¶ … Weintraub's "The Battle Against Fast Food Begins Home." Although Daniel Weintraub's "The battle against fast food begins in the home" was published nearly 10 years ago in the Sacramento Bee, it is as relevant today as it was during the time it which it was written. The general premise of the article is that parents need to shoulder more of the responsibility of the prevention of childhood obesity. The article was written at a time in which the state of California, largely led by the efforts of former governor Gray Davis, was making attempts to address the issue from an administrative perspective via its Center for Public Health Advocacy.

The state's efforts were focused on virtually everything except for the parents' responsibilities in the issue. It found that obesity was worse for minorities in the inner cities (and for boys more than girls), and that by taking systematic measures to address facets of the education and public foods industries, the problem...

Advertising of and the consumption of fast food and junk food were targeted by the organization as reasons for childhood obesity, as were neglectful physical education programs in school settings.
Accordingly, the organization came up with a number of recommendations to address these points -- all of which the author states will not help the issue which can principally be resolved via parental intervention. Recommendations include reforming physical education programs and the actions of fast food and junk food manufacturers.

The author, however, unequivocally denotes that this epidemic is correctable by the actions and influence of parents, and gives a few recommendations of his own for doing so. These recommendations include limiting time spent watching television or playing video games, as well as curtailing the eating of junk food and fast food, and engaging in the cooking and consumption of more home-based meals.

There is a…