By Deirdre Spilman
Opinion Assignment Editor
There is a crisis threatening the welfare of our nation. No, not global warming or horrible state of the economy. It’s obesity, and it is practically impossible to go anywhere without seeing its effects.
Childhood obesity has tripled in the past 30 years according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This statistic is absolutely frightening. If something doesn’t happen soon, the numbers on the scale will just keep rising.
You may think I’m wrong and things are being done. First lady Michelle Obama has actually been trying to change the way our nation thinks about health ever since her husband took office. Just look at her Let’s Move! campaign. Yes, she has made progress, but there are definitely more effective ways to go about it.
She has done a great job with offering healthier options for cafeteria lunches, revamping the presidential physical fitness program and raising awareness for the issue in general. But what happens when most children step outside of school? Not much. They turn on the television and reach for the snacks to make up for the small school lunch they had that day.
Overweight children cannot achieve the goal of physical fitness on their own. They do not understand things like counting calories or their body mass index. They need help, and their parents should be the ones to give it to them. According to the CDC, a third of the nation’s adults are obese, so it is not as if they couldn’t use the exercise too.
That is what nine-year-old Breanna Bond’s mother did, and it paid off. She lost 65 pounds in under a year, according to a Dec. 4 CNN article. Bond’s mother Heidi had to implement some tough love and literally force her 186-pound daughter to exercise to prevent dire consequences.
Trying to get unmotivated kids to exercise for their own health is not the easiest task in the world, especially when they don’t fully understand the risks associated with obesity. Parents need to look out for the welfare of their children and set a good example. And that is exactly what Bond’s mother did.
“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Bond said in the previously mentioned article. “There were times where she refused to move.” However, “a little tough love to save the rest of her life was worth it.”
The Bond family should serve as an example for all families dealing with the effects of obesity.
As the late great Whitney Houston said, “I believe the children are our future.” Well, the future is going to be quite bleak if none of the children have the energy to get off the couch. So parents: hide the remote, throw out the snacks and give your children the attention they need.
