Channel 4
Synopsis: a third of UK children are overweight or obese. This series asks how the epidemic happened & what can be done.
There is good food and bad food. There is also a difference between eating too much fat, eating a regular balanced diet and eating very little. For anyone experiencing being overweight, obesity is a ticking time-bomb waiting to explode.
The term 'Fat' sounds harsher than obese, but it's still the same thing regardless.
As difficult as it may be, eating healthily and responsibly, is not impossible and the occurrence of childhood obesity, is mostly down to the parents responsibility, or lack of responsibility.
One of the doctors says it's nobody's fault - well, i'm sorry but i digress: the fault and blame lies with the parents of these children. I'm fed up of people refusing to hold themselves to account for their actions that lead to dire consequences, when it comes to the state of theirs or their own child's/children's health. The ignorance of these parents, especially throughout this programme, astounds me.
You put crap in and don't exercise, you get crap out. & the blame shouldn't be directed at the manufacturers. They are not the ones pointing a gun to their heads, saying 'eat this'. Insofar as to where I stand, I don't follow diets, and dyslexia is a major concern as well, but at the same time, eating nothing but sugary and high cholesterol foods does no wonders to one's physical state.
To see a 5 -year- old child have HALF of their baby teeth taken out, is depressing and grim. And horrifying, - but this is the harsh reality of the situation we are facing, and we also need to address this matter, urgently.
It's all said and done to blame and accuse Americans of being overweight and fat, but when people of your own country, especially here in Britain are also obese & more and more of them turn to burgers, crisps, fizzy drinks, chips etc, this doesn't become an American issue, any more; obesity becomes as huge as a national and global epidemic, inasmuch as dyslexia. One has to confront their own realities and tackle it, rather than to deny or dismiss that obesity doesn't happen in the UK.
To think of such a thing as that, is plain ignorance.
There was a 13- year- old girl named Pavia who weighed 9 stone, which by my calculation is 126 lbs. Yet she was reluctant to do anything about it, in spite of her mother's pleas. She was very childish and acting immature and stubborn. One scene whilst during a visit to the doctor's, she was seen playing on her cell phone, instead of concentrating and listening to what the GP was saying. It angered me. She was being disrespectful, obnoxious and rude by paying no attention, whatsoever.
Do I feel sorry for the parents? In this programme in particular, I feel difficult to do so. The parents are to blame, because they are unwilling to find fault and not see the dire consequences of their actions and decisions. The title of the show asks 'who's to blame?', and in my eyes, it is the parents.
What their parents are doing to the kids, as well as by failing to intervene and stop this problem from escalating, is just a form of child abuse and neglect in my eyes. They are in denial of the situation, and their kids are emulating it.
In one scene, the mother and daughter were out shopping at a supermarket and the daughter was snacking and eating food, without paying for it. Surely this is theft. Saying: 'I can't blame a parent.... it's nobody's fault', I find that absolutely incredible, because by saying this, the doctor in the programme is endorsing the idea that it is okay for parents to continuously give their young children junk food. I was not happy about that.
The solution in curbing the problem is simple: to tax junk food, make fruit, vegetables, fish, seafood, nuts, fresh produce more readily available and cheaper. Not just in supermarkets, but market stalls too. Rather than limit food choices, it's all about having a balanced diet. It's possible to have burgers, chips, fried chicken, sweets but only in moderation. It's good to have them as either a treat, or just once every few months or weeks.
As for educating people on obesity and healthy eating, I don't really know how much more education they actually need. Only some of them need informing, the rest is just common sense and personal responsibility. We are responsible for our own actions, regardless of the state, & of the people making money out of selling unhealthy junk food. We are the ones who choose and decide what to buy in the supermarket, in restaurants, fast food places and what to put in our mouths.
And saying you choose not to eat fruit because it is boring, is a lame excuse.
It is frightening to believe that these young children and teens, who continue to eat their way to an early grave, will die before they become 30 years of age. Should they carry on the way they are doing right now.
Unfortunately, for these parents, as well as some of these teenage children such as Pavia, who are obese, setting boundaries is not a priority for them. They just don't think, they just act. If they love their children as much as they claim and say they do & want them to have a longer life, then they wouldn't allow these problems to continue throughout.
Junk Food Kids was a compelling documentary that also angered me at the same time. Angry not at the producers for uncovering the truth about the existent childhood obesity and health issues.... but angry at how horribly horrific the situation has become.
I am happy the programme makers decided to do this, because not only does it expose our hypocrisy by calling Americans fat and our people in Britain healthy and thin; it demonstrates that we too need to confront the obesity crisis head on, and tackle it.
