?" (Fast Road to Fat City)
Why didn't that occur to me? Its not what the kids are putting in their mouths or what their parents are putting in their mouths, or the amount of daily physical activity, its TV! Now according to this line of thinking if a child sees numerous acts of violence on TV they have no choice but to accept that negative behavior as their own. Why aren't all children who are exposed to television dropping anvils like Wylie Coyote or shooting people like in any crime show? Why are criminals on trial not using this television defense? Because we have free will!! Someone doesn't wake up one day suddenly severely obese, it takes a lot of calories and bad habits to get there. And now science is reasoning away people's accountability. I'm not the skinniest thing ever but I don't blame that on television, I blame it on my own personal choices. Now I do have sympathy for children who are without options but they grow up and it is not a secret fast food is bad for you!
1 comment:
In this particular situation, I believe the "personal responsibility" lies with the parents until the age of eight....then it automatically becomes the child's issue? Hum, le me think about that....gray area here. If you aren't taught the "law" then your aren't really responsible. even though you do suffer the consequences. This is all such a muddle...thank goodness for the WOW and the knowledge of how truly important our bodies are in the eternal scheme of things.
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