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What exactly are we putting into our bodies?
Of all the subjects I may be deemed unqualified to comment on, parenting is surely one of them.
It’s easy for me, a childless man, to be idealistic, to condemn what I believe to be poor parenting practices and be convinced that I would do things differently, for the better, if I were a father. Let’s see how I’d fare if I were, quite literally, left holding my own baby (previous bouts of babysitting don’t really count).
Intoxicating toddlers
Nonetheless, these days only the ignorant, indifferent or negligent would let their defenceless newborns regularly consume ultra-processed and/or sugar-laden, unnaturally sweetened foods. Numerous studies highlight the potential harm to our health in such eating.
If the parents want to indulge in unwholesome fare, that’s their choice — I am, like many, far from squeaky clean when it comes to what is considered healthy eating. But actively encouraging toddlers to down soft drinks or some candy with an ingredient list the length of a children’s book, is both sad and worrying to see.
Why not hand them a cigarette and a bottle of beer while at it? Both are generally less processed in any case.
In a Colombian context, it can be argued that, in some sectors of society, there is a lack of knowledge as to what makes up a good diet. ‘Food is food, just get it into ya.’
What’s more, even for a well-read individual, there isn’t full consensus in the medical/scientific community as to what a healthy diet is. The information available can be quite confusing and, at times, contradictory.
Fake food
Where there is widespread consensus, though, is on the harms of ultra-processed foods. It’s generally agreed that whatever we eat, try to eat it as close to its most natural form as possible.
The ideal would be to cultivate your own food, where you control how it’s grown or reared. Modern life makes such a scenario next to impossible for most of us.
So we have to try to make the best of a far-from-optimal situation.
I’ve written before about the abundance of relatively cheap fresh fruit and veg in Colombia. For those of a more carnivorous persuasion, the country is not lacking in that department either. (How pumped full of potentially nasty chemicals all these are is another matter.)
‘While fat-shaming is seen as a hate crime by many social justice warrior types, some obese folk, it seems, don’t care about themselves.’
Thus, avoiding prettily packaged convenience food shouldn’t be a difficult task here. Yet, from what I frequently see in the barrio, the opposite is the case. And if it’s good for Mammy and Daddy (if he’s present), then it’s good for little Juan or Juanita.
One mother, who is surely in the morbid obesity category, seems keen on seeing her youngest become a sugar/sweet/candy addict before he can barely walk.
This is the same mother who I witnessed devouring an 80-gram packet of crisps (or chips, for our North American friends) by pouring — yes, pouring — them into her mouth. Gone, in about twenty seconds. This was within minutes of her having had a substantial meal.
While fat-shaming is seen as a hate crime by many social justice warrior types, some obese folk, it seems, don’t care about themselves. OK, maybe there are mental issues at play and I can be accused of making light — or, um, not making light as the case is — of a disease but some people appear to be utterly lazy.
Self-control
Now, as referred to earlier, what adults decide to do or not to do is their business as far as I’m concerned. I’m certainly not advocating for a nanny state to control every aspect of our lives.
People *should be* responsible for their own actions. In a far-from-free world, eschewing responsibility tends to push one further under the control of other actors. For greater safety and security, misplaced as this often is, it’s a case of, ‘Into thy hands I commend my spirit.’
For sure, if whatever one does is illegal, we have mechanisms — questionable or flawed as some are — in place to deal with transgressors.
In this regard, fattening up dependent, impressionable young children with food of little-to-no real nutritional value can be seen as a form of abuse.
It could set in motion dangerous addictions and associated health complications in the years to come. These are problems that will affect society as a whole in the form of additional healthcare costs and a reduction in overall productivity.
So a backseat, point-the-finger parent I maybe, but we all have skin in the game when it comes to humanity’s future prosperity. One is simply showing concern and trying to help. Don’t devour the messenger.
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