This morning, we took a new look at the increasingly troubling issue of childhood obesity. Nutritionists can preach and preach about the health risks of childhood obesity until they are blue in the face, and many Americans will still fail to listen. However, TLC has decided to appeal to our vanity. With new technology, they take pictures of overweight children and morph them into overweight 40-year-olds. These pictures show parents and children what the kids will look like when they grow up if they do not change their diets and improve their health. It's pretty frightening stuff. WATCH VIDEO.
We featured one family on the show this morning that participated in this program, with the help of nutritionist Felicia Stoler. The Gaither family is setting a great example, showing millions of viewers that it's not too late to change dietary habits and get your weight under control. Both the 11-year-old and 7-year-old in the family have lost over 20 pounds. The parents are changing their habits as well, since most eating and health patterns are obviously set by parents in the first place. But what does this method say about our culture?
It seems to say that we only care about what's on the outside, rather than what's going on with our health inside. Everyone knows that being overweight is bad for you and can cause lots of health risks in the process. Everything from heart problems to diabetes are linked to obesity. However, 32% of adults are still obese and not doing anything about it. But, once people see that they'll look, dare we say it, "ugly" if they continue these patterns, then they want to change. I guess this is one of those situations where regardless of the method, the end result is still beneficial. The Gaither family is much happier and healthier, and we are all thrilled for them. But keep in mind that if this video shows what their outsides would look like if they kept up the bad habits, imagine what their insides would look like. From clogged arteries to cholesterol levels to pure fat, unhealthy eating runs the body ragged. Why does it take an appeal to our aesthetic vanity to wake Americans up to the torture that they are doing to their insides?