Obesity: When Grading On A Curve Kills Us

Remember in school when everyone did so poorly on a test that you begged for the grades to be assigned on a curve… relative to everyone’s performance as opposed to an absolute? It was a way to bail out everyone who crashed. And there was always at least one or two who would get a near perfect grade and ruin it for the rest of us.

This thought came to mind as I read the following article concerning parent’s perception of the health of their children.
http://time.com/3162243/parents-think-their-overweight-kids-are-healthy-study-finds/

Compared to the other kids, my little Johnny fits right in. The only problem, of course, is that many of the other kids are already on the road to present and future health problems of their own.

What kind of comparison is that?

Bluntly put, it’s a voluntary self-deception with a guaranteed unhappy ending.  And here’s why it’s happening. It’s a difficult thing to take charge and build the character and will of a child. But this is what it it takes to give your child the necessary tools to make good choices; especially when everyone else is doing something different. That’s your responsibility as a parent. And we, as grandparents, can definitely be a force for good health habits. You need to know what is healthy for your children and accept nothing less.

Young choices regarding nutrition and health are important foundational building blocks. Do your best to help them strive for achievable, healthy standards.

To Our Children’s Wellness,

Steven

The Senior Health and Fitness Blog by Steven Siemons is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.