Childhood Obesity Rant

[Twisterdog]

I see some of both extremes. I've seen very heavy young children, which is indeed terribly sad. Children learn from their eating habits from their parents, and we all know bad habits are hard to break. Very irresponsible.

OTOH, I cannot count the number of my sixteen year old step-daughters friends who are grossly underweight, bulimic, anorexic, popping pills to lose weight, etc. That makes me just as sick ... that no one taught these girls that their beauty is natural, and so much more about who you are inside than what you weight.

[Catty1]

I know I followed in my father's "foodsteps". I have made long-term change, but I have to always be aware of that "following" thing.

I have seen lingerie ads in magazines - you know, the stuff that is made for 'real women's bodies'? All different sizes and shapes in that ad. Very positive.

Plus, I believe in Spain, and Italy, models have to have a minimum BMI of 18.5? No more anorexic stuff!

There are positive changes...let's hope they continue to grow!

[IRescue452]

To be honest, I don't think food has much to do with it. My sisters (6,6,12) watch tv almost all day. My mom, when she does cook, makes ground hamburger with anything she can find, otherwise they eat pizze and fast food several times a week. Half her grocery bills are junk food. But all three of them are average wieght or under. Explain that.
There is actually possible genetic influences on binge eating though, monozygotic twins are more likely to both have the problem, which means there is some genetic influence. Its possible that binge eating will be added to the dsm with anorexia and other eating disorders.

[Giselle]

To be honest, I don't think food has much to do with it. My sisters (6,6,12) watch tv almost all day. My mom, when she does cook, makes ground hamburger with anything she can find, otherwise they eat pizze and fast food several times a week. Half her grocery bills are junk food. But all three of them are average wieght or under. Explain that.
There is actually possible genetic influences on binge eating though, monozygotic twins are more likely to both have the problem, which means there is some genetic influence. Its possible that binge eating will be added to the dsm with anorexia and other eating disorders.

They're young and they have a faster metabolism? Genetics *does* play a heavy role, as well. Perhaps they do eat junk food, but they do not eat huge-sized portions. Perhaps they do exercise at school. Obesity is a multi-faceted issue. Besides, I know favorite games from about kindergarten through sixth grade is tag, soccer, etc. They're right at the age where playing these games is still "cool", and I wouldn't doubt they are active outside the home.

Frankly, I feel America needs to waken up. It pains me to see overweight children because it is their parents who've conditioned to eat and exercise the way they do. Sometimes, I feel parents should pass a test before they even think about procreating...

[Sirrahsim]

. Half her grocery bills are junk food. But all three of them are average wieght or under. Explain that.

It could be a form of malnutrition. Some people will get thin eating crap because their bodies simple are not getting the nutrients necessary to support their own body functions. You'll sometimes see this in a case where some of the siblings are overweight where as others are underweight even when they eat the same food. What's worse, malnutrition or obesity? They are both awful... and in that particular case caused by the same crappy food.

[Lori Jordan]

This also bothers me,I watch Maury(i know drama),Anyways there was a show and there was this 3-4 year old girl that weighed more than i do,That is pathetic The mothers say"My baby aint gonna starve",I will argue this point until i die.Neither did mine my kids all had a healthy apetite,But never were over weight ,There was one women that fed her child a plate of bacon,sausage,eggs toast and hashbrowns and i am not talking small porportions,That is rediculous do they realize the health problems there signing there children up for.
It ain't fair,We all know how it is for us adults loosing weight,Can you imagine a small child,IMO some people should not be given the right to have children it is sickning!

[jackie]

This also bothers me,I watch Maury(i know drama),Anyways there was a show and there was this 3-4 year old girl that weighed more than i do,That is pathetic The mothers say"My baby aint gonna starve",I will argue this point until i die.Neither did mine my kids all had a healthy apetite,But never were over weight ,There was one women that fed her child a plate of bacon,sausage,eggs toast and hashbrowns and i am not talking small porportions,That is rediculous do they realize the health problems there signing there children up for.
It ain't fair,We all know how it is for us adults loosing weight,Can you imagine a small child,IMO some people should not be given the right to have children it is sickning!

That makes me so angry. It is laughable when parents complain that their kids won't eat anything but pizza pops and french fries, who is the parent? Maybe if they didn't feed them that junk in the first place, the kid wouldn't mind getting a normal meal.

I am even starting to wonder if there should be a section in child services for those kind of cases?

[Lori Jordan]

That makes me so angry. It is laughable when parents complain that their kids won't eat anything but pizza pops and french fries, who is the parent? Maybe if they didn't feed them that junk in the first place, the kid wouldn't mind getting a normal meal.

