It used to be that the biggest problems facing America's youth were the evils of television, sex and rap music, not to mention the violent, promiscuous and drug-abusing lifestyles they promoted.
Now it's butter.
As teenage crime rates continue to drop and fewer teens are having babies, there appears to be hope for America's youth: America's really, really big youth.
In the last decade, the rate of teenage pregnancies in America has decreased by almost half. Similarly, fewer teens are breaking the law by committing crimes or experimenting with drugs.
The decrease of delinquencies is definitely opening doors for positive change. However, the children of younger generations are now being measured on slightly larger scales.
In his book, "We're Killing Our Kids," Todd Hollander said, "Our nation's young people are, in large measure, inactive, unfit and increasingly overweight."
So which is worse? Being badly behaved or incredibly unhealthy? Childhood obesity is a growing problem, maybe because no one is taking responsibility for it or even recognizing it as a problem. The fast food industries are blamed, children are blamed and fingers are even being pointed at food companies for lacking nutrition in their products. However, when it comes down to choosing what the children are eating, parents are responsible.
According to Duke Williams, an author who has been struggling with his weight his entire life, children don't know any better than to eat what tastes good. Parents need to control their children and monitor what is being eaten. Eating habits are developed at a young age, so kids that choose healthy foods when they're young are more likely to choose healthy foods throughout the rest of their lives.
Parents live such busy lives, so there's no wonder why fast food serves as an easy alternative to traditional sit-down family meals. But routinely feeding kids unhealthy foods and not monitoring their diets is forcing them to struggle with their weight for the rest of their lives.
"Obesity will overcome smoking as the number one killer in the western world," nutritionist and author of "How to Stop Childhood Obesity" Beth Cooper said.
Poor eating habits go hand-in-hand with sedentary lifestyles. Rather than encouraging children to engage in outdoor sports and activities, parents are allowing children to spend more time occupying themselves with video games and television.
"It is very possible that children will outlive their children due to childhood obesity," Cooper said.
Twenty percent of teenagers show the first sign of heart disease, and can suffer from conditions such as diabetes, hyperuricemia, liver or kidney disorders and sexual complications.
Healthy living isn't limited to being in good physical condition. Nutritional foods add to mental wellness and can enhance moods. People limited to healthy diets experience more happiness and success than those that often indulge in junk, according to Cooper.
"Today, more than 30 percent of Americans ages 6-19 are overweight, and more than 15 percent are obese," Hollander said.
One in every seven children is overweight, and another is morbidly obese. Doctors and experts have debated whether the life expectancies of Americans will drastically decrease because of the unhealthy lives they're living.
Raising children to be lazy and feeding them fatty foods is borderline child-abuse. Parents should start early and teach their children to eat healthy, and then they can go back to being normal parents and focus their worries about alcohol, violence and premarital sex.
Write to Whitney at
wlhoyt@bsu.edu
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