She pushed herself away from the dinner table as a contented “I’m so full” escaped from her mouth. My family was gathered around the table, sharing the details about our day as we devoured the chicken, corn on the cob, and green beans piled on the plates in front of us. Before my sister could stand up and carry her plate to the sink, my father told her to finish what was on her plate because “there are people starving.” I glanced at her plate. She had finished a good portion of her meal. I saw no problem with her not finishing what was left.

This idea of eating everything on your plate because “there are people starving” has always confused me. As children, we hear it all the time. Our parents are constantly telling us to finish our meal, not to waste, and to be thankful. How many times can you remember sitting at the table and hearing your parents tell you to finish what was on your plate? Over and over again, they’d remind you that there are children in Africa going without food on a daily basis. While I understand that this is often said to encourage thankfulness, I believe these comments have done more harm than good.

When parents make their children finish all the food on their plate, it forces children to overeat. Even though they are already full, they shove more food into their body, ignoring the body’s wishes. If this is continued, eventually the children learn to eat more than what their body needs. As the child grows, so will the amount of food they think they need. This leads to a lifetime of overeating and gluttonous behavior. As one would imagine, this takes a toll on your health. Obesity, diabetes, some forms of cancer, and heart disease are just a few of the possible dangerous side effects of eating more than what is needed.

Unfortunately, America is known as the land of the overweight. More than one-third of every American is obese. We’ve become the laughingstock of the rest of the world. Meanwhile in America, shows like "The Biggest Loser," "Extreme Weight Loss," and "My 600 Pound Life" are popular in almost every household. We know we have a problem. We know we need to fix it. We just don’t know how.

The first step is our mindset. Americans are greedy. We believe that as long as we have the means to get it, we need it, and we have to get as much of it as possible. It doesn’t matter what it is. As Americans, we feel that we are entitled to it. We’re not. We’re not any more entitled to it than anyone else is. But unlike us, they only take what they need. They understand that there are others who need just as much as we do. We need to understand what correct portion sizes are. We also need more education on what foods are good for us and which aren’t.

If we could retrain how we think, we could beat obesity. However it all starts with our children. Teaching our children to only eat what they need largely lessens the chances of obesity and all the diseases that often accompany it. As a nation, we could eventually be healthier and a whole lot happier.

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