I am even starting to wonder if there should be a section in child services for those kind of cases?

There should be something with child sevices if obesity can take a humans life it sure could take a childs,I had a friend years ago when i started having children her kids ate nothing but garbage(she said they wouldnt eat anything but,When they were at my home i used to take them for weekends they ate roast beef potatoes and veggies and they never put there nose up,Also they were monsters at home and angels in my home,I dont talk to this women anymore but they still live in my mothers neighborhood and both the kids are in jail for bad crimes,I am just glad my kids are well behaved.

I hope in the near future there will be laws against this sort of thing.

[Killearn Kitties]

I am even starting to wonder if there should be a section in child services for those kind of cases?

Only today I heard a report on the radio about a child who is being taken into care because he weighs 14 stones (almost 200 lbs) at eight years old. The situation seems to have gone beyond the point where his mother, school, or doctors seem to be able to do anything for him. He will initially be hospitalised until he has lost a certain amount, then when he is able to exercise he will be started on a program.

This was a very particular case, but I wonder whether it is something we will start to see more of.

[catmandu]

Is it any wonder that Diabetes is becoming an epidemic in North America
with all the sugar thats in the processed food that most people eat these days.
A 25 % increase in the last 10 years the fatest growing disease in the world.
We have to be more careful about we are eating these days.

[jackie]

To be honest, I don't think food has much to do with it. My sisters (6,6,12) watch tv almost all day. My mom, when she does cook, makes ground hamburger with anything she can find, otherwise they eat pizze and fast food several times a week. Half her grocery bills are junk food. But all three of them are average wieght or under. Explain that.

Ok, just because they are not fat, doesn't mean they are healthy. Good eating habit are taught when you are a child, and they may not have the problems yet, but they might later. What Sirrahsim says makes sense, they may be suffering from a form of malnutrition.

What truley bothers me the most is the fact that everytime my son turns on the TV and all he sees are diet ads! I have to tell you it makes me so mad! My son is 7yrs old and weighs all of 50lbs, and everyday, all i hear is..."mom i need to diet, I am fat!" It just makes me sick! The kid is skinny. but all he sees, is all this crap about losing weight, so he feels that is what he needs to do! Drives me insane.

Ok, that is a little scary, your son looks gorgeous and not overweight in the slightest.

Children don't need to diet, but they should be fed a balanced diet, and get enough physical activity to keep them healthy. When I see a 6 year old pushing one hundred pounds, I do not consider that healthy.

I heard on a TV commercial about childhood obesity (it was a foundation for it or something like that) that the vegetable most provided for kids is the french fry. not much a vegetable at all but in most cases it is the only one they get.

I read something similar in a magazine, sad, sad, sad... I wonder if ketchup could be classed as a form of vegetable too? Haha

[carole]

The US is not alone in this problem, here down under we are having exactly the same problems, with our children being overweight, some changes are being made, with introducing certain levels of physical activity in schools, some schools even make sure the tuck shop does not have too many high fat food options available, but i do feel a lot more could be done.

It has been said my generation will outlive my childrens generation, and i quite believe it, that is really sad.

I remember when i visited the US over thirty years ago, the only takeaway available in NZ at that time was fish and chips,if you had those too often you soon got fed up with it all, and i was gobsmacked when i arrived and found so much choice, mcdonalds, kfc,and so much more, of course it was all great for me at that time, but now of course we have all those options and have had for sometime, and what do we have overweight children and adults.

I know when i was young and working, i would come home and prepare a meal for myself, nowadays the young ones come home from work, pick up the phone and order a pizza, I probably would have done the same thing, if the choice had been on offer in my younger days, but it wasn't,whereas it is nice to have so many food choices, i just wish they were healthier ones, i do praise Mcdonalds and BK for bringing out healthier options,but we still need to do more.

One of the big problems in my opinion is sweet drinks,which are a favourite with most of the young, high energy drinks, sports drinks, which may sound good , but a full of sugar,lift plus and v are two that come to mind.

Of course we are also so much more inactive than we used to be, children spend too much time watching telly, playing video games, on the computer,we have remotes for everything,it is a sign of the times, but they are not good ones,if only using a cellphone and texting were a good form of exercise eh? the young ones would be really fit, more likely to suffer from OOS in later life sadly.

Of course this problem is not only with the younger generation,we have many adults who are obese too, but it does appear this generation is having a lot more problems with weight issues than ever before.

[Ceph]

This is a really sensitive subject for me....

