Last night I did my grocery shopping. As I'm standing in line there is a mom with a very obviously overweight little girl (maybe around 5 or 6?) in front of me. I didn't do any judging on the little girl's weight because there are many reasons for weight issues, even as a child. But as the cashier starts scanning her items, I see: A dozen doughnuts, trix yogurt, chips, brownies, star crunch (?), 2 large boxes of pop tarts, ice cream, and the junk list goes on.
At this point I begin to get judgemental and think 'well now we know why she's so overweight'. It's not to say that it's my "problem" what she eats, but it is sad that a mother doesn't realize (or want to realize) when enough is enough. Obesity is linked to Heart disease and stroke, High blood pressure, Diabetes, Cancer, Gallbladder disease and gallstones,Osteoarthritis,Gout, Breathing problems, such as sleep apnea (when a person stops breathing for a short time during sleep) and asthma.
As a mother, and even when I was the older sister, I have always been concerned with my weight and those of my loved ones- particularly because my mother is overweight and has type II diabetes. She takes care of herself now, but has to work twice as hard, take medications, and check her glucose levels 3 times a day. Is this what we want for our children?
As this woman continues to scan the rest of her items, she asks the cashier for a subtotal...$143...She still has a few more items in her cart: some oranges, juice, actual low-fat yogurt, and the zebra cakes. As she tells the cashier to total out her purchase, the little girl grabs the zebra cakes and says "but I've always wanted that!"...she was almost crying. So what does mom do? She scans the zebra cakes and leaves the only relatively healthier options behind.
This is why we have such an alarming obesity rate in the U.S. and it's truly sad.