Child Obesity: Let's Get Real!

I recently read an article in Vogue about a Manhattan socialite who put her clinically obese 7 year old on a stringent diet, and even went as far as depriving her of dinner. The article came out a few days ago, and not only has Vogue been thrown under the bus for commissioning such an article, but Dara-Lynn Weiss has been painted with a pretty unflattering brush. Abusive, militant and self-righteous are just a few of the terms being tossed around to describe what many believe are a series of deplorable actions committed by a so-called loving mother. Even after reading the article several times over, I must admit, I'm still very much on the fence about what transpired.

Weiss's 7 year old daughter was declared as clinically obese by a doctor. At the tender age of 7, her daughter, at 4'4 was tipping the scales at 93lbs. Let's get a little perspective here. I'm 30, with a muscular and athletic build, and at 5'5, I am 118lbs on my heaviest day (113 on my lightest) This precious little girl is 25lbs lighter than me, a grown adult. Sure, we can talk about the weight of bones, and BMI, but the fact is, hers is absolutely off the charts and she is in the danger zone for diabetes, high blood pressure and any number of other terrifying afflictions. If I was a mother, I too would be absolutely panicking! But what happened here?

What I found the most disturbing is the way Ms Weiss handled the news. She engaged in public shaming of her little girl, and consistently belittled her for her weight gain, and this begs the question, who's the parent here? If we've determined that this little girl doesn't suffer from any pre-existing conditions, or genetic mutations, as a parent, are you not the one who is solely responsible for everything that goes in your child's mouth from the moment they're born? What business does a four year old have eating pizza, pop, or chocolate on a regular basis? None! Why is that junk even in your house or made available to them? Look it sounds extreme, but society has gone way of the Do-Do in that it's perfectly acceptable to indulge in treats on a regular basis, and if that wasn't enough, we actually tell ourselves that we deserve it. When I see a parent feeding their two year old McDonald's french fries, I want to walk up and swat the box right out of their hands, and then proceed to publicly shame them, not their children!

Really? We deserve to put processed foods and refined sugars into our bodies? Perhaps I missed the memo, but I'm all for living a long, prosperous and happy life, and if that means that I can't pig out on Mars Bars on the regular, I don't give a rat's patooty! (Yes, I made that word up, deal with it!). A seven year old is only just becoming aware of their body, and they are appropriately oblivious to the fact that society uses the cover of Cosmo to determine what their waistline should be. If your child is obese, the finger should be pointing in one direction, YOURS! You don't need to learn how to become a dietician to determine what to put in your child's mouth, but you do need to educate yourself. Stop blaming the outside world for your child's obesity, yes it's an epidemic, but it sure is hell doesn't give you the right to scoop up your membership to the fickle mob.