Child Obesity-Where Do We Draw the Line?
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
I have posted in the past about my strong opinions on children & how parents have a responsibility to not only teach them right from wrong BUT to keep them healthy as well. I have ranted about these parents that go on shows boo hooing about how their kids are overweight & they want to help them & they feel so bad BUT a lot of them, and I am not saying all of them, are overweight themselves. They then go on to put the kids through some sort of program yet fail to change what is going on in the house. They fail to look in the mirror & realize that they are the problem, their habits are the problem, the food they bring in the house & cook is the problem, their inactivity is the problem. If parents provide healthier food, better options and daily activity at an early age, that is what the child learns to eat and do. Now, I am not saying you have to go all crazy & limit everything but there are ways to eat healthy, have some treats too & not make the kids think it is a big deal. MizFit is great at this. She shows how just being active in front of her child but without it being "a thing" & how it becomes just second nature without the stress of it. Make healthy eating part of the norm in the house & don't talk about diets or that stuff in front of them. Just play every day & have fun. They need to learn early that this is just natural & no big thing.
Now I know what I wrote above about obese parents is not the case all the time but it is a lot of the time. I grew up in a house full of fattening foods & that is what I learned to eat. Luckily we were active as kids so that kept me from getting even heavier than I did when I was young. BUT, 40 pounds on a child and even a short junior high/teen, is a lot of weight. Think 40 pounds on a 4'1"-5' person depending on when in my life it was... I have horrible memories of being weighted in school in front of the other kids. HORRIBLE!
What got me started on this again? This post over at Diet Tired got me here along with the two posts over at Jack Sh*t, Gettin' Fit - post 1 and post 2. Dr. J also had a great post about this here. Diet Blog also had a post here. The picture above is from the Diet Tired Post. I really am curious what your thoughts are on this. I, for one, think parents need to start taking responsibility for what they bring in the house & feed their children. You can still make good food even on a budget. Parents need to get active & get active with their kids!
Disclaimer: I am talking to children that do NOT have a medical condition. I know there are a small few that do BUT that does not account for the crazy rising rate of child obesity.
I have posted in the past about my strong opinions on children & how parents have a responsibility to not only teach them right from wrong BUT to keep them healthy as well. I have ranted about these parents that go on shows boo hooing about how their kids are overweight & they want to help them & they feel so bad BUT a lot of them, and I am not saying all of them, are overweight themselves. They then go on to put the kids through some sort of program yet fail to change what is going on in the house. They fail to look in the mirror & realize that they are the problem, their habits are the problem, the food they bring in the house & cook is the problem, their inactivity is the problem. If parents provide healthier food, better options and daily activity at an early age, that is what the child learns to eat and do. Now, I am not saying you have to go all crazy & limit everything but there are ways to eat healthy, have some treats too & not make the kids think it is a big deal. MizFit is great at this. She shows how just being active in front of her child but without it being "a thing" & how it becomes just second nature without the stress of it. Make healthy eating part of the norm in the house & don't talk about diets or that stuff in front of them. Just play every day & have fun. They need to learn early that this is just natural & no big thing.
Now I know what I wrote above about obese parents is not the case all the time but it is a lot of the time. I grew up in a house full of fattening foods & that is what I learned to eat. Luckily we were active as kids so that kept me from getting even heavier than I did when I was young. BUT, 40 pounds on a child and even a short junior high/teen, is a lot of weight. Think 40 pounds on a 4'1"-5' person depending on when in my life it was... I have horrible memories of being weighted in school in front of the other kids. HORRIBLE!
What got me started on this again? This post over at Diet Tired got me here along with the two posts over at Jack Sh*t, Gettin' Fit - post 1 and post 2. Dr. J also had a great post about this here. Diet Blog also had a post here. The picture above is from the Diet Tired Post. I really am curious what your thoughts are on this. I, for one, think parents need to start taking responsibility for what they bring in the house & feed their children. You can still make good food even on a budget. Parents need to get active & get active with their kids!
Disclaimer: I am talking to children that do NOT have a medical condition. I know there are a small few that do BUT that does not account for the crazy rising rate of child obesity.
Throw it at me. Let me know your thoughts on this. I think a healthy debate & conversation is important & needs to happen not only on the blogs but with the mass media as well. Child obesity is growing at an alarming rate. We need to stop & reverse this. Kids having adult diseases is not good!
I don't know what the answer to this is. When a child is very young, then yes, the parents do really control their food intake, unless they are in a daycare setting where healthy food isn't a priority.
But honestly, once they go to school, the parents control over what they eat during the day is severely diminished. I have friends who are thin, cook healthy meals, provide good snacks, but their children are on the heavy side.
Why? Because of the junk they eat at school. Added to the fact that the kids are required to "move" very little during the day. A lot of schools have cut back on PE time due to budget constraints and testing requirements. That certainly doesn't help!
And once they are teenagers and have a driver's license, the control parents have over food choices is really limited.
So I don't know the answer. I still advocate a grass roots effort of people like you, me, and the others who really care about health and fitness to spread the message.
