Childhood Obesity Rant

[dogzr#1]

I agree. It urks me a lot to see these severely overweight kids and most of the time, they are like 6 or 7 years old. It's sad how many problems they are probably going to have in the future. Most of the time, it's the parents fault. I think we need to educate the parents more than the children.

And then on an entirely different note, there are some kids that are SUPER skinny and anorexic and stuff. That's so sad to see these girls think they are fat when they are really really skinny.

And as Michelle said, they're are mostly super skinny, or really overweight kids at school and hardly any 'normal' kids. Some may think I'm skinny, but I eat like a horse, it's just my metabolism is super fast. I've been called anorexic and it hurts and trust me, I am trying to gain weight!

[xcolbi]

Some may think I'm skinny, but I eat like a horse, it's just my metabolism is super fast. I've been called anorexic and it hurts and trust me, I am trying to gain weight!

Same here. I'm super skinny, but NOT because I try to be. I eat a lot most of the time, but then there will be days when I'm just not that hungry so I don't eat a lot. I've been called anorexic too, but I just ignore it.
At 13 years old, I'm only 85 pounds.
I was born tiny. I've never been the least bit chubby in my life. Not even when I was a baby.
Even though I eat a lot at times, I'm pretty active too. I play football, basketball, figure skate, school sports, and then I go outside and play badminton, play with Colbi, walk to the park or Shortline (Convenience store around here) with my friends, play hockey and even more.
I don't know why I'm so skinny.

[buttercup132]

Same here. I'm super skinny, but NOT because I try to be. I eat a lot most of the time, but then there will be days when I'm just not that hungry so I don't eat a lot. I've been called anorexic too, but I just ignore it.
At 13 years old, I'm only 85 pounds.
I was born tiny. I've never been the least bit chubby in my life. Not even when I was a baby.
Even though I eat a lot at times, I'm pretty active too. I play football, basketball, figure skate, school sports, and then I go outside and play badminton, play with Colbi, walk to the park or Shortline (Convenience store around here) with my friends, play hockey and even more.
I don't know why I'm so skinny.

I used to be the same. Except I think I was 75lbs! I got called anorexic and when I got the high school I had to go down to the guidence counceler cause they thought I was! I hate how people automatically assume that because your skinny your belimc or anorexic. I did gain more weight after I matured . I'm also a very picky eater and hate food like cake , chocolate and ice cream making people think even more that I was dieting and stuff. People always underestimate my strength too (not that that's a bad thing in some cases). But it still is stupid, I'm stronger then most my friends who are normal weight and as strong as the people at my work who are in their 20's and 30's.

[GreyhoundGirl]

Except I think I was 75lbs!

I'm 13 and 80 lbs but for some reason I look bigger than a lot of people who wiegh more than I do... Probably because I hate those skin-tight fashions. My mom thinks they would look good on me, but I don't like the look on ANYONE. T shirts seem so much more comfy... lol

I eat like a pig, but do 22 hours of competitive ballet a week, jog 5 KM a day, do random sports, swimming for 3 hours, and any competitions...plus agility... I'm pretty active

[sparks19]

It's one thing to be large and still be healthy. No one is saying that is wrong or disgusting. hell I am 5'3" and weigh almost 200 pounds. but to look at me you would not know I weigh that much. Then there are others who are 5'3" and weigh 200 pounds and can hardly get around. These examples are totally different. I weigh almost 200 pounds because.... for one... I have a rather um... large... chest LOL I won't go into detail but you wouldn't believe how much of my weight is actually sitting right there. I have more muscle mass than the average 200 pound person. I was also a large baby. I weighed 10 pounds and LOOKED like it too lol.

I was definately not a scrawny kid.... but I didn't have to waddle to get around. it's a terrible thing to say but I have seen so many kids to have to waddle just to get moving because they are so large. You can't tell me they are healthy.

I am not obsessed with being skinny and frankly I think people that try too hard to be very skinny (who aren't just naturally like that. my dad's g/f for example. that woman puts away food like I have never seen but can't gain a pound. but she is healthy) and jeopardize their nutrition for their looks are just as unhealthy as obese people who are OBESE. Having a large frame does not make you obese IMO.

