Spring: Chubby Child Body
The author's First Communion -- Age 8 _____________________ I will never criticize a child for being overweight. No child ever chooses to carry extra weight – for reasons that are not yet completely understood, some people are genetically predisposed to carry extra pounds, and others have a flaw in their appestat which can throw appetite control out of kilter. To blame a child for something that she or he has little control over is cruel and inhuman, and yet overweight children are harassed by other children and even by adults who may believe that they have the child’s best interests at heart. If any blame can be assigned, let’s point the finger at the fast food industry that markets unhealthy food to children and, perhaps, the parents who give in to the incessant marketing. A child does not yet have the psychological tools to fend off the blizzard of ads propagated by the fast food industry. Hell, most adults are easily manipulated by cagey advertisements – just ...