At 12 years old I already weighed around 200 pounds. I was obese at such a young age that it’s difficult for me to look back and accurately evaluate my choices. I can reflect on my teenage years and analyze my behavior, but I was obese long before that. So how did it happen?

I don’t have any health problems that can lead to obesity. Doctors have been checking my thyroid regularly and everything always comes up normal. Inherent obesity doesn’t seem to run in my family. So, why?

As far back as I can remember I was the fattest kid in school, and I even remember being self-conscious about my weight in preschool!

In general, I have a poor memory. But there are a few things that stand out.

My mom was a single working mom and we often went out to eat as a treat. I remember she had a favorite burger joint where I would always have a kids’ meal with a hamburger, fries, a coke, and a token for an ice cream cone, which you could redeem after your meal. I always did.

Another very distinct memory I have is of apple fritters and maple bars. There was a corner store near the house where my mom would go to by donuts in the morning, or she would drive by the bakery and pick up a few donuts or even a small box of them.

Mini-marts were frequent stops for sodas and anything with impossible to pronounce ingredients and a ten year shelf life. One time, when I was very small, I walked out of the store with some random snack food in my chubby hand, maybe a candy bar or some chips. I can’t remember, and in fact I was too young to even have the concept of paying for something. I was chased down and my mom took me back in to pay for it. All I remember is seeing something that looked potentially yummy, and taking it.

When she had the chance, my mom cooked quite a bit, and she was a great cook. Yet, I have many memories of making myself macaroni and cheese or bologna and cheese sandwiches. I remember a lot of cheese: white mozzarella sticks, shiny plastic orange squares, thick slices of cheddar oozing out of grilled cheese sandwiches. My grandmother, who took care of me a lot, also loved to cook, especially nice dinners. Yet when it came to lunchtime there were countless trips through the McDonald's drive-thru.

Recently, the mother of one of my students noticed that I’d lost quite a bit of weight this school year. She told me that she’s always telling her overweight daughter to eat healthy but that her daughter just loves McDonald's so much.

My first thought was, wait a minute… This kid is nine years old! She doesn’t have a job. She doesn’t have a car. Someone is buying her that food. Someone is taking her there, letting her choose what she wants, and then paying for it. Guess who it is? It’s you!

Nowadays, I don’t keep unhealthy food in the house, period. My husband and I only eat out once a month as a rule, and we usually eat fish and veggies at a Japanese restaurant or have a vegetarian meal at a health food restaurant in the city.

If I get the desire to eat compulsively I don’t have many options! I might end up eating an excessive amount of oranges, bananas, and nonfat yogurt, but there’s nothing really unhealthy for me to sink my teeth into.

If there had been nothing in the house except apples when I was a kid, I suppose I would have eaten them or starved to death.

As a teacher, I see the snacks that children bring with them to school. The children who are at a normal weight for their age usually come to school with a bottle of water and an apple or a few mandarin oranges, while the heavier kids tend to have pre-packaged cakes or cookies and sugared-up juice boxes.

I notice that the children who come with sweets as treats are the same kids who curl up their noses at the mention of whole wheat bread, brown rice, and nearly every vegetable, while the other students defend healthy foods by saying, “No, it’s good. My mom makes it.�

Giving your children only healthy food choices when they are young will help them to choose healthy foods on their own as they grow up. Letting children make decisions can be a very positive thing, but if they are too young to understand the consequences of their decisions it could end up causing more harm than good.