It’s no secret that we have a childhood obesity problem in America, and parents, according to most doctors you should be blaming yourself for it.
According to a new poll of physicians, 69-percent believe that parents are completely or mostly to blame for the childhood obesity epidemic. Even 30 percent of doctors think parents are at least somewhat to blame, with only one percent saying they are not at fault at all.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that currently one in six children in America is either obese or overweight, and statistics show they are likely to turn into obese adults, where they’ll face serious health issues like heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cancer.
While some doctors may admit that there are cases where genetics are to blame for obesity, environment is really an important component to excessive weight gain and that should be controlled by parents.
“Clearly, parents need to shoulder some of the responsibility, and the blame,” said one pediatrician. “As parents, we have to set an example and to promote within our families healthy eating and healthy exercise… Parents can be perfect role models, and still lose in this effort. But at least they stack the odds more favorably for their kids.”
