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ASU, I've been reading a number of articles on this matter recently, and it has been driving me bonkers.
I was on the underweight side of the spectrum as a child. It was never a concern. My sister's youngest child is petite - at 2 she is still wearing infant-sized clothing. But her body is in proportion, and even a bit chubby. Her underweight nature is a combination of genetics, being born premature, and food allergies. When this child was first born, she participated in the WIC program. During the associated medical checkups her daughter was always off-the-charts tiny. At one point, a nurse told her that if her daughter comes into an appointment underweight again they would get child protective services involved. At that point, they bowed out of the WIC program (taking food out of the mouth of the underweight child) and found another doctor who was interested in working with the family to sort out food allergies and help find a diet that would work.
The fact is - a child can be removed from a home for supposed undernourishment. So along that line of logic, it makes sense in some people's minds to remove children from their homes if they are over-nourished.
Removing a child from loving parents is never a good idea. Child abuse situations centered around food are rare, but do exist. I'm talking about situations where parents beat their kids unless they over-eat... But most of the time childhood obesity results from over-worked well-intentioned parents who are uninformed about the health risks or social implications of their child being overweight/obese. They don't have the inclination to moderate their child's food intake, or they themselves are overweight and don't know how to live in moderation.
Physical education should be a requirement in every level of school, from preschool to graduate school. Healthy eating should be standard. Hot lunches at school are a waste - a cheese sandwich made of a half-slice of bread, an apple, and maybe some chips are all that a child requires to meet their nutritional requirements. That's what I had in my lunch through elementary school. When I got to high school I upgraded to two slices of bread and switched from juice to water. I even ran track on that kind of a lunch... What the heck are schools doing by offering greasy pizza, cookies, ice cream, etc. I realize that in many low-income urban areas, kids only eat what the school provides - but many of these schools also offer a huge breakfast with things like eggs, sausage, fried tater tots, french toast, and maybe canned fruit. Oh, and free dinner is now not unheard-of in a school setting, with even more high-calorie options than hot lunch. Since standardized tests don't gauge children on their physicality anymore (they had standard PE tests when I was a kid, what happened?) and recess times have been shortened, what we have is a situation where we're forcing our children to take on a sedentary lifestyle. They come home and don't feel safe running around their neighborhoods playing ball or riding their bikes/skateboards/scooters unsupervised, so instead they stay inside playing video games.
At this point I'm just ranting... There are some major problems. Parents need to take responsibility for their children's health. If they are unwilling to do so, they should be given incentives. Children should never be removed from loving homes. Parents should never feel a threat that the government could steal their children.
Fat camps are worthless. Making kids interact with other obese kids, showing them that there are more out there like them? Preparing food for them? NO. That's the last thing they need. They'll realize they're not the fattest person around. Most of those kids will be coming from areas where overweight is the norm. They haven't ever seen a healthy child, or if they have, they've thought they were scrawny wimps.
Now, plunk one obese child in the midst of a group of incredibly well-fit, physically adept children and tell them that if they shed some pounds they'll be capable of the same stuff. Make it a cooking camp - feed them reasonable portions, teach them to COOK for themselves, and teach them that cooking can be fun. Teach them about counting calories, keeping a food journal, but mainly show them what healthy food and proper portions look like. In the process, have plenty of breaks with physically-engaging, fun games - teach them how to play sports effectively using their weight to their advantage - let them play with children who love sports so they learn that physical activity isn't a chore.
These children are carrying around an extra person-worth of poundage. If they work off that weight personally, they're going to be strong, and they're going to have an incredible self-worth to go along with it. If you teach them what it looks like to eat right, and instill in them an interest in sports in the process, it might just work. They'll leave feeling empowered, and will have the tools to change their family's way of life.
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"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq
"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy
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