Is junk food child abuse?

Yes it is child abuse but it really isn't a do or don't factor, it is a matter of education. People aren't educated about the reality of food and health. No it doesn't mean parents should buy anything with a fat free label, diet coke or organic t.v. dinners. People really need to be educated about whole foods, fats, nutrient density, nutritional value, and especially bring home economics back. Food needs to be a natural part of life, not a fear or goal.

Originally posted by ReVoLuTiOn76
Live free or die. Morality should not compromise freedoms in any way. I should be able to eat, and let my kids eat, whatever they want. As long as I am not infringing on others rights I should be left to myself to do what i please.

As much as i respect your right to feed your kids whatever you choose, we are talking about abuse. You wouldn't feed your kids excrement would you? No, because that would classed as abuse. Junk food has little to no nutritional value and kids need good nutrition to give them the energy to develop their brains and their bodies. Poor diet usually leads to poor concentration in school and the tubbier you get the less likely your going to work out which is also bad for the brain.
More to a point on the health side of things, more and more people are developing things like diabetes, which take their turn on your health and if not looked after properly can result in early death. High fat diets will often line your arteries and later on in life you can find yourself with some serious problems.
If children are never exposed to "good" diets when they are younger, then the chances are they are going to find it difficult to change their diets if they are unfortunate enough to develop specific health problems. They wont know any better, if you get what i mean?

Im not having a go, like i said, i respect your right but i still see feeding your children a junk food diet is a form of abuse.

reply to post by ldyserenity

Those people need to have their children removed from them they obviously have no clue how to raise a child

How would you legislate that so it is fair to all parents? Would it be when the kids cross a wieght threshold? Would it be the same for kids whose weight fluctuates? Would it be for so many cookies tthe kids get taken away?

reply to post by SearchLightsInc

If children are never exposed to "good" diets when they are younger, then the chances are they are going to find it difficult to change their diets if they are unfortunate enough to develop specific health problems.

So you want to legislate "good diet"? Again, how would you legislate it? Would it be based on caloric intake? Or would cookies and cakes be outlawed? Would you also outlaw such processed foods say in the frozen section which may have some sugar? You know like prepared dinners and such? Would everyone have to eat only lean meat and vegetables? How about bleached flour? Will that be outlawed too?
Peoople honestly need to ask themselves how far they are willing to go to make their ideas work.

Originally posted by eLPresidente
Yes it is child abuse but it really isn't a do or don't factor, it is a matter of education. People aren't educated about the reality of food and health. No it doesn't mean parents should buy anything with a fat free label, diet coke or organic t.v. dinners. People really need to be educated about whole foods, fats, nutrient density, nutritional value, and especially bring home economics back. Food needs to be a natural part of life, not a fear or goal.

I like the idea of nutrition-centric home-ec classes, maybe with a class trip to the Whole Foods store to pick up fresh foods for a planned meal. But will there be a fight over what ingredients will be in it? Like milk or cream? I like the idea of having some lectures on vitamins and minerals, and what vitamins are in what foods. But things can get sticky when you realize that even the health food industry can't always make up its mind. For instance, one year soy milk is a must have, and the next it's disaster and cannot be digested or ruins male hormones. Or once upon a time eggs were bad for cholesterol, and now I think that's changed.

yea

Chances are,that isnt the only junk treat the junk parents bring to the table.

Originally posted by ThirdEyeofHorus
reply to post by SearchLightsInc

 

If children are never exposed to "good" diets when they are younger, then the chances are they are going to find it difficult to change their diets if they are unfortunate enough to develop specific health problems.

So you want to legislate "good diet"? Again, how would you legislate it? Would it be based on caloric intake? Or would cookies and cakes be outlawed? Would you also outlaw such processed foods say in the frozen section which may have some sugar? You know like prepared dinners and such? Would everyone have to eat only lean meat and vegetables? How about bleached flour? Will that be outlawed too?
Peoople honestly need to ask themselves how far they are willing to go to make their ideas work.

Lol, i said nothing about legislating anything, im just saying that children should be exposed to nutritional food early in life so they dont have a problem trying to change there diets later on should they develop any unfortunate disease's related to poor diets. I dont believe the government should have a say in what you feed your kids, thats ridiculous, but then again, i dont exactly believe people should have their kids living off takeaways and other junk - Its cruel because THEY dont know any better.
But like i said, they're your kids, do what you want.

Originally posted by SearchLightsInc

High fat diets will often line your arteries and later on in life you can find yourself with some serious problems.
If children are never exposed to "good" diets when they are younger, then the chances are they are going to find it difficult to change their diets if they are unfortunate enough to develop specific health problems.

And this shows how ridiculous a notion it is to say that feeding a child junk food is abusive.

What the hell IS junk food? According to you, it's high fat diets. And also, according to you, high fat diets line your arteries. Both are so undefinable and untrue. With the amount of misinformation that is floating around--often times from governmental agencies--what you consider junk food may be considered by others to be entirely safe and, possibly, healthy.

is sugar considered junk food? Carbohydrate in general? How 'bout sodium?

How can you expect parents to know what is good and what is bad for their children when so called "experts" can't even agree on what is good and bad for you?

Jesus Christ.....biochemistry, nutrient biology and physiology are not exact sciences like physics where laws dominate data. Much like theoretical astrophysics, biochemistry, as it pertains to diet and nutrition, is based on observations, and experiments are so often inconclusive because of cofounders and the ethical (making a human eat a substance that is theorized to kill them) and psychological (metabolic ward studies don't account for how a human would behave in the real world) inhibitions.

The last thing I want is the government telling me what what is safe to feed my kids and that if I don't obey, I'm going to jail. The USDA nutrition guidelines is an utter fail of a document full nutritional inconsistencies and myths...why do I want the government advising me on what to eat when they don't have a damn clue their selves?