This blog has been looking at some of the many sources of grievance that can be found in the ever-increasing existence of obesity in the USA — most of which, if the truth is acknowledged, revolve around money. People who don’t have much of it are upset because they are blamed for the fact that they can’t afford excellent nutritious food for themselves and their children. People who have lots of it are indignant because the tax dollars they begrudgingly part with are used by poor people to buy potato chips instead of broccoli.
Some people are unhappy because they can’t afford treatment for the obesity that others feel is “their own darn fault, so why should we pay for their weight-loss drugs and their gym memberships?” Some are embittered because no matter how they run their own household, once the kids are old enough to go to school, many diverse influences will be working on those little minds contrary to their parents’ beliefs and wishes.
A lot of grownups are quite reasonably and justifiably angry about the advertising that is everywhere, from which they cannot protect their children unless they join a community that forswears electricity and other modern conveniences. Many parents feel helpless against the overwhelming force of ubiquitous and relentless advertising.
Tell me something I don’t know, ha ha
Kids don’t want to be told what to do, and the question of what they eat is not one that arises once a year, when they want something outrageous for Christmas; or once in their high school career when a girl wants a scandalously expensive senior prom dress; or only when the kid starts campaigning for the parents to buy him or her a car; or once a month when they want extra cash to go to a movie.
No. What goes into those young mouths is a question that arises every single day, week after week, month after month, year after year. Even the most conscientious adults cannot control what their children eat outside the home. Even the most caring parents have to give up sometimes, or risk blowing the whole relationship right off the map.
Slow your roll, Mom and Dad
Speaking of dangerous territory, family dynamics can be so unhealthy and unproductive that parental warnings actually cause the very result that the parents dread. A teen girl who is hounded by her parents about the possibility of pregnancy just might (consciously or unconsciously) express her opinion of the nagging by going out and — you guessed it — conceiving an unwelcome grandchild.
An adolescent boy who catches too much flack on the subject of unsuitable companions could very possibly react by seeking out those exact undesirables to hang out with, and incur consequences that wind up in a courtroom or in even more dire surroundings.
Even if such extreme outcomes are avoided, the fact still remains that an obese kid will probably become an obese adult, and face very unwelcome reactions from other adults. How useful is it to warn a child that today’s behavior regarding food could easily turn into tomorrow’s life of miserable rejection?
Answer: not very useful at all. In fact, most likely any such prognostications will be, at least, laughed off and at most, resented to an extent that can lead to no good end.
Public opinion and private behavior
It goes without saying that the surest way to become an obese adult is to be an obese child and/or teenager, and obese adults catch a lot of flack. In the world of work, even if “the company” pays for employees’ weight-reduction drugs, that is money subtracted from what the business might otherwise be paying the non-obese employees in the form of various benefits. And of course, the same goes when “the government” (also known as “our tax dollars”) picks up the tab for obesity treatment.
The reaction becomes even more intense when people get news reports bearing such bad news as the fact that two years after learning that someone else will pay for their GLP-1 meds, three out of four — that’s 75% — of those patients quit taking the drugs or refuse to adhere to the entire weight-loss regimen that includes other factors.
Another important aspect of the entire controversy is uncertainty about the long-term effects of weight-loss meds on the children who are increasingly becoming involved with them. This is perhaps the most unfortunate result of the development of oral medications to replace what used to be available only in injectable form. While we might not want children to be involved with needles (and neither do they), pills are a whole different proposition, making it way too easy to glide along into a “new normal” that could turn into a nightmare.
Your responses and feedback are welcome!
FAQs and Media Requests: 
