Role of parents in prevention of obesity among kids - Essay Example

Introduction Many Americans today live unhealthy lives, which increases, the percentage of obesity in the United States drastically. Obesity is a key health issues in America and many of children today have developed terrible eating habits, which is becoming a severe problem. If the parents of the children had healthier eating habits, maybe the children in today’s society would also inherit those habits, but many parents feed their children unhealthy foods because of convenience in fast food hotels. If parents are ignorant about eating healthy and maintaining a healthy lifestyle through exercise, who will educate the children today? The main reason why Americans are becoming obese is due to processed foods, high caloric foods, hidden ingredients and inaccurate labels for foods on the products. There are three main reasons for kids to have a healthier and the better lifestyle. The first reason is that it is the mother’s duty to educate their children to lead a healthy lifestyle. The second reason is that schools have a pivotal duty in children’s health development. The final reason is that the media is another group that can promote healthier choices for kids. Discussion Parents perform a focal duty in a family. Bearing and caring for young ones is a focal obligation. As parents create a person into this world, to care for a child is hard. Teaching them the right thing, and helping them live a healthy life so that they can become a reliable citizen is a lifetime development and it is difficult, (You 42). Kids are overweight because of caregivers’ ignore of their parental duties. In addition, it is the parents’ responsibility to educate their children to live a healthy lifestyle. The pivotal duty of parents is to address all health aspects and safety of their young ones. Physically, parents should protect their children from physical and sexual problems and ensuring better health and nutrition. They should provide pure drinking water, shelter, adequate healthcare and nutritious diets to prevent lifestyle diseases such as child obesity. In mental health realm, parents should safeguard their children form emotional abuse by offering a caring and mentally motivating living atmosphere, (Campbell, Gary and Rose 105). Healthcare is a main responsibility for parents. They must always offer adequate medical care and regular checkups for their children. Similarly, they need to ensure that they have insurance cover for their children to make it cheap and affordable in case of medical emergency for their children. Making use of Free State healthcare systems like United States Medicaid is an option for poor and needy parents. This is because if the parents are jobless, their children may be riders on their state insurance plan and allow them receive the required medical attention and care throughout their lifetime. Ensuring better health and medical care for the children allows parents rear their young ones in a secure and healthy environment. The healthy lifestyle accorded to a kid is determined by their parents’ lifestyle. Establishing a healthy lifestyle for young ones involves how their parents eat, live and conduct their daily activities – their responsibilities, self-esteem, self-image and mind and spiritual motivation, (Wiseman, Donna and Stephaine 40). Therefore, the best choice of a healthy lifestyle for a child begins with his parents. Children emulate their parents’ choices and decisions, and will always justify their altitudes, actions, responsibilities and thought by claiming, “my mother or father does it”; therefore, it is right. This implies that parents are the key reasons for their children’s misconduct, limitations and failures. For instance, obese parents who specialize in intake of junk and increased calorie diets influence their children in taking such food choices, and thus their children end up being diabetic, hypertension and obese, (You 45). Similarly, statistic reveals Americans do not cook at home anymore which also leads to obesity. The average American works forty hours or more a week and with a busy lifestyle, it does not allow many people to make time to exercise and cook. It is increasing cheaper for parents to drive in and purchase food to take home which is cheaper and quicker than preparing a dinner at home. As stated by a parent of an obese child, “It does not matter which foods my children eats so long as they eat adequately, they will develop rightly” (Gable 33). American parents feed their children with supermarket foods, which are full of addictive substances that contain high amounts of sugar, calorie, preservatives, residues of antibiotics and added hormones. These diets include deserts, milk and meat product which make children hyperactive, vulnerable to lifestyle diseases like obesity, and chronically fatigued. Parents should discourage their children for taking supermarket nutrition because healthy choices are unavailable, (Donahue 48). Similarly, they should encourage frequent and regular exercise for their children instead of offering them television and video games that motivate inactivity leading to obesity. In addition, as key stakeholders in their children’s health and the better lifestyle, parents should first take care of their health and lifestyles. Children’s healthy behavior commences with values. In most cases, mothers forgo their main values for their young ones. Even though, this is noble and exclusively paramount, parents should assume their core values so that their children can create their own. Parents must always live their values irrespective of the conditions because a healthy lifestyle and following their values motivate a child. Experts agree that a child learns and develop in his parents’ arms, picking up their values, morals and habits. All kids depend on mother and fathers to teach them nutritious habits and lifestyle. Children will nurture similar characters and personal attribute as their mothers. The location of children’s environment is the responsibility of parents if children grow up in an unhealthy environment they will emulate wrong eating and lifestyle traditions and get themselves in problems (such as obesity, diabetes). Similarly, anything parents do reflects the future of their young ones. For instance, a parent who emphasize of regular, exercise, balance diet and regular medical care influence the decision his children. Similarly, better sleep, sunshine, regular exercise, fresh air, balance diet containing increased amounts of fruits and vegetables and low amounts of processed foods, in addition to parental care and, love gives a child an opportunity to grow healthy and viable, (Whitney and Sharon 38). Schools also have a central obligation in children’s health care development Schools have a pivotal function in the healthcare development of children. Experts agree that while parents have an extensive role of teaching juveniles healthy and quality eating habits and exercise choices, learning institutions should be imparting significance of both in the learning exercise. An appropriate age curriculum is crucial to aid children comprehend their health anchors on the high quality diet and adequate physical exercise daily. Similarly, schools that eliminate vending machines and provide healthy diets in their menu help