The Obesity Solution

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boycookieFrom Your Health Journal…..”A very good article recently in the Windsor Star out of Ontario, Canada entitled Obesity: Yes, we need a solution. Not only is the United States having issues with obesity, so is their neighbor up north, Canada. This editorial reports that Ontario kids are not as healthy as they should be, suggesting adults should encourage better eating habits and more physical activity. In this region, The number of overweight or obese kids has jumped 70 per cent over the past 30 years. That’s nearly 28 per cent of all kids between the ages of two and 17. Last year, Ontario spent $4.5 billion caring for people struggling with weight problems. The article states that technology is a major culprit to this issue, as TV was not available 24/7 like it is today – added to this issue computers, Ipads, video games, and hand held devices. Change is needed to get kids healthier, and reduce obesity related illness. Please visit the Windsor Star web site (link provided below) to read the complete article.”

From the article…..

There’s no question children in Ontario aren’t as healthy as they could be. And there’s no question that we should be encouraging our kids to eat better foods and exercise more.

As the government-commissioned Healthy Kids Panel said this week, obesity is a quality-of-life issue and a problem that is straining Ontario’s already strapped health care budget.

The number of overweight or obese kids has jumped 70 per cent over the past 30 years. That’s nearly 28 per cent of all kids between the ages of two and 17. Last year, Ontario spent $4.5 billion caring for people struggling with weight problems.

“The most devastating part of this trend is that obesity will mark our DNA, changing our metabolism and genetically reprogramming future generations of children to be at greater risk of being overweight,” says the panel’s report.

Do we need to find a solution? Absolutely.

But some of the Healthy Kids Panel recommendations should be non-starters. They include banning junk food and fast food ads that are aimed at children under the age of 12, stopping the promotion and display of junk food at the checkout line and forcing restaurants to mark the calorie count in every item on the menu.

Largely what the panel is suggesting is that government intrusion trumps parental responsibility. The government should determine what constitutes a healthy food, decide where and when you can advertise and display these legal products, then impose penalties if you break the rules.

If that happens, one thing is certain: Ontarians will definitely get a much fatter and more expensive bureaucracy. Still, Health Minister Deb Matthews says she’s “committed to seriously considering every one of these recommendations.” And perhaps that’s not surprising, coming from a minister in a Liberal government that has a long record of initiating nanny-state policies.

To read the full article…..Click here