It's so sad because it just sets up those children for a lifetime of problems doesn't it?
Just like you are doing!
Reply to this
Diane, I absolutely agree with you. I was going to talk to that but I want to generate discussion. The thing I hope about starting in the home early is that the child learns to make better choices and/or they just prefer the healthier options. Peer pressure is very tough & I have been there so I do agree with you on that!
Reply to this
I think some parents use this as a cop-out--if children are taught healthy eating at home, they can't eat so much at school (they are only allowed to eat at lunch time) that they will become obese. I think parents do not realize they DO have control over their children (no matter what age) if they exercise it. We can make them go to school even when they don't want to, or keep them from staying out past midnight, or stop them from smoking cigarettes (of course, some of them do sneak these things, just like some sneak food). Letting them know it's NOT okay to binge on junk food, taking them out for a 'treat' and ordering a "small" or letting them know they can choose between a milkshake OR fries, OR apple pie at the fast food joint teaches them healthy decision-making. Food should not be seen as a forbidden enemy, but as something to be enjoyed in moderation. Personally, I banned soda and bacon and donuts in our house (except for occasionally--when it was much enjoyed) and saw my stepson grow from the 97th weight percentile at age 13 to the 50th at age 16. Making a few logical steps and not tossing treats at a child to make him happy is just good common sense and it works!
Reply to this
Laurie, thx for visiting & your comments. First hand experience is a good thing to hear! That percentile change is amazing! Just goes to show you!
Reply to this
Oh my gosh. That's picture is ridiculous, and I'm NOT saying that in a funny, humorous way. It's terrible.
Reply to this
It is sad & Cammy made a good point about the pic. As I said to her, I think with the parent behind the child, Diet Tired was trying to make his point.
Reply to this
A lot of the problem stems from the ignorance of parents as to what constitutes a healthy diet. They load up on granola bars and fruit roll-ups and other foods of that nature, believing that they're helping their children be healthier. So education is a key element to overcoming that knowledge gap. Sahar at fatfightertv.com is an excellent resource (and tireless advocate) for all things related to childhood obesity.
Something that's pushing my squick buttons here is this beautiful child's photo being spread on the internet, even if the purposes are well-intended. I'd like to think someone obtained a release form from her parents, since she's not old enough to have a say in the matter.
Reply to this
Cammy, thx for the link! I agree with the ignorance out there but the information is so more readily available now. It is on the news & regular TV stations along with the internet but I know many just watch TV.
You know, good point on the pic. I think Diet Tired saw the parent behind the child too & was trying to make the point about the home but you are right. Thx for pointing that out!
Reply to this
It saddens me that there are people out there who can't and won't help their children or themselves. Obesity in young children needs to reverse-you are right! There should be no reason why a young child should suffer from this and any other adult diseases like you say. Get healthier! Get active! Something needs to be done, and it has to start with the parents, bc a little child doesn't know the difference!
Reply to this
Amanda, thx for your input. Yes, a young child does not know the difference!
Reply to this
I saw that picture too and I was shocked! I felt so sad for the little girl because I know the battles she will have ahead of her will be huge for her health and ability to socialize.
How can we help families like this?!?
Reply to this
Ok, that pic is freaking me out. I feel bad for that child. For the family. That the pic was actually taken and put on the Internet. Egads.
Reply to this
It may not always be as simple as it looks. My mom is anti-fat, all about fruits and veggies, or so she says. What she does is different. Other than the Pepperidge Farm cake she eats for breakfast, the cookies, pretzels, burgers, ice cream, all when she thinks nobody is looking, she eats very puritanical (her attitude, not mine). Poof, four ice cream sandwiches gone in one night-but I better not even think of ever eating one, because I was fat. She is naturally thin, regardless of diet. Even after all these years, she's shocked that clam chowder isn't low fat, though I remind her every time she eats it in front of me. I appreciate the love of fruits and veggies and plain water that she instilled in me, but it's taking me a long time to undo the damage that her own disordered eating did, both physically and mentally. I can't figure out how she got so screwed up, none of her siblings are like that, but I'd say that my skinny mom should not be exonerated because she's not fat.
Reply to this
Julie, thx for sharing this story.. WOW!
Reply to this
Obesity in kids is really dangerous it should be controlled much early so that kids could be prevented from diseases. Junk Foods should be strictly prohibited.
I Think it is inherited from family background.It is a tendency in baby. Her
mother is also much fat.
Reply to this
I really do think that there should be some type of education program for parents on nutrition!
Reply to this
That would be great if it could be done!
Reply to this
This is really a contentious issue and one that I am very passionate about. Even though I do not have kids, I struggled with being overweight as a child (like you). A month or so ago I read and wrote about a study that seemed obvious -- kids will mimic their same-sex parents' lifestyle. Seems like a no-brainer, but the importance was in realizing that our health-education efforts should be geared towards parents and not so much children! If a kid is given all of info. to live a healthy lifestyle at school but then goes home to parents who either defy or are ignorant to healthy living, the effort is lost.
Reply to this
Annabel, I am with you but yes, a very contentious subject!
Reply to this