children learn, grow and mature in healthy ways. Teachers and members of staff should inculcate habits by taking a healthy diet and enhancing nutrition and regular exercise in playfields, classrooms and kitchen, (Dunham 100). Furthermore, kids spend six to eight hours a day at school, and school should set a good example for children; however, many schools still offer unhealthy food, which hurt the children’s health. Studies agree that schools are crucial environments for encouraging children healthy development. Students spend a greater percentage of their time in learning institutions. Mostly, life-long attitudes and style are created during schooling days. Therefore, schools provide a chance to involve children healthy nutrition and constant physical activity and strengthen crucial lifestyle information such as those concerning risky behavior avoidance. For instance, schools teach and offer students enough time and facilities to engage in regular physical fitness that aid them improve their class performance, enhance self-esteem, aid with stress management and reduce anxiety and depression risks, (Wagner and Wilhelm). Additionally, physical well being enhances flexibility and bone ability and manages weight, thus reducing obesity risks. Schools offer a link to promote participation of parents in creating the moral, practices and thoughts of kids concerning better lifestyle decisions. Schools encourage unity among instructors, teachers, nutritionists and healthcare providers to educate children about the significance of physical activity and right nutrition to total lifestyle change and weight maintenance. Schools reinforce better eating habits by set examples by teachers, mentors and the entire school personnel, (Sayre and Jere 98). They involve caregivers in a process to promote their awareness in the understanding of the purpose of healthy nutrition and advantages of exercise in a child development. Schools provide health education, physical fitness, culturally appropriate guidelines and nutrition projects for children. Schools integrate health related curriculums and materials to educate children on nutrition topics and topic on balance between calorie intake and utilized calorie in physical exercise. Schools also teach students stress management practices, sleeping habits and dangerous health habits such as alcohol consumptions and their effects on health, (Eagle, Sandy and Bruin 45). Children who acquire enough activity and take nutritious diets are attentive and excel in class than others. With childhood obesity increase and increase of irresponsible parents in United States, CDC research suggests that children need increased information on healthy living lifestyles from school to enable them make informed food choices. Media is another can promote healthier choices for children Techniques and media constitute routine life in the world, and utilization of media affects primary lifestyle creation in children. Media affects how children view, talk, play, interact, conduct themselves and listen. These activities motivate physical and social lifestyle of children. Increased child use media products negatively affect his lifestyles. Researches reveal that children who view a lot of TV or spend a larger percentage of their time playing games on computers tend to be obese, (Gable and Susan 38). Similarly, medial commercials advertise and market junk food, increased fat diets and unhealthy food choices. Studies reveal that United States children watch over forty thousand commercials yearly- most of which highlight unhealthy choices and habits, (Piehl 105). Children who watch increased TV and play aggressive computer and video games develop aggressive habits and attitudes. Media characters mainly involve in unhealthy habits like smoking, unhealthy diets, drug consumption and irresponsible sexual behaviors, which influence children beliefs, thoughts and behavior. Additionally, other positive media commercials can extensively promote children learning, (Sulton 78). For instance, public TV stations limit their commercials and offer educative programs such as healthy recipes and physical exercise activities such as sports, athletics and swimming competitions. The influence of the media is crucial to educate children by displaying health information and enhancing efficient strategies that enhance nutrition and exercise habits. Media advertisement to a child about healthy lifestyle is a crucial means of teaching him the significance of healthy dietary, physical activity and mental fitness since children spend most of their time watching TV commercials. Children are extensively affected by what they view on media channels; thus, increasing advertisements on healthy lifestyle including taking many greens and fruits and engaging in physical activity can impart a positive impact. Advertisers should create TV commercials that raise awareness on healthy eating habits, nutrition and regular exercise, (McLnerny 154). For example, some children applications that promote healthy lifestyles and physical activity in children will help reduce obesity risks. Similarly, promoting other commercials such as NourishInteractive.com program provide internet nutrition games that teach kids about pyramid of food, planning for meals, energy balance concept and role of physical activity. In additions, media should promote and create programs that target children health such as programs with interactive recipe ideas, questions and jokes to enhance physical activity and intake of calcium-rich diets, (Scagkion, Arrizza abd Tedesch 144). Other programs should display vegetarian diet, healthy consumption, body image and guidelines on objective creating, as well as popular nutrition headlines like exploring of food label and better snacking. Children spend over four hours daily watching TV; many cartoons and advertising are promoting unhealthy selections to the kids. Media emphasize more on the client’s health than entertainment, (Olstad 134). The media, through cartoons and other children commercials, should focus more on advertising cheap and locally available health foods than junk foods. Although parents should be more responsible in educating their children for a healthier lifestyle, school and media administrators need to play a vital role, as well. Conclusion Healthy living provides a firm basis for future children development and learning. All children should lead a quality life. Similarly, being active physically, taking healthy foods and responsible precautions to ensure children safety and realizing the significance of better physical and mental health perform a paramount role in determining the overall health of a child. Therefore, parents, schools and media roles in a healthy lifestyle and development of a child are inseparable. Works cited Campbell, Ross, Gary D. Chapman, and Ross Campbell. How to Really Love Your Adult Child: Building a Healthy Relationship in a Changing World. Chicago: Northfield Pub, 2011. Print. Donahue, Sara M. A. Implementing Junk Food and Beverage Marketing Bans in Schools. , 2011. Print. Dunham, Will. "Junk Food Should Be Banned in Schools." Should Junk Food Be Sold in Schools? Ed. Norah Piehl. Detroit: Greenhaven Press. 2011. Print Eagle, Lynne, Sandy Bulmer, Bruin A. de, and Philip Kitchen. 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