Some people would argue that it is the parents who are to blame because of their child’s obesity and they must be penalized for this. I disagree with the statement because the reasons of obesity may vary and a human organism may respond poorly to medical treatment.
To begin, the reasons for obesity may stem not only from unhealthy food habits, but also depend on a range of other things. One of the possible cause to this can be misbalance between the amount of calories a child consumes and the lack of physical exercise. What is more, due to endocrine disruptions, such as hormonal imbalance or diabetes, children may gain weight. For instance, the World Health Organization reports that 10 million children and teenagers have diabetes, and this number is increasing rapidly, with approximately 50% of cases still undetected.
Moreover, if an obese child undergoes treatment without any significant improvement, so it is not the parental negligence, it is rather a poor reaction of the body. In other words, not being medical professional, parents cannot control this. The only thing is to have a regular check-up and do blood tests to get a prompt treatment. For example, in countries like Kazakhstan and Russia, routine check-ups for children help parents to be informed and start treatment as early as possible.
However, some people hold the view that parents should monitor their children’s weight as their responsibility, I disagree due to aforementioned reasons. Diseases connected to endocrine system may be asymptomatic during the initial stage, and immediate treatment may not be feasible.
To conclude, attributing blame to parents for their child’s obesity seems to be unjustified, especially if the root cause is an illness or an unfavorable response of the body to the medicine.