America is obsessed with being thin...it drives me insane(literally). I am 5'3 and I used to weigh 180 pounds, which kind of put me in the size 15/16 scale at the time. I was always heavy...I take after my dad...I am short and squat with a huge bone structure....In my Dad's words, built like a brick s*** house. I was a biig baby, and I never was very thin even when I was young. I was very strong, and I was very healthy...I went to exercise classes two days a week (starting in elementary school with a marine sharpshooter as the fitness instructor). I tried countless times too loose weight and it never worked...

Let me tell you what it was like to be obese as a kid. In elementary school my best friend got in front of the whole class and had them bowing down to me as fat queen. I was bullied and beat up....In middle school I didnt have a whole lot of friends, and I was ridiculed for being the fat kid.

but over all I was happy with myself....I didnt like what people were like around me, but I was me and I didnt care....and what does it really matter as long as you're healthy. I was very solitary...but I had my parents, my cats and my books to keep me happy...I didnt care what other people thought.

In high school I started rowing - rowing is one of the most strenous sports...back legs, abs arms and shoulders...it works pretty much everything. A rower can create enough lactic acid in 8 minutes to keep a proffessional football player puking for two days. We practiced 5 days a week, for two hours each day after classes. My first three years of crew I didnt loose any weight...pretty much maintained...I grew stronger...I was in great shape...but I was definetley a rolly poly. The summer before my senior year I realized that though I was strong enough I wasnt light enough to row in the top boat....so I lost 30 pounds by increasing my running and decreasing my meals....it finally worked, though by standards I was still very large. I remained that way until after my freshman year of college..when the ROTC told me if I didnt loose weight I would be out of the program...so I lost another 20 pounds...I am still not skinny...but I have curves now.

I watched my thinner 'friends' (I realized after I joined the army that I had really just been a tag along and a pain for them for the most part) obsess over being thin, becoming bolemic, anorexic, and sick...I didnt understand that...

So let me tell you what being thinner did to me....people started treating me better, being nicer to me...I could wear everything I wanted to, which was nice...

But my self esteem hit rock bottom...I wasnt comfortable with myself anymore...I have joined the countless women who are asking themselves if they look good...I dont know anymore if people treat me well because they actually like me or if they think I just look good...I find that many people will be nice to me upfront, but when they get to know me (I have a quarky personality) they dislike me....that hurts....when I was overweight, those few people who were real friends didnt care what I looked like, they cared about who I was...and they *knew* me. I like that I lost weight, but at the same time, I am so regretful of loosing that comfort I had.

I dont understand why everyone has such a problem with being large. I know those kids in elementary school beat me up and ridiculed me because their parents taught them it was wrong. And its amazing how something that happened so long ago to a young girl can impact a person 10 or 20 years later.

So before you become disgusted with someone for being large, here's a thought....ask yourself if they are happy with themselves....ask yourself if they are good people on the inside...because its not what's on the outside that matters...its whats within.

whew...sorry for the length...but sometimes you got to understand the other point of view....I'm sort of passionate on this subject because it affected me for a long time...and still does in some ways.

[lizbud]

Being overweight can have an emotional component as well as calories,
etc. A lot of weight problems need to be addressed on different levels
rather than simply counting calories.

[dab_20]

I think it's sad when kids are obese because they sit in front of the tv all day... and that can make them really unhappy, too. Your parents should teach you from a young age to eat healthy and stay active. Plus limit your tv time and time playing video games. But I have another opinion on it too.

I'm technically 'obese', at 155 pounds and 5' 4"... and I've been battling it for a couple years now. I think it's unfair that some people think that just because kids now a days are overweight, it means they are lazy. I'm definatly not a lazy person. I get about 2 hours of exercise most days, some days more, some less. I don't play video games, and I probably watch an hour of tv a week. At one point in November, I was so unhappy with myself, because I coulden't seem to lose weight... I wanted (and still do kind-of) to be like those skinny girls you see on tv and magazines. So I starved myself for a couple weeks, because that seemed to be my only option. I lost about 15 pounds. I started eating again because I was always weak and sick and coulden't keep up with my friends anymore. I've gained it all back plus some. There is so much pressure to lose weight... especially for people my age. Most kids do it the wrong way like I did.

I think if your comfortable with yourself, you are perfect the way you are. And if you want to lose weight to be a healthier person, the healthy way, than that's great. But what bothers me even more is seeing people who are perfectly skinny... like my friends who are skinnier than I am, say "I'm so fat I need to lose weight". Half the time they know they're skinny and just want to hear it! Sometimes they really believe they are. That's what really saddens me.