Why do people let their kids get Fat!!?! (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Gatie]

Yup, we had soft serve a few times a summer at the Dairy Queen in Weymouth (it was a big thing when we saw it open for the first time every April) and every once in a blue moon we went to Peaceful Meadows in Whitman for "real" ice cream and to "see the cows". No sweets in the house at all and very few chips, Doritos, etc.

 

[Brett_H]

Hey, good timing on this topic! NPR had a great story earlier this week about the state of Arkansas tackling the childhood obesity epidemic. This included taking height and weight measurements of all children, calculating BMI and then sending home letters to inform the parents of their child's standings in comparison to national averages.


Bravo! Hopefully this will become a national trend and not just a flash in the pan. I've got to admit, I wouldn't think Arkansas would be the state to lead this effort, but more power to them.

-Brett.

 

[Mike Broadman]

NO kid should be eating McDonalds.

If a parent wants to insure proper health to their children, it's much much harder these days than years ago. Of course that's no "excuse," and if it takes a parent an unreasonable amount of effort to do that for their kids, they have to, but why should it be that way?

- Why do we allow junk food to be marketed to children, who cannot understand what marketing is? (Which brings up the issue that kids are watching so much TV in the first place)

- Why are public school lunches so devoid of school lunches? Many are no better than McDonalds, which means a lot of kids are eating McDonalds every day for lunch. That is horrible.

- Sports and phys ed are usually the first thing cut in schools (if not art and music).

- And when kids do play sports, it seems (if the news is to believed, which it probably shouldn't) that parents are more interested in fighting each other over it than encouraging kids to have fun (and therefore be more interested in the exercise)

- Unfortunately, many parents used food emotionally with their children, and sometimes it's a cultural thing. Most folks from an Italian or Jewish family know what I'm talking about.

If I ever have children:

- One TV and computer in the house, all in one room.
- No junk food in the house (a practice I keep for myself, anyway, along with alcohol)
- Sweets would be a "special treat," ie, the family goes out for ice cream or something. RARELY.

 

[MarkMel]

You can eat whatever you want. The key is moderation. Going to McDonald's once or twice a month isn't going to kill you. Having pizza once a week isn't going to kill you either unless you eat the whole pie. Keep a mental tally of what you have eaten during the week. Had some cake at the weekly office b-day party? Lay off of the desert for a couple of days. It's not the food itself that is killing, it's the excess. Say no when they ask if you want to super size it. Say no when they ask if you'd like a second piece of cake. In other words, people need to learn to close their mouths instead of shoving food in it every five minutes.

On the exercise front;
Where are all the bicycles? When I was a kid I rode my bike everywhere, all over town. I hardly see a kid on a bike anymore. Mom and Dad drive them everywhere. Hey Mom, let's stop at McDonald's on the way home.

Also, the high fructose corn syrup is horrible. I make my own soda using a soda siphon, some lemon juice, some lime juice and some sugar. Whenever I have 'real' soda now it tastes too sweet and fake.

 

[JonZ]

Heres a article someone sent a link for awhile back.....

http://www.mikementzer.com/

Go to "Articles" on the menu on the left and then down to "Body Fat: Hard Facts About Soft Tissue, By M. Doug McGuff, MD Posted 2/9/03"

 

[Jeff Gatie]

I know my sister is deathly afraid of child predators. I think she is overreacting, but I know she and many of her fellow mothers will not let their kids walk to school and they can't ride their bikes without her supervision.

When I was a kid, I walked 1/3 mile to Primary School from 1st to 6th grade and 2 miles to Junior High (uphill, both ways, through 2 feet of snow in September) cause I was one block short from taking the bus. We also used to disappear on our bikes for hours at a time and only had to be home when the streetlights went on or we got hungry. Seems that parents may be ultra protective in some areas (sunscreen, independence, protection from 'predators') and much less protective in others.

 

[MarkMel]

I have a 4-yo daughter so I hear what you're saying about the predators. And I'm sure I'll be over protective when she is old enough to ride to her friends houses. I'll probably drive her. But, put the kids in soccer, swim team, anything to get them out of the house and moving.

 

[Jack Briggs]

In my generation, when we got home from school the first thing we wanted to do was throw down our books and dash outside and play with our friends. We were active. And my teachers wrote letters to my parents telling them I wasn't eating all my school lunches.

There was one Coke machine and no snack machines in the lunchroom. And the Coke machine was off limits to elementary kids -- only for the high schoolers.

When we played, we played hard. My metabolism has always been high.

