Does 'Book It' Make Kids Fat?

Recently, Pizza Hut's "Book It" program became the subject of national scrutiny. Since the eighties, the restaurant chain has been rewarding students for reading books by offering free Personal Pan Pizzas for reaching a reading goal, which is set for students by their teachers. 925,000 schools use the program and many praise it as a wonderful tool for encouraging reading among grade schoolers.

But does "Book It" make kids fat?

Our country is currently entrenched in an epidemic of childhood obesity, and many different venues are being explored in order to address the problem. The idea of offering free pizzas as an incentive to students for reading is positively offensive to those who are advocating for far-reaching changes in what our schools make available for children's consumption.

I believe that ending the "Book It" program would only be treating a mild symptom of a much more serious problem: Lack of parental control and involvement.

There are many elements which contribute towards the alarming weight trends of children in this country, here are a few:

1. Lack of physical activity.
Many children live in concentrated urban areas where getting exercise outside is inconvenient, if not impossible. Parents do not have the time or the motivation to take their children to the park or the gym for exercise. Plus, staying home offers an added incentive which children cannot receive by going out to play: movies and video games.

2. The increasing consumption of convenience foods and fast foods.
Busy working families find it difficult to put the time necessary into preparing healthy meals. Often parents swing through a drive-through on the way home, or toss a frozen, carbohydrate and preservative laden meal into the oven or microwave for dinner.

3. Lack of availability of healthy foods.
Parents teach their children what to eat. The foods that are in the house are the foods which the children will eat. If the family grocery cart is loaded with soda, frozen burritos and pizzas, chips, cookies and macaroni and cheese, it is no wonder that the parents, as well as the children, have a weight problem. However, if the refrigerator is stocked with fruits and vegetables and the parents do not buy junk food, their child will have a hard time getting fat.

4. Parents refuse to say "no".
Rather than deal with arguing and complaining children, parents give in to demands for unhealthy food. Parents will not tell their child "no" even if it is for their own good health. They say things like, "Well, my child won't eat vegetables, I can't help it." This is a ridiculous statement. When did the child begin to rule the home and when did the parent give up his responsibilities?

Childhood obesity is a serious problem which needs to be addressed. However, it does not need to be addressed primarily by public schools, especially by getting rid of a program like "Book It". Three Personal Pan Pizzas a year will not cause a healthy, active child to put on excess weight. If this is a concern, the parents have the prerogative to deny their child the pizza and offer an alternative reward in its place. By no means is Pizza Hut liable for our increasingly obese young generation. The responsibility must rest with the parents, for it is they who make the most important health choices for their children.