Weight loss surgery at 2 !?

1. surgery

2. Category of Problem: Children's health

3. Level of Problem: National Level

4. A problem that individuals/families face

5. Childhood obesity is a tremendous issue that our nation faces because our younger generation will most likely have a shorter life span than their older generation as the rate of childhood obesity rises.

6.  With as much TV children watch these days, no wonder the rise in childhood obesity is becoming outrageous; more children sit on the couch then go play outside. While children sit and watch their favorite shows, they are eating chips, cookies, and/or drinking sugary drinks too adding to their calorie intake for the day but, majority of the children do not work off the calories they are consuming to be healthy. Don't even get me started on the commercials that they strategically place in between the children's favorite TV shows. Majority of the commercials are about high-fructose snacks, candy, or super sugary juices or sodas, which when mom takes the kids to the grocery store that is the first thing that kids ask for because they saw it on TV. What if more children channels on TV swapped a sugary , high-fructose snack commercial for healthy snack one? Would it make the kids want an apple instead of chips? The answer to that is I don't know, but I do think that it could help subliminally change the children's decision or make them think twice about whether they should pick an apple or chips.
             Ultimately, if a child needs help with loosing weight then by all means help them, but to what extreme of help is too much? I fully believe that every child/ individual can lose weight by dieting right and exercising a healthy amount. So when I see a two year old get bariatric surgery, it raises a red flag with their future because having weight-loss surgery is not a light matter. Yes, it is a semi quick fix for the child but it does not teach the child how to correctly eat healthy or show them the right amount of exercise to get them healthy long-term.
         I guess, our nation needs to have a better understanding that childhood obesity is becoming a pandemic for us and we, being the older generation is the answer to solving this problem by teaching and coaching our children about what is and isn't healthy to avoid more children getting weight-loss surgery at such an young age.