SUCH was a netizen’s blunt but heartfelt plea to parents to control their children’s’ diet to ensure they do not face future health issues.
X user أنينا فاريس (@anina_faris@anina_faris) urged that the habit of saying “chubby kids are cute and adorable” be cast aside as this promotes an unhealthy lifestyle.
She further lamented that parents that allowed uncontrolled over-indulgence were just condemning the children to future misery. She contends that to do so was an act of cruelty and we need to take pity on such kids.
Budak-budak gemuk tak comel ya. Kita sebagai ibu bapa, kalau biarkan anak-anak makan tak terkawal, kita sebenarnya dah menzalimi mereka.
Anak-anak mewarisi tabiat pemakanan ibu bapa. Tolong buang mindset gemuk itu comel.
No. Gemuk tu tak sihat. Kesian budak.
— أنينا فاريس (@anina_faris) October 6, 2024
Her blunt assessment gained plenty of traction with many echoing her sentiments that even “obese cats find it difficult to move about”.
Others pointed out that obese kids were subject to all sorts of trauma – and even risk getting ostracised – from shaming to name calling. The psychological effects of being left out of sporting activities also left its scars.
One said she just ignores when others ask her daughter if she was being underfed, having had first-hand experience of growing up overweight.
Recalling how torturous it was to lose weight when she was a child, she rather bear the brunt of these comments by enabling her own offspring have a normal body mass index.
A similar view was shared by another X user amighul deghaman (@ricxxxkiddo) who posted a clip of a two-year-old who was able to polish off a large portion of chicken rice.
While admitting that the chubby lad possessed a certain charm, he was worried that the toddler already apparently weighed 26kg.
Masa kecik memang nampak comel tapi risau juga baru umur 2 tahun berat dah 26kg. Kesian dekat budak tu 😅 pic.twitter.com/D913sI8mRe
— amighul deghaman (@ricxxxkiddo) October 5, 2024
The same comments were made by netizens regarding this video which has garnered over 1.2 million views at the time of writing with many netizens concurring that obesity is a disease and should not be celebrated as some sort of cuteness.
One sarcastically commented that the only benefit if being so rotund was to be mere online “content” and any “cuteness” was limited to the younger years.
One placed the blame squarely at the door of the parents and couldn’t believe that they allowed the young lad to chomp down that amount of grub.
With ailments such as hypertension, diabetes and heart disease which are linked to obesity on the rise among Malaysians, it really does need a shift in mindset.
Healthier living is not just exercise and healthy eating but as the posters above highlight, to stop celebrating obesity as a badge of honour. – Oct 11, 2024
Main image credit: Freepik.com
