Today, we all take pride in the fact that the medical field has advanced so much. There is cure to almost every disease. There are effective medicines to every ailment. Yet, have we ever thought why there are so many diseases in the world today, so many more as compared to yesteryears? Blood pressure, diabetes, back pain, headaches, migraines, allergies, cholesterol, etc have become an inseparable part of most of our lives.
If we look around, we will know the answer. We are indeed eating our way to disaster. Food which almost have no nutritional value but in fact which contain harmful ingredients have found way to our stomach. That is why the recent report that the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, want to take adequate steps to ensure that the salt, fat and sugar content present in processed foods be controlled, has come as a welcome action. Look at the food packet in any child’s hand. You will never find nuts, fruits or vegetables but instead there will be chip packets, fried and processed food packets, aerated drinks and so on. It is not uncommon to find children as young as two years old consuming aerated drinks.
Children’s obesity is a major issue of concern all around the world. It is estimated that almost two thirds of Americans are overweight. Heart diseases, diabetes, obesity related health issues and even stroke have become a common occurrence. So much so, that experts worry that the life expectancy of present generation might be much lower.
Food industry lobby has been working hard to promote their wares and they have been pretty successful in replacing school menus which ideally need to promote healthy foods. The lobby insists on serving pizza instead of fruits and of course, if they had their way, children would have French fries day in and night. Even attempts to increase taxes on aerated drinks have met with little success. Though the food industry has assured us of self-regulation, there isn’t anything concrete that has happened so far.
Look at any children’s party or any festive times, be it Christmas, Thanksgiving or Halloween, pizzas, junk food, candies and ice cream have become an integral part of celebrations. In fact, many parents proudly celebrate their children’s birthdays in junk food restaurants. All these certainly have contributed to the increasing trend of obesity in children. Adding to it, is the lifestyle of our children where they spend most of the day in front of the computer.
Thus considering all these health hazards, let us all hope that Mr. Hunt will take appropriate steps in controlling the processed food industry. If we, as parents, are going to wait till food industry mends its ways or the government puts a rein on them, we might have to wait forever. Meanwhile, as parents, let us take this duty on ourselves that we will help our children grow into healthy human beings and that we will inculcate healthy food habits and a healthy lifestyle in them so that they have a healthy life devoid of diseases and medicines.
