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According to an online study conducted by Research
International and Lightspeed Research, one out of five
parents responding to the survey admitted to having an
overweight child. And while the majority of these parents
shouldered the blame for the childhood obesity problem in
the U.S., most don't lead by example.
Five hundred American adults, 18 years of age and
older, an equal number of men and women, from across the
Northeast, Midwest, South, and Western states, and among
multiple income levels were represented in the study. Two
hundred of the participants, who identified themselves as
being parents, were asked questions pertaining to
childhood obesity. Here's some of what they had to say:
We're fat and it's our fault
Only 29% of the survey respondents said they were at
their ideal weight or underweight compared to nearly 71%
who said they were in the range between somewhat
overweight and morbidly obese. And 79% of respondents said
overweight individuals are responsible for what and how
much they consume versus 11% putting the blame on
companies that manufacture or sell food, and 10% blaming
government agencies for not doing anything about this
serious health issue in the US.
And it's our fault our kids are fat
One out of five parents who responded to the poll
claimed to have an overweight child -and the parents blame
themselves. Only 10% of respondents put the blame on the
school system, 5% tend to blame the government and 8%
think that companies that manufacture or sell food are to
blame.
The study also revealed that the majority of
respondents know what and how much to eat to lose weight,
know that exercise is important to weight loss, and claim
financial status isn't an issue. Obviously many are just
not doing what they know they should. But they are
encouraging their children to "do as I say, not as I
do."
So, what are parents doing about it?
As the study shows, 53% of parents are regularly
limiting time their children spend on sedentary
activities, like computer playing and 46% do it
occasionally, seldom or never. 54% of parents are pushing
kids to exercise on a regular basis and 43% of all
respondents take an active role in enrolling their kids in
after-school activities or sports.
Parents think the schools should be involved in
educating their children about healthy eating. Some
verbatim comments about what parents want: "Better
education in the schools about healthy eating. This is the
only place where the cycle can be broken
effectively." "Teach children in school about it
earlier and work with them throughout the school years to
live healthier and teach them to make better choices in
foods."
And what are parents not doing about it?
Other than not leading by example, few parents seek
outside help for their children's weight problems by
consulting a pediatrician or nutritionist (only 9% of all
respondents). And while parents say they do want schools
to prohibit foods with minimum nutritional value at
school, apparently they only 7% indicated that they are
willing to take an active role in working with their PTA
or school district to make that happen.
As further evidence of the "do as I say"
approach, this poll suggests that parents want to make it
harder for their kids to get junk food then it is for
themselves. While 52% of the parents surveyed said that
they strongly agreed that school lunchrooms should provide
more healthy choice, only 21% strongly agreed that office
cafeterias should do the same.
Resource: CHICAGO, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ --
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