Weintraub\'s \"The Battle Against Fast Food Begins

¶ … 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 could be corrected. 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 fair amount of sapience in this article of Weintraub. Obesity is a personal condition that actually has no place being treated by a governmental entity or a school system more than other personal conditions such as acne. Those who do not wish to be fat should do something about it. Those who do not mind being fat should not do anything about their physical condition.

But for those who do not wish to live as an obese person, the recommendations that the author made regarding choices in personal consumption of foods and liquids is fairly astute. At this point, there is really no telling as to what exactly is in fast food, or even in restaurant food for that matter. The safest way to eat and to watch one's calories is to prepare and consume food in a domestic environment. This way both parents and children can ensure that they are eating meals of nutritious value, and that their bodies will develop and function accordingly.

To that extent, the ability to eat right and not become obese is largely a choice of will. Parents can either choose to allow their children to get caught up in the hype that someone else is causing their loved ones to suffer poor health related to obesity, or they can assert their wills, and authority, or not allow such a thing to happen.