Third fattest country in the world is.....

[Catherinedana]

I have to say that I don't really know what to feel about this post. I'm fat. I'm also quite active. I don't do aerobics and go to the gym, but I garden regularly, I'm renovating my house, I volunteer at the local bird sanctuary two days a week. . .I am also a fabulous cook and I like to eat. I don't sit and gorge myself with cake and ice cream and chocolate. I can't even EAT ice cream and chocolate, they make me ill.

So - am I a bad person because I'm fat? Am I hideous? Am I unloveable? I don't think so. . .hope you wouldn't just write me off without getting to know me because I am bigger than you are.
Cathy

[carole]

I don't want anyone to take this thread as a personal attack, it is just a fact,and a sad one at that, i too have been overweight, so i felt it was ok for me to post this, sorry if anyone is offended, certainly not my intention,many of us are overweight for many reasons, and it is not an easy thing to deal with, and i speak from much experience, sure i have never been obese, but it does not matter how much overweight you are, you still feel the same.

Catherinedana you sound a wonderful person,this is not directed at you,or anyone else, who has weight issues, as i pointed out i have too,being fat or thin does not make you any better or any less than anyone else, i hope this helps explain my thread to you.
The thread is more about my own country and that i am so surprised to hear this,and saddened by it too.

I have to say i agree with cataholic, i think the problem lies within the fact that junk food is cheaper to buy than healthier food, that is why lower income groups often have weight issues,well that is what i see in my country.

When i visited the US in the seventy's i had never seen so many take out places in my life, there was like this whole street of them, it was amazing, because then in NZ we had no KFC, no Pizza Hut,No wendy's,No burger King etc etc,the only take out or takeaway as we call it here was fish n chips,now we are third fattest nation , we have all of those and more, so what does that tell you.

p.s i sure had a giggle at some of your responses, i love the see food diet comment, nice upbeat, and spirited thread,sure it has it serious side too.

[pomtzu]

Some folks are just naturally heavier than others, but that doesn't make them inferior to others. A lot is in the genes, and a lot in bad habits. My son happens to be one of them. He doesn't eat a lot, but he tends to eat the wrong things and at the wrong time of day. He usually is pretty late getting home from work, and has to unwind and take a shower before he even can think about eating, so most nights he is eating too late, and then going to bed with that full stomach. His breakfast usually consists of grabbing a cup of coffee on the way out the door, so by lunchtime he is quite hungry and goes to a fast food place. So just by his habits, he has packed on too many pounds.

My problem is with the parents who feed their kids just to shut them up, or to keep them happy (their perception of course), without a single thought about how they're endangering their kid's present and future health.

[Cataholic]

Being overweight doesn't make you a better or worse person than anyone else. BUT, it does make you prone to many more diseases, illnesses, conditions, etc. It also makes it harder to find employment, clothes that fit, get life insurance, etc. If this is news to anyone, well, visit your family doctor immediately for further information.

It IS horrible that ANY adult- fat, thin or anywhere in between allows/lets/doesn't stop their child from this disease. Obesity is a disease. If I let my son lay about in the sun without protection, I would be considered a bad parent. If I let him drink pop all the time- even if he were stick thin, I would be considered a bad parent. If I let him go without sleep, or stay up til all hours of the night, I would be considered a bad parent. If I let him watch TV around the clock, I would be a bad parent.

If I let my child get FAT, I am a bad parent. Does that make me a bad person? I don't know.

[Cataholic]

Some folks are just naturally heavier than others, but that doesn't make them inferior to others. A lot is in the genes, and a lot in bad habits. My son happens to be one of them. He doesn't eat a lot, but he tends to eat the wrong things and at the wrong time of day. He usually is pretty late getting home from work, and has to unwind and take a shower before he even can think about eating, so most nights he is eating too late, and then going to bed with that full stomach. His breakfast usually consists of grabbing a cup of coffee on the way out the door, so by lunchtime he is quite hungry and goes to a fast food place. So just by his habits, he has packed on too many pounds.

I agree that some people have a heavier build than others. Some people are naturally thin, some are not. BUT, I think it is pretty proven that it isn't really when you eat, or really, what you eat. It is a straight caloric equation. If you eat too many calories (more than your body needs or uses up in a day) you will put on weight- usually in fat, unless you are doing something to the muscle (like resistence training (be it in the gym or through your work). Fat is fat....no matter from what source it is derived, or from what hour it is ingested.

