Child Obesity....

[Bez]

....not just 'puppy fat'....



I have 3 grown up kids.....the youngest is overweight ....eats too much rubbish but knows it !



I have 8 grandchildren. 1 of the teenage girls was overweight from about 3 yrs old but has now taken control of her life and diet. One of the lads is also chubby and also eats a lot of the wrong stuff.



Everyone else is average weight and eat fairly healthy.



Are parents too lazy, too apathetic with their kids eating habits.....what are your opinions ?



http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/ ... dren.shtml



Did anyone see the programme about the 14stone 8 yr old ?

[RedGlitter]

I think parents have their own bad eating habits and pass them on to their kids. Kids don't generally know how to cook for themselves and parents don't generally know how to *properly* cook for health plus add in fast food which is full of chemicals that alter our bodies and make us fat, plus we are a sedentary society generally speaking. I also think a person's own metabolism has a large part in this.

[weeder]

There are many reasons for obesity in children. I feel really bad when I see an overweight child. It is because I know that their weight has no where to go but up and how difficult it is to get the weight off. One reason is the fact that with moms and dads both working.. familys rely on fast food. These foods as we know are high in salt, sugar, and fat. No more mom in the kitchen preparing healthy less fattening foods. Kids with less supervision and a less structured routine are eating more crap because there is no one to say no. Kids have more money to spend, and they spend it on junk food. Then there are the well meaning parents who force kids to eat. More complex reasons for over eating are ( as weve heard ) feeling lonely, or frustrated, or depressed. There werent any desserts in my house, growing up.. because my mother didnt have the money to buy that stuff, She cooked great food for us which was more economical and healthy. I didnt have a lot of money to spend until I was 14 or 15. Now that we are discussing it... I know I ate a lot more out of the house once I did have the money.. and I did gain weight.

[laneybug]

I think this has a lot do with the parents not instilling proper eating habits in their kids. I've seen a lot of parents use food as a type of reward for good behavior (baking cakes for them, taking them for ice cream if they do chores etc. etc.) or to keep them from acting up, like at the grocery store! Another thing, kids naturally like sweet food, I think a lot of us do, and with the generation of staying inside more to play video games and watch tv, kids just don't go outside and play like they used to. A lot of parents put their kids in front of the tv as a sort of babysitter. It's sad and a total lack of responsibility on the parents' part. The eating habits of parents is also a factor. If you don't teach your child at a young age the benefits of eating healthy, and show with example, they're less likely to eat healthy as an adult. Also, it seems, with the busyness of working and caring for the house, it's much easier to whip up something quick or go out to eat, then it is to plan meals carefully and cook using good nutrition.

[minks]

Junk food is a quick fix for parents...

