08.15.2010
I came across and article on Yahoo! last week about how girls are hitting puberty earlier than ever before.[1] Some girls are getting their periods as early as 6 or 7 years old. Ladies, imagine that! This bit of information, however, isn’t news to me.
I first heard this about 15 years ago when a friend was taking a health class at CSUN. This friend said that there was overwhelming evidence that a contributing factor to this was all the artificial foods, hormones, and preservatives that were being consumed by children all of which, also, contribute to obesity; the focus of the Yahoo! article.
In 1998, I got a job at Wild Oats and the information that I would gather just by working there coupled with my mom’s recovery from breast cancer in 1995, started opening up my eyes to the possibilities that all of this junk that we consume could actually be detrimental.
I gave up eating fast food in 2000 with only 2 slip-ups since then, the last one being 2004. And I don’t miss it all especially after seeing the documentary Super Size Me.
It scares me that all these girls are being affected and, interestingly enough, the majority of the girls that are entering puberty early aren’t Caucasian. They are African American.
The obesity crisis in our country is, I believe, our own fault. I know that fast food is convenient for parents. I know that fast food is cheap for the family on a budget. I know that fast food joints create a fun environment and experience for kids.
But I’m going to ask a question that was posed to Rob by a friend of mine when he was complaining about the prices at Whole Foods: Would you rather spend a little more now knowing that your food is clean or spend more money later on your healthcare because you didn’t take care of yourself now?
One of the most important lessons, I feel, that one could teach their child is how to invest in their future by making the right food choices now.
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