Jackson Free Press

When I was little, my mom would always tell me that I couldn't leave the table until I ate all my vegetables. Most 5- or 6-year-olds might heed that advice and eat them so they can go play video games or color. Me? Nah. I would literally sit there for at least an hour until my mom finally let me get up. Most of the time, I'd go to bed straight after. I hated vegetables then, and I'm still not really fond of them.

I always like to think that my bad eating habits stem from my childhood. We always had junk food around, and my mom would buy me almost anything I ever wanted. I drank Coke. I developed a deep love for chocolate. And then, inevitably, my incessant consumption of junk food caught up with me.

But while it's easy to blame my parents, I don't think that's the real reason I developed such bad eating habits. My mom did for me exactly as her mom did for her. Since the 1950s, and the invention of fast food and the microwave, the food industry has ingrained the concept of convenient food into our heads, and its profits show how successful that's been.

Grains such as corn are cheap and easy to use. For example, cornnaturally.com reports that one pound of high-fructose corn syrup is 6 cents cheaper than beet sugar. At the grocery store, you'll find bottles of Karo syrup (corn syrup) for $1 or $2. Real sugar syrups are more expensive—anywhere from a few cents to a few dollars depending on the type you get.

But corn syrup is merely the product of a screwed-up system. With TV dinners and microwaves, the food industry hammers constantly that food should be quick, convenient and filled with sugary goodness. It has become commonplace to eat food out of a box, even though it's actually cheaper to make it from scratch (and it tastes so much better). Commercials and advertisements tell you to buy this stuff. It's like candy, filled with so much sugar it makes you happy. Plus, it tastes just like the real thing.

Kids like me grew used to the convenience, but I guarantee you that those of us who grew up eating tons of junk probably have a bad relationship with food in our adult years. Human-sciences honor society Kappa Omicron Nu conducted a study in 2007 to find out if a correlation exists between parents' and children's eating habits. What they found was exactly that—children see their mom or dad doing something and imitate it. In other words, if your parents eat junk food, chances are you do, too.

Our junk-food habits contribute to the childhood obesity epidemic and the related illnesses later in life. In Mississippi, the state Department of Health reported in 2009 that 40 percent of the state's children are obese or overweight. Eighty percent of those children are at risk to become obese adults. In that same study, MDH reported that obesity accounted for approximately 9.1 percent of the total U.S. medical expenditures for that year. Childhood obesity in Mississippi costs the Medicaid program more than $3 billion annually. From 1987 to 2001, about 27 percent of the medical-cost increase was because of obesity.

Of course, the problem isn't all about food. Kids are staying inside more to play video games, browse the Internet and use social media. I saw it every day with my brother. When he was out of school this past summer, he would sit in the living room for hours playing "Call of Duty." He's lucky, though, because he also plays sports, but he has the attention span of a goldfish when he's not concentrating on shooting another player on screen.

Many kids don't play sports, and in low-income and poor families, parents often choose cheap, processed food over the more expensive (and less convenient) fresh meats and produce. In its study, Kappa Omicron Nu found that economic status correlates to childhood obesity. People who grew up eating convenience foods may not know how to cook.

It's a vicious cycle passed from generation to generation. It happened in my family, and if I don't change, it could happen to my future children. We must learn to break this cycle and give hope to children who struggle with weight and fitness problems. We must stop the obesity epidemic, and it starts with the younger generations.

Though it may seem bleak at times, we have hope. As we become more aware of how bad our obesity problem is—and what it's costing us—more and more people and organizations are stepping up with programs and plans.

First Lady Michelle Obama announced the Let's Move! campaign in 2010 as a way to break the cycle for younger generations. In the program, which advocates for healthier food, parents can sign a pledge. The program gives them tips and tools to teach their kids how to live well, and even how to help bring families together for their health journey.

The initiative has meet-ups in 476 cities, including Jackson, Meridian and Hattiesburg. The campaign's website has additional information on ways to eat healthier and get active, including a "Let's Move Outside" initiative, giving parents ideas on where they can go and what they can do to be active outdoors.

The Mississippi Office of Healthy Schools strives to make food in public schools healthier, and it offers services in wellness areas such as health, nutrition and health education. Action for Healthy Kids Mississippi recruits volunteers across the state to help create healthy school environments for children, and teaches schools how to use Fuel Up to Play 60, a program the National Dairy Council, USDA and the NFL fund to inspire kids to be active for at least 60 minutes a day, and as a way to raise awareness for good health and an active life.

Locally, numerous organizations, such as the University of Mississippi Medical Center have initiatives to tackle the obesity epidemic. A quick look at websites for local medical centers and schools will reveal the many ways Mississippi is trying to make itself better.

The road to a healthier society may be long and hard, but if we, as adults, can show the younger generations how to live well, perhaps one day Mississippi won't be first on the numerous lists of health problems our country is facing.