It is cheap

it is readily available

it is mistaken as a healthy substitute

~~~~

Inactivity is a quick fix for parents

It is cheap

TV, computers, PSIII etc are readily available

It is mistaken as quality time with children.



I personally blame the parents, how can a parent not care about the future health and well being of their child. Have proper balanced meals with them, get off their own duffs and get out as a family and do something physical....

To me it seems like a form of child abuse.

[laneybug]

I really don't think people mistake junk food for being healthy or tv, games, etc. for being quality time. I think they don't really care because it's those routes are easier.

And yeah, I agree it's a form of child abuse. It's not proper care of a child which in turn is abusive.

[crazygal]

A lot of it I think is parents driving their kids to school, making them just as lazy as them. My neighbour drives her son to and from school every day and it's only a 15 minute walk. Even if I had a car, unless I was going on somewhere else or it was pouring with rain I'd still walk.

[minks]

crazygal;608658 wrote: A lot of it I think is parents driving their kids to school, making them just as lazy as them. My neighbour drives her son to and from school every day and it's only a 15 minute walk. Even if I had a car, unless I was going on somewhere else or it was pouring with rain I'd still walk.


you got that right Cgal, get those kids outside for cryin out loud.

[crazygal]

minks;608756 wrote: you got that right Cgal, get those kids outside for cryin out loud.


Yeah just cos' us parents sit on our butts all day at our PC's, doesn't mean our kids shouldn't exercise. :p

Seriously, I can't keep Ryan in, no matter what I do. Every day after school, weather permitting we go to the park for two hours. Today just an hour as my scar was stinging from pushing the roundabout around, ouch! Usually two hours though. They get to socialise as well as exercise, both important.

[laneybug]

crazygal;608658 wrote: A lot of it I think is parents driving their kids to school, making them just as lazy as them. My neighbour drives her son to and from school every day and it's only a 15 minute walk. Even if I had a car, unless I was going on somewhere else or it was pouring with rain I'd still walk.


Heh, the street I live on is literally right across from the grocery store, and I see people on our street driving to it. Unless they're getting tons of groceries that can't be carried in one shot, I don't see the point of driving. I usually walk.

I think our whole culture has gotten generally more lazy. Elevators instead of the stairs. Sitting on the couch watching tv instead of getting up and moving around, doing some exercise. We'd be a lot more fit if we had to tend to the farm to get food, walk outside to use the outhouse and only have a horse for transportation like it used to be!

[SlipStream]

gettin folks outa their cars is hard at best!

[zinkyusa]

get the vending machines, Pizza Hut and McD's out of schools and let them eat the same nasty swill I had to eat..

that will thin em down:sneaky:

[WonderWendy3]

My boys are going through a heavy stage, and I feel very bad about it...I've started buying more fruits and veggies for them to snack on and now that the weather is nice, we take walks every night and they ride their bikes....the middle son and I take Karate....and youngest one helps neighbors with their horses and gets to ride when the chores are done....

[laneybug]

WonderWendy3;629220 wrote: My boys are going through a heavy stage, and I feel very bad about it...I've started buying more fruits and veggies for them to snack on and now that the weather is nice, we take walks every night and they ride their bikes....the middle son and I take Karate....and youngest one helps neighbors with their horses and gets to ride when the chores are done....


I'm so glad that at least one good mother has noticed her kids getting out of shape and has actually done something about it. Too many parents are too lazy about their kids' health, and even their own.

Good for you WW. There should be a National Amazing Mother award.... you deserve it!! :-6

[WonderWendy3]

laneybug;629464 wrote: I'm so glad that at least one good mother has noticed her kids getting out of shape and has actually done something about it. Too many parents are too lazy about their kids' health, and even their own.

Good for you WW. There should be a National Amazing Mother award.... you deserve it!! :-6


I was embarrassed to even admit that I'm not a good momma, I try...but there are times that junk food is just so more convenient!! The kids love fruit and are good about getting outside in the summer time!... What is funny, is they are "helping" me lose weight...by walking with me at night after dinner...with their game-boys in hand, but walking none-the-less!! :wah:

[crazygal]

Bike riding is great to do with the kids and such good exercise. I am so so missing doing that with Ryan and now he doesn't get to ride on his with me anymore either so we are both losing out.

[WonderWendy3]

crazygal;629643 wrote: Bike riding is great to do with the kids and such good exercise. I am so so missing doing that with Ryan and now he doesn't get to ride on his with me anymore either so we are both losing out.


my kids have bikes...I don't :-1 I'm going to ask my mom if I can have hers, she has a real nice one that she's had for about 5 years, and maybe been on once or twice...

[kayleneaussie]

I agree with everyone. With my kids we had junk food once a month, the computer was only for homework the tv only turned on at night. I have a car but we used to always walk to the local shop and if it wasnt raining or not to hot we walked into town which took about an hour. They were all involved in sport.

It takes a lot of effort and I think with working parents it easier to jump in the car or get take away. Even non working parents seem to take the easy way out

[K.Snyder]

Is anyone else as appalled as I am in schools trying to eliminate gym class?

Mental and physical health is the primary result of exercise and to add the fact that McDonalds and the like is very prevalent in schools these kids are being pumped fool of fat ridden "foods" only to sit dormant without burning it off. How in the hell can anyone be happy about this?

Kids don't exercise enough as it is. Now with all of the video games they rarely see the Sun either. Television is plain rotten. It's incredibly cruel. I'd not be surprised within the next 10 years if we begin to start running tubes along our telephone lines to then run down in every home and eventually in the gullets of people

[fuzzywuzzy]

Bez;567746 wrote: ....not just 'puppy fat'....



I have 3 grown up kids.....the youngest is overweight ....eats too much rubbish but knows it !



I have 8 grandchildren. 1 of the teenage girls was overweight from about 3 yrs old but has now taken control of her life and diet. One of the lads is also chubby and also eats a lot of the wrong stuff.



Everyone else is average weight and eat fairly healthy.



Are parents too lazy, too apathetic with their kids eating habits.....what are your opinions ?



BBC - Science & Nature - Hot Topics - Obesity - Children



Did anyone see the programme about the 14stone 8 yr old ?


I know a few kids that look overweight but I know damn well that they have exellent diets.

My youngest is doing a diet calander at school it's surprised him that he eats so well....He could only remember the junk food that he eats. He actually thought he had a bad diet (which of course offended me) I wonder if children only remember the good stuff (junk food) they eat, and because they are used to the normal healthy food they eat everyday they don't remember that?

My older teenager was discussing with me about the need for a a particular food thinking it was healthy food. I told him that maybe he was craving the sugar content in it..........Innocently, he said he didn't crave sugar. Maybe education is the key to his delemma of not understanding how his brain and body works as far as food cravings go?

We don't have the school food thing here. Kids bring their lunches to school.

but seeing Jamie oliver in america was a total shock. Why do you guys feed your children that crap?

http://www.jamieoliver.com/about/jamie- ... on-trailer



and now you teachers ahve to teach children now hyped up on crap?

[fuzzywuzzy]

Ummm anyone else have a problem with the fact that six year olds can't use a knife and fork????? This is tooo amazing to me.............someone explain why this is so?

My children learnt at the age of two..

[markwilson419]

Overweight is the serious issue and it is now a day happening with kids.Avoid the Junk food because it is the main cause in the kid.

[mikeinie]

minks;608399 wrote: Junk food is a quick fix for parents...

It is cheap

it is readily available

it is mistaken as a healthy substitute

