Lazy parents and obtuse politicians will not cure childhood obesity with taxes

You know that all the good activist causes are gone when in a world where there is still massive hunger and starvation, the current upper-middle class cause celebre is childhood obesity.

Where are all these fat kids exactly? Kids have high metabolism rates. Most can eat junk food and burn it off.

Childhood obesity alarmists point to statistics, but looking around, does it really seem like kids everywhere have ballooned into hordes of Augustus Gloops?

I haven't seen much evidence of it, but even if it were the case, what the issue points to, and the way that anti-fat kid fanatics propose to solve it, is indicative of an abrogation of personal responsibility and reliance on the nanny state that typifies the mushy Left in Canada.

It would seem apparent that if your kid is a little porker, either they're gobbling down too much, which means parents need to provide better meals and help the kids learn personal discipline, or more likely the case, little Jimmy or little Yolanda aren't burning up many calories because they're spending all their time sitting on their butt paying Xbox or facebooking.

Rosario Marchese, the NDP's member of Provincial Parliament for Trinity Spadina, has an involved and expensive proposal to combat the rolls of fat undulating in elementary schools; to impose high taxes on junk food.

That solution won't solve any problems, it'll just make things worse. Kids from more affluent families will still be able to afford junk food and poorer kids will feel left out and pester their parents until they hand over money for popping candy, Reese's Pieces, a Coke and a bag of Lay's ketchup chips. It doesn't matter how cheap or available you make healthy food, because you're still not going to convince a kid that celery sticks taste better than a Joe Louis. The result won't be kids who are any healthier, it'll be be poor people having to spend more money on taxes.

If you want to mess up something simple, the best way to do that is to put the government in charge. The solution to childhood obesity is obvious, but runs contrary to the instincts of leftists who rely on the state to act and think on their behalf. Parents need to act like parents. Make your kid turn off the electronic device for a few hours a day, and take them outside to play soccer, or ride a bike or go for a run. If they had done that in the first place, there would be no problem. But what is certain is that the way to help fat-stomached children is not to rely on new legislation from fat-headed politicians.