BUt when you can't walk to your mail box without losing your breath.... something is wrong there... especially if you are a child. I certainly don't have a fast metabolism by any means and as a kid I put away a ton of food.... but I also did a ton of bike riding, running, skipping.... general kid activities.

Now a days I see kids sitting on their butts watching tv or playing video games on bright sunny days when they should be outside playing. My brother has three (almost 4) kids. They certainly have the genes to become large but my brother and his wife are VERY proactive in their kids health. they don't eat at McDonalds except for a treat now and then.... their snacks are fruit and other healthy things... not chocolate and chips. They have them involved with sports teams, they take them on nature hikes regularly, they even entered them in a Iron kid "competition". it wasn't really a competition more just a fun thing for kids of different age groups. They had to swim a certain amount, run a certain amount and bike a certain amount.... and you know what... they LOVED it. They search around for little things like this too keep their kids active instead of letting them turn into bumps on a log. and those kids are wonderfully fit... AND well behaved. They get a lot of exercise and they aren't experiencing the behavioural issues with their kids that a lot of parents are experiencing these days. keeping your kids active can do a lot more than just make their bodies healthy... it keeps their minds healthy and everything else.

No one is saying being large is bad.... being obese is unhealthy.... especially for a young child. the older they get the harder it will be for them to lose the weight they need to be healthy. if they are exercising and still cannot lose the weight the is a whole different ball game.... but many of the obese kids I have seen are barely able to walk around let alone ride a bike or play tag.

[carole]

Hey i am the first one to appauld anyone who is comfortable with their body shape, be it thin or not so thin.

But young children being obese is sad in my opinion, they are not in control of their eating habits, their parents are, some people would consider it a form of child abuse, no i am not saying I agree with that, but it has been said before.

Of course it is assumed if you are fat , you must be lazy, and that can be far from the truth,there is such a thing as being fit and fat,some thin people are not fit at all.

In my opinion, and generalising here, and from what i read is fact, this generation is lazy, even my generation,not exactly through choice but because of technology,and even if you are not one of them, a lot of the children are not participating in regular exercise, eating badly and hence we have obese children.

Being obese or morbidly obese, just is not good for your well-being, the health problems are many as most of you know.,and maybe not in the US, but here in NZ can end up costing everyone financially.

So it really is sad when you see a young child three times what they should weigh, as they are being set up for a lifetime of health problems, I think everyone would be in agreement here surely.

[Twisterdog]

I do think there is a lot more to what someone weighs than what they eat and how active they are. And it's SO unfair.

Example: my son has this incredible metabolism. He eats, I'm not EVEN exagarating, more than the rest of the family combined. He eats all day long, whatever quanity, whatever calorie content he wants. He must consume 10,000 calories a day! And, frankly, he sits on his butt a lot. He plays a lot of video games, watches TV, etc. He is 5' 10" and weighs 160 pounds, quite thin.

My step-son, OTOH, eats an average amount for a teenage boy, I'd say, but less than my son, for sure. He is a little more active, too, riding his bike around more, etc. He is 5' 1" and weighs 150 pounds, quite heavy.

My niece and I were always the same way growing up. We are about the same height, but she always weighed at least 20 pounds less than I did, yet ate easily twice as much as me a day, every day. No fair!

[xcolbi]

I used to be the same. Except I think I was 75lbs! I got called anorexic and when I got the high school I had to go down to the guidence counceler cause they thought I was! I hate how people automatically assume that because your skinny your belimc or anorexic. I did gain more weight after I matured . I'm also a very picky eater and hate food like cake , chocolate and ice cream making people think even more that I was dieting and stuff. People always underestimate my strength too (not that that's a bad thing in some cases). But it still is stupid, I'm stronger then most my friends who are normal weight and as strong as the people at my work who are in their 20's and 30's.

Same here, I'm also a picky eater. But I've got a peanut allergy too, so I can't eat as much because a lot of things say "May contain traces of peanuts."
If I get shoved just a little bit I go flying. It gets annoying after a while. Last year a girl purposely pushed me and, well I went flying and cracked my neck. It hurt.
I'm pretty strong too. Physically and emotionally. If someone calls me a bad name, I don't even care. If someone physically hurts me somehow (like today during my basketball tournament ), I'll just shake it out and then just carry on with what I was doing. Or try and get back at them. Unless of course I was seriously injured.