Baby Fat Case Study

Ever since Tom was young his parents knew he was large for his age, but they never did anything about it. They would not regulate what Tom would eat and would just call it his “baby fat”. His parents would not even introduce extracurricular activities to Tom because it was a “waste of time”. Tom’s parents were also overweight and would avoid going to the doctor because they knew they were going to be told that their health problems were related to their weight. It was easy for them to eat fast food and the cheapest “junk food” because they did not have a lot of money. Tom’s mom, Susan, was a manager at Wendy’s and was able to bring home dinner pretty cheap due to her employee discount. Tom’s dad, Mike, was currently unemployed due to his health …show more content…
Her name is Catherine. Catherine is eight, and unfortunately is following in her father’s footsteps. She is pretty big for her age and was diagnosed with diabetes. Tom was also recently diagnosed with diabetes, so they both require and special diet. Tom is still working at Wendy’s and is a single father after his wife was killed in a car accident. Tom thinks that he cannot afford healthier foods him and his daughter need, due to his tight budget. Fruits and vegetables are very good for their diet, but they are not willing to try these foods because of their attitudes. They see and smell the green vegetables, and automatically think they are not appetizing. This negative attitude toward trying to make a change shows that Tom has no motivation to better himself even for his daughter. Tom has struggled with depression ever since his father’s death. Struggling with depression caused Tom to have very negative attitudes toward himself. He had no motivation to become healthier, so he never made a change. Instead, he would always find excuses when his mom would ask if he wanted to end up just like his father. He would say, “I don’t have time, I’m always working” or “I cannot afford it”. Even when Susan would offer buying him a gym membership to help him start out he would say, “I do not have time”. Gym memberships around where Tom lived were pretty inexpensive, but Tom would rather buy a greasy meal than a gym membership. Just like most people, Tom …show more content…
A big concern in our country today is obesity. “Obesity, a common and costly health issue that increases risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer, affects more than one-third of adults and 17 percent of youth in the United States. By the numbers, 78 million adults and 12 million children are obese—figures many regard as an epidemic” (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2014). Most obese people do not want to face the fact that they are obese, or the consequences of being obese. They think that they have been fine all this time and that they will be fine if they take their medicine. The medicine just cures the side effects. Without proper diet, the body gets worse and these medications will no longer work. Body Mass Index is measured in weight in kilograms divided by height in meters, squared. The CDC (2012) says, “If your BMI is 30.0 or higher, it falls within the obese range”. Poverty is related to obesity because those in poverty because they feel as if junk food is their best option, money wise. Most people that are short on money end up buying food from fast food restaurants, and do not buy the fruits and vegetables at the grocery store because they think that they are not able to afford it. This is mostly because of their attitudes and they want to make an excuse as to why they are not eating healthy. Also, those in poverty are likely to be obese because of lack of motivation