JiggaRoo

There was an article in the NY Times today titled “Surgery for Obese Children”.  Headlines are meant to catch a readers’ attention, and this one sure did its job.  I think my heart stopped just reading those 4 words.  Immediately, this internal dialogue played out in my head:

“What the Eff”
“You’ve got to be KIDDING me!”
“America and their quick fixes”
“Children still have so much life ahead of them. They can change their lifestyle NOW without going under the knife”

Trying not to jump too ahead of myself, I read the article through.  It didn’t provide me any comfort.  I understand that weight loss isn’t easy, but for those under the Age of 21, I think it’s just irresponsible for parents to allow their children to undergo such a drastic surgery.  Dare I say that they should make a surgery like this for teens illegal?  First of all, they aren’t even finished growing.  We don’t know the implications of such a surgery on adolescents.  Second of all, they are still young and can change their ways with proper guidance, and support.  How about we start by adding P.E. classes back into schools while taking out the snack bars and soda machines?

Take a look at the trends I pulled from the CDC website.  Close to 20% of our adolescents are now considered obese, but is surgery the answer?

(Source: CDC.gov)

It saddens me to see that our society’s obesity problems have gotten to this point.