Answering the Obesity Epidemic

As parents, we are given the responsibility by God to steward our children’s spiritual, emotional, and physical health. Tending to their physical health in today’s cultural setting can lead us to walking a dangerous tight-rope when it comes to monitoring and talking about their weight. On the one hand, body image pressures are huge in today’s image-conscious world. What we don’t want to do is fuel any kind of inappropriate concern about weight that is purely based on how one looks and measures up to the watching world. But that being said, we do have a responsibility to encourage healthy eating and exercise habits. Researchers at Louisiana State University are reporting that for the first time ever, more than one in five American kids is obese. It’s important to know that the data was collected before the pandemic, which was a time when kids gained even more weight. Parents, we worship and glorify God when we are conscious of making choices that keep our kids physically healthy.