Here’s the previous article I posted on lack of parental supervision being a causal link to childhood obesity.
This was the gist of the debate from that thread:
Interesting read - though predictably I take a bit of offense at the ‘it’s the fault of the mothers.’ There is no data on Fathers raising children because they almost never stay home to do it - in the past women didn’t have a choice, and now unless the mother is out of the picture for one reason or another, the father usually does little raising of the kids.
That said, a lot of the article makes reference to the large amounts of junk food readily available at home. I was a ‘latch key’ kid, but there was never junk food in my house. My mom baked oatmeal rasin cookies about twice a month and if we were really lucky there was some ice cream in the freezer (though if we ate it after school there was none for after dinner.) I think a lot of this has to do with absent parents (mothers AND fathers), but it also has to do with the poor choices being made at the grocery store to stock the cupboards. If there are not bags of doretos and oreos available, the kids can’t eat them.
The other direct cause may very well be the TV, computer and Sega that is present in most homes now. I grew up without cable and without Atari (Uh oh, I just dated myself!). I could watch one of four channels - five if I wanted to deal with the fuzz, or I could go find something to do.
One ‘easy’ soultion would be to lock down the computer, the TV and the Sega when the parents aren’t home. At least that way if the kids want to sit around they have to read a book or do a puzzle or something that acutally activates their minds. (And it’s hard to eat and read, you get crap all over the book)
I think the problem is much more complex than ‘the mothers/parents are not at home’. 20 years ago we were allowed to play in the street until the street lights went on. We were expedted to be outside if it wasn’t pouring rain or blizzarding. We were on sports teams from very early ages - I played soccer at about 6 years old. Active parents have active children, a full day on a weekend bike riding or skiing was normal. It’s all about how priorities are set when the parents are home - that is liekly what model the kids will follow when the parents are absent.
PM
BostonBarrister
01/31/03
05:45 PM
Oh, I completely agree that it’s more complicated than just the absence of parental supervision. The article says as much itself, and implies such from the fact that the causal relationship was (this is from memory, but it’s approximately right I’m sure) 11-12%.
I also completely agree that fathers need to step up to the plate and take responsibility here too. These statistics were showing a causal relationship based on how things were and are, not on how we think they should be. The author said that links were so strong to mothers’ working hours per day because generally and historically women take and have taken a more active role in child rearing, including control over diet and supervision of outside play. As such, as the increase in the time separated from the mother has been coincident not with more parental supervision from the father but rather with no supervision or day-care supervision – and that’s the differential measured.
Also, with the 11-12% causation, that leaves almost 90% of causation to other factors, including but not limited to diet, exercise, genetics, health, TV watching, etc. None of these are mutually exclusive causes, and they likely work synergistically to create the weight problem.
Still, all that said and considered, to me this says that both parents need to sit down and figure out how to make sure little Johnny or little Susie is supervised and raised, and both should also be willing to make some sacrifices in their professional lives for the sake of their children. That’s MHO.
I have the utmost sympathy for single-parent homes, as they have to work twice as hard as a “normal” home. There are programs out there that are free to join, such as big brothers and big sister (bigbrothersbigsisters.org). I can see the relationship between single parent homes and obesity, but I often see more two parents homes that have very unhealthy kids. I used to be a camp counselor 8 years ago, and there were TONS of kids that would join. Now, that number is 1/3 of what it used to be. Parents are just being too protective of their kids these days. I hate hearing a parent say they don’t want their kids playing sports because the parent is afraid the kid will get hurt. They are kids, geez, they’ll bounce back.
My fiancee is the most unathletic person I’ve ever met. She doesn’t know jack shit about sports because she’s never played them, nor liked them. She used to play volleyball, but rode the bench the whole time. Guess what? She’s thin, and looks great (if I may say so myself). She never exercises or does anything athletic, but yet, she has that lean physique. Just goes to show what a good diet can do for you, especially one that starts as a child. I actually love vegetables now, and that’s due to my mom making me eat them as a child.
Kids just need more physical activity along with less shit foods, period.
I think there are a lot of causes as stated. as boston Barrister said, we were outside if the weather was nice. All day. now it’s often not safe.
Kids also seem lazier, video games, computers, playstation didn’t exist when I was a kid. I rode my bike everywhere, Played sports, etc.
Food portion sizes are bigger. big gulps, jeez, who needs 44 oz of soda?
There’s a lot of factors involved. My 8 yo old twins are active thin athletic kids. My fiancee’s daughter is two years older and a fat kid. Diffference? Her father’s side of the family is more like that. My fiancee is thin, works out now and then, but stays very thin. She was the single mom. Broke, apt. living etc. Couple that with the sometimes lack of sports interest that girls exhibit doesn’t help beat back bad genetics. One thing I read recently was how girls were having weight increases due to lack of activity, sports, working out etc.
I just wish it were easier than it is, to get kids outside that is. But nowadays, no one takes authority seriously. I see so many more kids back-talkin and cussin and their parents don’t do a damn thing about it. I would’ve been smacked if I was doing that stuff. Parents have no authority any more (241-kids, right?) and it’s sad. To those parents out there who do use discipline, I commend you, as children need it.
I apologize for my lunatic rant, but to reiterate my true points, I agree with all of you on the subject of food purchases. My Mom (a single mother) didn’t buy crap for us growing up, as a result I never ate crap. Furthermore, when crap was available outside the home I had trouble eating a lot of it because I couldn’t handle the sugar and fat in it. The problem of childhood obesity starts with diet.
As for activity, I think it is a tremendous mistake scaling back PE programs due to lack of funding. This is effectively trading kids’ long-term health for whatever second rate education the reallocated funding contributes. Obviously fun PE classes (like dodge ball, god I loved that game) are preferable, but at some point one must conclude that even Baatan death march style PE program is far preferable to purely sedentary lifestyles.
The other point, or perhaps question I have on this topic is, are there statistics available on whether household incomes, population densities or neighborhood crime rates correlate to any degree with childhood obesity? Studies of that nature would help to pinpoint the underlying structural causal factors responsible for this epidemic.
Easter fell in the spring because its religious significance was basically the same as that of the various pagan spring festivals celebrating rebirth and rejuvenation. Ok, so that’s a gross simplification, but to paint with broad strokes, it is basically true.
I don’t think I have a point. Damn. This happens way to often. I thought I had one before I started…
My recomendation, sacrifice a couple of eggs over the frying pan and pretend it’s new years or some crap like that. Now that I’m not a wee one anymore, I really hate holidays because they mean the gym and stores close early. My body doesn’t know it’s a holiday. Baaa! I have way too much work to do this weekend 
I’m not sure about the stats thing, but some other things that I have remembered are buggin me.
I remember reading about how schools are taking away dodgeball and other “hard” sports because it may cause some mental distress for the people who aren’t good at it. Well, damn, don’t you think if they played it more often, they would get better? What a load of crap. Dodgeball was an integral part of having fun as a child in gym class.
All this shit has made me want a cheeseburger. I can do that, because I actually get off my fat ass and do something with it. A few hours after my burger, I’m gonna run with my dog. It should be fun 