Parents Impact on Children Obesity Nutrition

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Obesity is one of the most difficult diseases to deal with once it attacks an individual. It is very common among adults but can also attack children (Barbour, 2011). It is one of the most serious diseases facing national governments around the world due to its health and financial implications and a large number of people involved. The main cause of this disease is the excessive consumption of high-sugar and high-fat foods (Barbour, 2011).

Parents have a very big role to play in keeping obesity in children at bay. They have the responsibility to give them healthy foods: ones that are free from too much sugar and fats and expose them to exercises that can destroy excess calories in their bodies. Pricing strategies can also be very effective in reducing the consumption of these unhealthy foods (Kelly, 2006).

It has been empirically proven that taxing certain goods significantly reduces their consumption rates (Ojeda, 2002). Such strategies can be very instrumental in countering the ever-growing number of obesity victims. This paper looks at the impact of parents on the prevalence of obesity among children, the implication of taxation on the prevalence of obesity and the impact of obesity in countries around the world.

The Role of Parents in the Prevalence of Obesity in Children

Barbour (2011) considers child neglect as a form of abuse. He argues that several developed countries have already classified neglect as a form of child abuse (Barbour, 2011). He goes further with this topic by arguing that neglect includes the inability of parents to look after and monitor their children with the view of ensuring their safety.

Neglect also encompasses the inability to train their children to take care of their personal hygiene (Barbour, 2011). As such, it can conclusively be argued that neglect includes the inability of parents to take their children through exercises and giving them unhealthy foods.

Neglect, in this case, qualifies as a form of abuse since it leaves long-lasting effects in its victims (Watkins, 2009). Behavioral psychologists argue that children carry the effects of their childhood experiences into their adulthood. Obesity is not an exception. It, usually, causes a lack of self-esteem and other psychological effects in patients (Watkins, 2009).

Therefore, it is apparent that individuals that were obese in their childhood will take extensive amounts of time trying to overcome their psychological problems and the lack of self-esteem. This situation directly implicates parents for not playing their parts properly. If parents give their children healthy foods and expose them to good exercises, then there will be a less likelihood of obesity and its implications in the children.

The Impact of Taxation in Reducing the Consumption of High-Sugar and High-Fat Foods

It is ironic that the most sugary and fatty foods are the cheapest while those foods that are deficient or have fewer amounts of sugar and fats are the most expensive on food markets in many countries (Ojeda, 2002). This situation has driven the masses into believing that sugary and fatty foods are the best for them. A research carried out in the UK is the best for demonstrating the gravity of this situation. According to the research, desserts with the most amounts of sugar were the cheapest on the market (Ojeda, 2002).

On the contrary, desserts with natural sugars and little amounts of glucose were the most expensive. According to Ojeda (2002), the food market in the US sells deep fried and fatty foods more expensively than grilled and baked ones. As a result, many people buy foods with excess sugars and fats at the expense of foods with fewer amounts of sugar and fat. The price of a commodity has a great impact on consumer behavior.

Researchers argue that taxation can be a very important tool in changing consumer behavior against the buying of sugary and fatty foods (Ojeda, 2002). Many countries have tried out this method by taxing harmful products such as cigarettes and other tobacco products and it has worked very well.

According to Ojeda (2002), two-thirds of the cigarette charges in the United Kingdom go to tax. He observes that this practice has made it possible for the number of smokers in the UK to reduce by half over the past ten years. Many nutritionists have, therefore, proposed the use of this method in reducing the consumption of foods with excessive amounts of sugar and fat.

The Financial and Health Implications of Obesity in the World

According to Kelly (2006), obesity has proven to be a serious problem among workers at the workplace apart from causing a very huge medical expense. He observes that many public and private companies raise complaints about rampant absenteeism among their employees from work as a result of obesity and related illnesses (Kelly, 2006). In the long-run, national governments and companies in many countries end up losing extensive amounts of money and time.

They spend money treating such employees and have to allow them time to look for treatment instead of working. According to recent research in Britain, the UK government losses approximately five million euros each year due to accidents and illnesses that result from obesity (Kelly, 2006).

Facts from the World Health Organization show that by 2014, 1.9 billion adults, approximately 39%, were overweight (Obesity and overweight, 2015). Out of this number, 600 million, about 13 %, were confirmed to be obese (Obesity and overweight, 2015). In most of the countries from which many of the victims come, obesity kills as many people as any other commonly known killer disease.

Worse still, obesity is no longer limited to high-income countries as the situation used to be in the past. In fact, it currently affects more people in developing countries than in developed countries. Precisely, the prevalence of obesity in developing countries is 30% higher than in developed countries (Obesity and overweight, 2015). In such countries, the urban population is the most adversely affected compared to the rural population. This situation may be a result of urban lifestyles.

Conclusion

It is imperative from the discussion that obesity is a preventable killer disease. It is preventable because parents can prevent their children from getting it if only they give them healthy diets and teach them good exercises that can help them counter obesity. However, most of the parents choose to just feed their children on any food including sugary and fatty foods. Apart from the part that requires parents, governments can also fight obesity by imposing heavy taxes on fatty and excessively sugary food substances.

This act has the effect of raising the prices of targeted commodities, which eventually reduces the number of their buyers and the rate of their consumption. It is also apparent that these steps have to be taken immediately lest the implications of consuming the foods reach an irreversible stage in many countries in the world.

References

Barbour, S. (2011). Obesity. farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press.

Kelly, E. (2006). Obesity. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.

Obesity and overweight (2015). Web.

Ojeda, A. (2002). Smoking. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press.

Watkins, H. (2009). Child abuse. Detroit: Greenhaven Press.

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