[Alysser]

I know childhood obesity is a growing epidemic pretty much but a 3 year old at 100 Pounds?? I really hope that's rare, that is absolutely disgusting.

I've been loosing weight on and off, I weigh in 140's at 16 and I am most likely not going to grow anymore at 5''3'. I think I am overweight, but I'm most certainly not as bad as some people. It's rather sad to see people who cannot even walk because of their weight. My job makes me sweat ALOT and the generally we loose 1-2 lbs of water weight a day, and I don't eat as much as I used to so I have been loosing the weight. Hopefully it stays off. I agree with Pomtzu about the bad habits. There is a difference between control on food intake and bad habits. I am quite like your son actually in the way I eat. I see children on a regular basis and while some of the little toddlers will loose their baby fat I guarentee some of them won't and some of them REALLY need to. The sad thing is they are all so young.

[finn's mom]

It is a sad fact. And, there's something really sad (and upsetting) about fat children and fat pets. I think people just spend too much time focusing on the wrong things in life.

[caseysmom]

I am overweight but thankfully my kids aren't.

Alyssa, you are not overweight you are perfect.

I don't know if I can take credit for my kids being thin, I fed a variety of foods, some good, some bad. My kids also had a motorized barbie car when they were very small. We also went on a lot of bike rides, roller blades, etc. Even though I am overweight I have always liked being active.

My daughter thinks she is fat, in reality she is perfect but a lot of teen girls have a poor body image if they are not rail thin. Some of these kids that are really obese does make me wonder, my kids wanted to be active and were running around all the time, it makes me wonder if it is some kind of emotional problems.

I have watched Ruby and the 650 pound virgin and both of them said they were molested as children.

[phesina]

And what do I recall hearing sometime recently but that Detroit is the #1 fattest city IN the US!

[carole]

I thought it was Texas that took that label, maybe changed since i watched that documentary.

Yes i was just pointing out how bad i feel that my country is number three now, we have never even had supersize meals here at mcdonalds, and yet we have this problem,not to mention the increase in childhood and type two diabetes,the health issues keep coming.

Slick i think your info might be out of date, mine came from One network News, our news programme on the television the morning i posted this, but hey if i am wrong, this is one instance i want to be, number 9 and 17 sound way better to me, i will take it. lol

[Marigold2]

I agree. I happen to think that fat kids are pretty disgusting. Their metabolism is so fast, they have to be eating like pigs to be fat. Letting your child be obese is child abuse, it is a bad as if they are starved. Dr. Phil did a show on them, these kids were 8 and 10 and about to have heart attacks, that is abuse.

Go to Disneyland...watch the waddling children fed lots and lots of sugar treats - while paying more attention to the GameBoy in their hands than the amusement park the parents just spent a fortune to get into....

It is reassuring....

My personal favorite is to see a child of nine or ten riding in the grocery basket...this is particularly popular at Sam's or Costco - bigger baskets....

[caseysmom]

I agree. I happen to think that fat kids are pretty disgusting. .

You write a lot of rude posts but that takes the cake!

[kokopup]

Eating to much is only half of the problem. The children today do nothing to get exercise. They eat to much at fast food places like McDonalds (supersized) then go home to do nothing but watch TV or play Video games. Health problems are already a huge problem with Children today and it all boils down to a bad lifestyle. The parents of these children are not much better off. I have Grandkids that fall into the No exercise Category. They Play Video games their entire waking hours. I have tried without success to get them involved in outdoor activities.

[Sonia59]

Being fat or lean is not a shame, everyone has different genes, thus metabolism. But I agree with Carole, it's a sad fact. Some kids can be fat due to metabolic issues (among others), but letting them eat chips and fat processed food instead of fruits, vegetables, etc. is not normal.

[carole]

I agree with you somewhat, yes were are all genetically wired differently,but then you owe it to yourself, children to eat differently if you know you have that tendancy to become fat i guess, easier said than done though,there are very few people who can actually contribute their weight problems to gland issues, but some do have thyroid problems and that certainly makes you overweight,and makes it extremely difficult to loose weight,although it can be done, but it is three times as hard.

I think the truth is we all just eat way too much, i am a strong believer in you can almost eat anything you like, but it is the quantity that is the problem.