Parents ignore emotional suffering overweight kids experience as teens

May 19 2010

Millions of kids who are obese will likely suffer from verbal abuse, societal ostracization, stigmas, health problems and eventually die at a young age. The double calamity will occur if parents continue to avoid the problem and ignore the cries for help from our children, declares Dr. Sasson Moulavi, M.D., founder of the Smart for Life(R) Cookie Diet and its children's lifestyle program THIN ADVENTURE(TM).

"I am amazed by the lack of concern I see from parents about childhood obesity," said Dr. Sass. "They have either given up or push the problem to the back of their minds. Instead, they should be shouting from the rooftops for help."

Dr. Sass is constantly shocked by the amount of parents who ignore their own weight problems instead of losing weight as a great example. Being obese has become normal in our society: notice the size increase in transportation seating, furniture, even caskets. Dr. Sass equates it to walking around with a 40-pound tumor in your abdomen and not seeking help.  

Most overweight adults have a choice when it comes to food. Kids do not. They are obese due to circumstances beyond their control. Adults, who are also parents, working in the food manufacturing industry (formulator, manufacturer, supermarket merchandiser, etc.) start a chain of unhealthy choices. Poor-quality foods are everywhere - on store shelves and in school cafeterias - providing poor-quality snacks to fill children's bellies but not meet nutritional requirements.  

Overweight and obese kids will not only die younger but suffer from more diseases than if they were at a healthy weight. Dr. Sass explains, "This is our first calamity - Global Warming and the War on Terror will be a small mosquito bite compared to this growing cancer."

The second calamity is the emotional suffering overweight kids experience as teens. A collective body of research clearly indicates that obese children are stigmatized and subject to discrimination by their peers. This emotional suffering is very intense and severe. (Schwartz and Puhl, 2003; Strauss and Pollack, 2003).

To start correcting these problems, parents need to take a stand with their kids and then with all channels involved in the food manufacturing industry. Enormous as the problem is, it will only increase in size as it becomes the norm in our society. Eventually, these generations will become adults who fall victim to our neglect.  

Dr. Sass urges adults to correct the problems first with their own kids. "If you work together as a family, it's easier. Seek advice from your pediatrician, school, and companies such as ours who have plans that not only work, but are easy to follow. Commit to this plan - not just for a week or two, but for the long term. Giving up will only show you are weak and your kids will suffer."