I had a hard time sleeping last night. So, like most people I turned on the television and started to channel surf. I happened to land on television program My 600 pound Life. For those that have never seen this program, it is about people struggling with obesity and while the success rate is less than 5%, the individual has decided to try gastric bypass surgery as a solution to regain control of their life. First off, this is not about shaming anyone, I was personally rooting for and think very highly of anyone wanting to take control of their life for the better. Second, this is one person’s observation, not medical endorsement of or advisement of the surgery.
Now, the story I watched had two sisters, both were traveling down this journey of the surgery. In the story line, of course interview are done with family members and their thoughts on the primary subject (patient) as well as their opinions on the personality and struggles of the person the storyline is based on. The grandmother of the two sisters was assisting with the surgery and living expenses of the two girls. The mother on the other hand, seemed as though she had done her duty and she had wiped her hands of the girls. That made me sad. But what I noticed during the interview with the mother, was the reflection of the photos while the girls were growing up. Each photo was of the girls eating something unhealthy, such as cake, ice cream, chips, large soda bottles etc. One picture was them around the age of 7 or 8 and at that age their girls were on their way to obesity. The mother had the audacity to blame the girls for eating so poorly as children. Since when does a 7 or 8 year old go grocery shopping for everyday items? My kids are 11 & 10 and don’t go shopping today. So, what on earth was this mother thinking? Obviously she doesn’t but this leads me to the topic at hand, at what point do we stop blaming,…well others for the choices parents make for their children when it comes to healthy eating? Has the PC era placed our children in jeopardy because we don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings with the truth, but it is ok to allow them to hurt their insides? I think many pediatricians today simply do not tell parents their kids are overweight out of fear for losing the patient (i.e. livelihood) or being labeled as someone who fat shames. If you Google, childhood obesity, you get more than 3.1million hits. So to say there is not enough data out there is preposterous. The Mayo Clinic shows that childhood obesity can lead to depression and other problems once reserved for adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The depression is what got me, considering the increase in child suicides across the nation. So, when and where does the accountability start? Have we gone so far to one side of the equation that we have created a generations(s) of children that are battling obesity, heart disease, diabetes and depression because parents are not willing to take accountability? When we rid our society of personal accountability, ie it is always someone elses fault, do we not create bigger problems, such as childhood obesity?
I cried when I watched the show mentioned above. I cried for the struggles both of those ladies were now facing and I cried for the children whose parents are in seemingly denial about the junk food they allow their children to consume and then make the excuse, ‘oh they’ll grow out of it’. Because, in the end, they won’t grow out of it? Those percentages are low. Instead, those children will battle social media bullying because of their weight. They will battle diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. They will battle circulation problems, shortness of breath and isolation. They will now face depression at earlier ages because they do not have a snow balls chance in hell to to break the mold their parents have set for them.
I cried for those two sisters and all those that children that will face a battle they should never have had to face as children and it was at the hands of an adult.
Healthier Me Adventures 