A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
For my fourth move I took a more global look at obesity. I know what's going on in the United States in terms of obesity, but I thought that looking at other countries and comparing their issues would help answer my question. To do this, I watched the documentary Way Beyond Weight.
Several Brazilian parents in the film offer explanations as to why their children are unhealthy in the film. One single mother talks about her experience working in the fast food industry. After working as manager for a fast food chain, she explains why she had to quit. She felt like she was part of an industry that was just as bad as the arms or cigarette industry. She believes the fast food industry is just as bad because it uses friendly cartoon characters and sugary foods to basically exploit children. The children see what they want, and beg their parents until they get it.
I came across a public service announcement the other day that repeats what the parents were saying in Way Beyond Weight. The clip is called Rewind the Future. In a minute and a half we are rewinded back through a man’s life who we find out dies of a heart attack due to obesity. In one of the final shots it shows his mother feeding him french fries in a high chair because it’s “the only thing that makes him stop crying.” The message is morbid but definitely important. Viewers are urged to “stop the cycle” of childhood obesity and are reminded that they ultimately set the eating habits of their own children.