Now, as you well know, the paradigm is different. Kids come home from school and head directly for their Xboxes or their computers. And, later, watch lots and lots of TV. Their school lunchrooms are awash in corporate promotion, with food courtesy of the fast-food giants. Add that to the sedentary lifestyle, and there you go.

However, I would never advocate jailing a parent because his or her kid is morbidly overweight. There's that little matter of the Constitution.

 

[Ted Lee]

thank god someone finally mentioned that.

i guess i'm blessed with a high metabolism. as a kid i was rail-thin and i'm still pretty skinny (except for some minor love handles) now.

as a kid i ate whatever i wanted. my parents never told me i couldn't have something and believe me, i ate a lot of junk food. my uncle and i used to eat pizza, ice-cream, fast-food, etc. if it was "bad for you", i ate it.

but, i also ate pretty darn healthy. i pretty much always ate what was put in front of me - that included veggies, fruit, etc. so, i think, as long as the diet is balanced, there should be no worry.

as far as blaming the parents go, some kids are just going to be obese. i'm not sure there is anything we can really do about it.

on a side note, is obesity hereditary? i've always thought that was why obese parents generally have obese kids????

 

[Johnny_M]

nah, as i said earlier i beleive obese parents have obese kids because they have bad eating habbits. giving them large proportions, as that is what they give themselves, and telling the kid "finish everything on your plate". Sound familiar? Also as I said earlier, my over weight friend and his wife have 3 skinny kids, so my vote is against hereditary.

There are very FEW examples of 2 skinny parents having a fat kid.


Johnny

 

[Mike Broadman]

Obviously, too many people don't have a good idea of what "moderation" is.

Obesity is hereditary to some degree. Everyone has a limit as to how big and small their fat cells can be. That is inherited. But there is usually a large range within those limits, set by lifestyle. That is usually passed down from parents to children.

 

[Scott L]

Had to post these:





And check out the link Jonz posted for that rassler kid, very depressing. My parents overfed me when I was young. Dad's from the south where 2nd helpings are plenty according to southern hosptitality. I got real chubby & peaked in high school. Went off to college, didn't have parents' home cooking and ended up losing a lot of weight. Came back and the look on my ex's face was priceless. :b

 

[Johnny_M]

im assuming thats jessicas mom in the background. now that you all can SEE what i am talking about, maybe you will agree with me. i cannot be the only one that wants to smack that lady! i know maury would if he could!

Johnny

 

[Mark Sherman]

At what point do you start wondering GEE Jessica Looks a little like the Michelin man. Maybe she might have a weight problem. Nah its just baby fat.


My Neice is 9 and weighs a hefty and Healty 68 LBS. Some of here friends could model as the Stay Puffd Marshmellow Man. Its a sad state.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Whats even worse are the endless stream of books, videos, and websites, proportedly written by "doctors" "Nutritionalists" and other health professionals* that come out and tell people that its OK and healthy to be 100 or more pounds overweight. Add in the BBW&Pround "movement" and some people can become outright hostile if you dare try to inform them that their lifestyle is anything less than perfect.


*Of course these people have never stepped anywhere near a medical school. But who needs refrences when you have the internet to post on?

-Love,
Nobel prize winner: The Rev. Dr. Garrett "The illuminati are forming a world-bank" Lundy. Esq. PHd. HVsD. LMNOP. the 3rd. 'King of Dystopia'.

 

[Ted Lee]

c'mon ... jessica is an extreme example.

something physiological is going on there.

i *seriously* doubt any five year old gets like that just from a bad diet.

 

[Sean Van Voorhe]

You all forgot to blame video games! They are the cause of kids being overweight, psyco's shooting people on the highway, general stupidity, and the end of the world as we know it. It is either that or music played backward. These kids all need to get on ATKINS!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tim Hoover]

I've always had a high metabolism and been skinny as a rail...this coming from a guy whose father was pretty big and mother was borderline. That being said, I don't eat everything I can get my hands on, because I believe strongly in taking care of my body. My girlfriend and I are also trying to instill that attitude into her little girl. Jennifer and I go running quite a bit, and her daughter always comes along and runs her little butt off. In our household, we also consider fruits and things of that nature as snacks. Very rarely are there any potato chips or cookies passed around. I'll admit that most of that comes from me, as I really don't care for that sort of thing, but I'm glad that attitude has taken root and everybody seems to be following it

 

[MarkHastings]

Scott L, that animated GIF is hypnotic

 

[David Galindo]

I really, really hope your kidding. AHHHHH! Your WRONG!

Now if you excuse me, my XBox and chocolate-coated carmel popcorn is calling my name.