Childhood obesity is now one of the major health epidemics that are affecting countries across the globe, particularly developed nations. The US is one of the countries in the world where the rate of childhood obesity is high, primarily when compared to other developed countries in the western region. It is estimated that more than 15% of the total number of children in the country are either obese or overweight (Visscher & Kremers, 2015). The rate of childhood obesity is expected to continue increasing if effective measures are not implemented to stop the problem. The increase in childhood obesity is mainly associated with calorific and fatty foods. The consumption of junk food is high in the US, leading to the increasing rate of obesity in children. Unfortunately, obesity increases the risks of suffering from diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, especially when a person reaches adulthood. Also, obesity is associated with conditions such as asthma, joint pain, and sleep disorders. Thus, to ensure that children enjoy good health from the time they are born to adulthood, childhood obesity should be prevented and addressed as soon as possible. Parents must ensure that their children consume healthy foods instead of leaving this responsibility to the school.
Parents play an important role in the lives of their children because of the close parent-child relationship and interaction during the informative years. As a result, parents can influence eating behavior or habits or children significantly, making the best people engage in addressing childhood obesity. Besides, parents have a substantial influence on the family environment where food is prepared and consumed (Kim et al ., 2016). Parents can create a positive experience that encourages their children to embrace healthy eating habits. Parents and caregivers always act as a role model in the lives of children, giving them the power to initiate and propagate healthy eating behaviors in children.
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Therefore, parents and caregivers have a greater responsibility of preventing childhood obesity because they spend a lot of crucial time with children. The first people that children encounter when they are born are parents, and sometimes caregivers. At the same time, parents can influence the diet behavior of children even before they are born. By subjecting an unborn child to unfavorable intrauterine environment, a parent is increasing of a fetus suffering from health conditions such as obesity. Besides, by the time a child is born, parents shape the early environment, especially due to close interaction and relationship. Also, according to Kim et al . (2016), parents have the power to make a conscious decision on whether to prepare healthy food or not because they purchase most foods that are consumed in households. Parents often act as a role model for children and they should use that influence to instill healthy eating habits.
Parents should actively be involved in preventing childhood obesity because they are the people who bear both social and economic costs of obesity-related diseases. Obesity is now one of the main diseases that is associated with social stigma, directly and indirectly, affect the self-esteem of parents, including their children (Kim et al ., 2016). Childhood obesity-related health problems also require a lot of financial resources to treat and manage. Moreover, it is the parents, especially mothers, who bear the burden of taking care and management of children who are suffering from diseases like diabetes that are largely caused by diabetes. Hence, to reduce the social and economic burden of childhood obesity, parents should ensure that their children do not become victims of obesity.
Also, parents act as a link between children and social institutions such as schools, including social and familial relationships. As a result, even though schools can teach children about healthy eating behavior, it is the parents who have an in-depth understanding of children’s familial and eating habits. Parents also have a greater say in informing schools on the type of food they prefer for their children (Kim et al ., 2016). Parents have the authority to reprimand schools to provide healthy food to their children. Therefore, the role of ensuring that children only eat healthy food mainly lies in the hands of parents and not teachers.
However, some scholars argue that schools have a greater responsibility than parents in preventing childhood obesity, primarily due to their strict rules and code of conduct that students must adhere to. First, the assertion is based on the claim that children spend a lot of time in schools, giving teachers the opportunity to mold eating behaviors. Nonetheless, peer pressure that is common in schools may make children to eat unhealthy foods. Secondly, strict rules and regulations in schools make it impossible for students to eat unhealthy food (Nihiser et al ., 2013). Unfortunately, schools deal with many children, and they are engaged in a lot of tasks that make it impossible to monitor the eating habit of every child.
In conclusion, childhood obesity remains to be one of the major health epidemics that are affecting a significant number of children in the US. The alarming number of children who are suffering from obesity in the country is an indication that health concern should be addressed. Currently, there is a controversial debate on who should be responsible for preventing childhood obesity. One faction believes that it is parents who have the most responsibility in preventing childhood obesity while another is shifting responsibility to schools. Nevertheless, despite the controversial debate, parents influence the behavior of their children substantially, and they should be responsible for preventing childhood obesity.
References
Kim, H. S. et al. (2016). Parent involvement intervention in developing weight management skills for both parents and overweight/obese children. Asian Nursing Research, 10 (1), 11-17.
Nihiser, A. et al. (2013). Preventing obesity through schools . The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 41 (2), 27–34.
Visscher, T. L. S & Kremers, S. P. J. (2015). How can we better prevent obesity in children? Current Obesity Reports, 4 (3), 371–378.
