By Bryn Horrocks
The youth of today should appreciate their grandparents’ next birthday party; chances are the younger generation won’t live as long.
Bad eating habits are becoming an epidemic nationwide and kids just aren’t getting the message.
Kristopher Cheater, 18, chows down on a Big Mac at the McDonalds on Summit Drive in Kamloops, B.C. Photo by Bryn Horrocks
Jacob Rothenburger, an 18-year-old Kamloops resident, says he knows the opportunity is there to eat well, he just doesn’t take it.
“My mom’s very active; she’s tried her entire life to get me to eat healthy,” Rothenburger says, adding that while his mother pushed him to eat his greens, it just didn’t work.
“When I’m home, she usually makes me a healthy meal, but I’m never really there,” he says. “She’s given up on me.”
For the first time, Canadian youth are facing a shorter life expectancy than their parents, according to a 2007 report by Health Canada.
The report, which focuses on various health issues facing the country’s children and youth, states that the obesity rate in adolescents aged 12-17 has tripled since 2004, while the rate of overweight children has doubled.
“There is definitely an obesity epidemic in this country,” says Diane Carlson, a community nutritionist who works for Interior Health.
“There are so many reasons behind this: high calorie and low density meals, monstrous portions, lots of video game and television time, a real lack of exercise and activity,” she says.
Carlson says parents are trying their best to deliver healthy alternatives, but are challenged by a society that requires both parents to work.
“Parents are becoming much more aware of healthier lifestyles (for their kids); however, they’re getting home after a long day at work and saying ‘Man, I don’t feel like cooking’”.
Lack of time or a heavy work schedule might play more of a factor in obesity rates than people think.
According to Health Canada, 80 per cent of parents of school-aged youth are in the work force, up 42 per cent during the last two decades.
That’s led to a major decrease in family and community support systems and negatively affectedg the activity patterns of children and youth, according to the report.
Harold Heidinger, who owns the Ruckers Game Center in Kamloops, says that while his kids are older than the generation facing the obesity epidemic, he still notices trends within his own family life.
“People work 8 to 10 hours a day and they just don’t want to cook,” he says.
When asked what he believes is the main reason behind growing obesity in adolescents, he says it’s pretty simple.
“Convenience. Instead of having to make a meal, people just order in. Instead of having to travel to get a healthy option, people just go to the nearest place to get food,” says Heidinger.
Rothenburger says his choice of fast food is Subway and that health benefits don’t factor into his decision.
“Sometimes I think it’s a good choice because it’s healthy, but mostly it’s because it’s across the street from where I’m usually at,” he says.
Today, Canada’s adolescent obesity rate ranks 19th among the 30 developed nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Over-consumption of unhealthy foods has been labelled the “new tobacco” due to its negative impact on people’s overall health, according to Health Canada.
Deb Swain, who works for Recreation Services in Kamloops, says the city is doing its best to fight the problem.
“We need to change the tide,” says Swain. “We need to put a healthy lifestyle at the forefront, and get people active. Kids are not exercising; they are not eating well.”
Swain says the recent Healthy Living Expo the city held on September 21, featuring more than 100 kiosks promoting smarter and healthier lifestyle choices, is the first step.
Swain says the Expo attracted hundreds of people, including young families and the elderly.
“It was a great success,” says Swain. “We need to educate people of all ages about eating healthier. People just get busier, and busier and busier. It’s so much easier to let little Johnny play video games while you order in.”
Carlson, who was at the Expo representing Interior Health, says businesses need to start advertising healthier options more often to everyone, not just kids.
“We need to say, ‘Yes, there are nutritious snacks’ and put them right out there where people can see them,” Carlson says.
While the provincial government has regulations restricting junk food schools, Carlson says she would like to see it do more, including looking at plans Health Canada has proposed.
In its report, Health Canada suggests the Government of Canada should seek to reduce childhood obesity from 8 per cent to 5 per cent by the year 2015.
An advertising ban on all junk-food products by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) during programs aimed at children up to age 12 should be considered by 2010, the report says.
Other ideas include promoting after-school programs, creating a Centre of Excellence on Obesity and increasing physical activity by 20 per cent among Canadian children and youth by 2015.
More information
