BACK PORCH by Melissa Morgan:Parents need to make sure children get proper nutrition and exercise.
By: Melissa Morgan
On a recent trip to my local ShopRite, as I strolled up and down the aisles, I noticed something missing. In between fighting with my wobbly-wheeled cart, consistently veering to the left as usual, I got tempted to corner the stock boy in the middle of frozen foods and ask, "Hey buddy, what did you do with all the carbs?"
Granola bars and protein shakes are one thing, but now that major manufacturers have begun launching their own versions of low-carb products Heinz, Breyers, Tropicana, and Arnold have all jumped on the bandwagon I’m starting to get nervous that it’s only a matter of time before bread products and sugar become obsolete.
In restaurants, I’ve found much of the same. Ruby Tuesday and TGI Fridays have come out with low-carb menus, and Subway, a fast-food company with a history of promoting good health, has introduced low-carb wraps chock full of bacon, cheese and creamy ranch dressing.
And while the nation becomes swept up in the latest gimmick promising to help people lose weight fast, the government recently issued a new study reporting that poor diet and lack of exercise caused 400,000 deaths in the United States in the year 2000 a 33 percent jump since 1990. Officials said although tobacco is still the top cause of avoidable deaths, physical inactivity combined with unhealthful diets is poised to become number one.
The Washington Post reported that, if current trends continue, obesity will become the leading cause by next year, with the toll surpassing 500,000 deaths annually, rivaling the number of annual deaths from cancer.
With facts and figures like these, I guess the low-carb craze makes more sense. If statistics keep relentlessly getting worse, it’s no wonder overweight Americans will try anything. They are looking for an easy solution and someone to blame, like fast-food restaurants. But not so fast.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 276-139 last week in favor of the cheeseburger bill, which will prevent lawsuits that claim food companies and their supersize offerings are responsible for Americansgetting fatter. I say hallelujah!
Blaming a fast-food restaurant for a weight problem is almost as ludicrous as ordering a Big Mac, large fries and a Diet Coke. People control their own destinies, and no one is forcing me to make daily trips to McDonald’s for an extra value meal.
It seems like diet domination, and the nation’s weight-loss obsession, are ballooning in direct proportion to our waistlines. But if everyone is becoming so much more health conscious, why do we keep getting fatter? In my opinion, a wise man once said it best. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Healthy habits start way before Americas learn how to cruise through the drive through.
When I was young, I went outside and played. I rode bikes to the park, climbed trees, swam in the pool and regularly let my little brother kick soccer balls at my face while I acted as his goalie in our back yard. Parking myself in front of the television all day, or playing video games for hours on end, wasn’t an option. My mom made sure I got exercise and always insisted I ask permission before snacking too close to dinner.
I’m so sick of watching severely overweight and unhealthy kids on television talk shows and parents not claiming responsibility for their condition. Most of them say their children whine for high-fat foods and they give in. Would they be so willing to give them a shotgun or a cigarette if they asked for those things too? In all seriousness, the new obesity study says certain foods can be just as deadly.
As with everything else, parents need to set limits. It is their job to make sure their kids are getting a healthy meal and getting off the couch on a regular basis. Sure, they have more temptations than ever luring them inside, but I think a little effort early on goes a long way.
The South Brunswick YMCA has the right idea. It is hosting a free Healthy Kids Day on April 3 from noon to 3 p.m. Organizers of the event hope to show kids that physical activity is fun, and they will be introduced to special YMCA programs and activities especially for children.
"With 9 million U.S. children overweight more than double the percentage in 1980 increasing the levels of physical activity in the lives of our children is a critical component of this country’s effort to fight childhood obesity," said Ken Glasish, Ph.D., a national executive director for YMCA of the USA.
Healthy Kids Day seems like a good start. As a whole, I think we need to start focusing less on clearing carbohydrates out of supermarkets and restaurants and more on the root of the problem. I mean seriously, who wants to eat low-carb ice cream anyway? If you are going to decide to be bad, just do it in moderation and for Pete’s sake do it right add some whip cream, hot fudge sauce and a cherry to that bowl!
Melissa Morgan is social editor for the South Brunswick Post. She can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].