~~~~

Inactivity is a quick fix for parents

It is cheap

TV, computers, PSIII etc are readily available

It is mistaken as quality time with children.



I personally blame the parents, how can a parent not care about the future health and well being of their child. Have proper balanced meals with them, get off their own duffs and get out as a family and do something physical....

To me it seems like a form of child abuse.


I agree 100%

[Bez]

I went for a day out with my son and grandson on Wednesday. We stopped for a coffee and sat next to a family of 4 kids and 3 adults...probably grandparents.

2 little girls about 5 / 6 looked fine but there was a toddler and a 'possibly' 10 month old that were grossly overweight. The adults bought themm a plate of chips each that was far more than I would consider an adult portion.... what's matter with these psople ! oh yes.....the adults were obese and had huge plates of fish and chips !!!!

[Odie]

Bez;1329672 wrote: I went for a day out with my son and grandson on Wednesday. We stopped for a coffee and sat next to a family of 4 kids and 3 adults...probably grandparents.

2 little girls about 5 / 6 looked fine but there was a toddler and a 'possibly' 10 month old that were grossly overweight. The adults bought themm a plate of chips each that was far more than I would consider an adult portion.... what's matter with these psople ! oh yes.....the adults were obese and had huge plates of fish and chips !!!!


that figures!~

I've seen the adults obese to, I think it helps them feel better about their size when they shove crap down their kids!:-5

french fries......good grief!:mad: