Child Obesity

27% of children in the UK are now obese, this causes low self esteem and serious health problems. The question I would like to ask is who exactly is to blame. The children don't really understand the health risks of an unhealthy diet so are they really responsible for their own ill health?

Personally I don't believe that any one person is responsible for the obesity of a child the responsibility is shared between parents, schools, supermarkets and the government.

Parents obviously are not without blame for their child's bad diet, they are the sole people who have the complete control over what their children eat on a daily basis as they prepare the meals and portion sizes. However I also believe that schools have a very important role to play in educating the child about the health risks of an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise before its too late. In my opinion the physical education within schools is also lacking, it is recommended that children receive at least half an hour of exercise per day, this should be incorporated in the schools curriculum by the government. The benefits of a half hour session of exercise every morning I believe would be more than beneficial to the children. I know most people hate P.E at school, trust no one disliked it more than me but sometimes its a case of being cruel to be kind. Adults should take responsibility for children and be prepared to ensure that their health is not neglected as a result of being too lazy to do exercise with them or cook healthy meals instead of going to the chip shop. 

The supermarkets also play a huge role in the reason for obesity. They always put the chocolate right by the tills, this is so the child sees it right at the end of the shopping when  the parent is and child are fed up, the child asks for chocolate and the parent can't be bothered with the fuss if they say no to a already irritated child.

The health risks of smoking and alcohol are everywhere in society and more recently the issues surrounding diet have been brought into the public eye, however over eating, fast food and lack of exercise are a part of daily life, they are not at all considered unacceptable. Should they be??? If something is bad for your health should it be considered unacceptable?? In my opinion no, but would you give a cigarette or alcohol to a child?? No, thats because children should be protected against anything which is going to damage their health and I'm not saying ban children from eating chocolate or fast food because thats just evil. I am however suggesting that society as a whole should take responsibility for the lifestyle of children and ensure they are receiving a healthy diet and reasonable amount of exercise.

Watch this video of an obese child and ask 'would you have been happy like that as a child???'