I am an obesity fighter 24/7 because I see the devastation being overweight causes every single day. I see fat people confined to mobility scooters and wheelchairs every time I venture down town.
I see people walking with the aid of a stick, their ailments caused or at least aggravated by their excess body fat. Young people totally out of shape, due to excessive calorie intake struggle to carry their food from the mall. I look at the shopping carts piled high with convenience junk food because people are too lazy or just don’t understand the damage they are doing to themselves. I see many examples of this every week and it saddens me.
Last Saturday I experienced a glimmer of hope when I chatted to a young child in a pushchair who had just grown his front teeth. I can’t help spreading the good food message and commented on his ability to eat apples now he had some teeth.
His father responded that his other son, who appeared to be about 7 years old, enjoyed all his fruit and veg including olives! I was surprised by the boy’s appetite for olives at such a young age and assumed it would the black variety he preferred, but his father added “Green olives stuffed with pimento are his favorite”.
Had they been of Italian or Greek decent I would have expected it, but there was no hint of either. I was heartened by my chance encounter with this family and the fact that the children were developing a taste for such beneficial foods at such an early age.
I just wish more parents would take responsibility for educating their child’s palate as it would help in the ongoing fight against child obesity. Check this out for some clear guidance on healthy diets.
