child obesity

[sam]

I heard about this on the radio at work yesterday and personally i think its a really good idea to notify parents, although you would think it would be obvious to them anyway.
Its about time that something was done to help these kids and it's good to see that the government are trying to tackle the problem, just wondered what other's think about it ?

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/pressass/20071022/tuk-child-obesity-warnings-for-parents-6323e80_1.html

[Angela]

I'm not altogether convinced that this will do much good. As you say sam, you would think that the parents would already be aware of the problem!

To me it seems like yet another "box ticking" exercise that won't necessarily have much, if any, real benefit. I would like to be proved wrong though!

[JAWS]

Just another example of the State feeling it simply must take control peoples' lives.

[Rheghead]

Whilst I broadly agree with Angela and Jaws, I would think it would be more effective if they issued fat warnings to parents about the parents to their face when/if they come in on parent days. Though I suspect they wouldn't see the parents that they really want to see, but that is life I suppose.

[xx_chickie]

It's such a serious issue just now, I think the government are desperate to do little things like this which may make the issues look resolved..if it will work or not? I don't think so unfortunately There is already enough information avaliable to parents if they feel they should try to do something about their child's health.

[mccaugm]

Just another example of the State feeling it simply must take control peoples' lives.

OK we have a nanny state but what about our kids being overweight. This is bordering on neglect. The government is worried about our kids and their health. I for one am delighted....they are trying to do something about it.

See previous thread
http://forum.caithness.org/showthread.php?t=22045

[Rheghead]

I read somewhere that obesity is partly due to a general attitude to food, as given to us by our parents. The article said that parents shouldn't say something like "Eat that up because there are many hungry children in world that would walk miles for a meal like that". This says to the child that food shouldn't be wasted at all costs and they will eventually develop guilt-driven reasons to eat a full plate without wasting any. Over time, the theory goes, that we get conditioned into putting too much on our plates and eating it all. Does anyone disagree or agree?

[scorrie]

I read somewhere that obesity is partly due to a general attitude to food, as given to us by our parents. The article said that parents shouldn't say something like "Eat that up because there are many hungry children in world that would walk miles for a meal like that". This says to the child that food shouldn't be wasted at all costs and they will eventually develop guilt-driven reasons to eat a full plate without wasting any. Over time, the theory goes, that we get conditioned into putting too much on our plates and eating it all. Does anyone disagree or agree?

I think it is a lot more simple than that. Many people are just eating far too much convenience "junk"

TV stations are awash with ads for MacDonalds, Pizza Hut etc, if you visit any city, you will see the punters lining up like lemmings for their coronary inducing mush. Supermarkets carry a wide range of similar products that are designed for ease of preparation, rather than nutritional value. Kids have their own agenda these days. PS2, MP3, MTV, BBC, ITV, O2, USB, CK, DKNY, KFC, BK, ETC

Time the were embracing the concept of less BED, FAT and taking more H2O and PE. OK?

[Metalattakk]

Just heard on the radio that because of the lack of allotments these days (let's face it, everyone had an allotment or a vegetable patch in their garden) kids today have no idea where vegetables come from. (Tesco apparently. )

As usual, I blame the parents for all this. If parents were stricter with their children's eating habits - forcing them to eat vegetables and not just feeding them whatever they want - the kids would grow up appreciating all sorts of weird and wonderful foods, and wouldn't be endangering their health to such an extent.

I remember being told by my parents that if I didn't eat what they cooked for me, I'd get nothing else. I refused only the once. Hunger soon changes even the most stubborn child.

I know a grown woman who was allowed to eat whatever she wanted all through her childhood. Her main dietary staple was Cheesy Pasta. She would eat hardly anything else. I am completely convinced that if her parents had the strength and awareness to force her to go hungry unless she ate stuff she didn't like (i.e, a balanced diet) she wouldn't be the size she is now.

The parents desperately need educated, and if this initiative helps do that, then I am all for it.

[changilass]

The problem is that years ago parents could refuse to feed you anything other than what was put on your plate, kids have so many 'rights' these days that you would likely end up in serious trouble nowadays for abuse by starving the poor wee dears.

[Metalattakk]

That's the point though - they wouldn't starve for long. Anyway, no Procurator Fiscal in the land would charge you for not feeding your kids what they wanted.

[badger]

I'm sure a lot of the problem is "grazing". Children, and adults, eat junk snacks between meals then the children don't want to eat a "proper" meal because they're not hungry. Also lack of exercise doesn't help. Stop the biscuits etc. between meals, take them for a good long walk and then see the difference. They'll eat almost anything that's put in front of them. Many children these days fill up on snacks, sit around watching tv or computers and then, surprise ... they get all picky at mealtimes.

Also how many mothers these days don't actually know how to cook a meal from scratch using raw ingredients? So much quicker and easier to put pizzas etc. on the table. What happened to cookery lessons in school?

What happened to everyone eating school meals? When I was at school there was no question of leaving the school grounds between arrival in the morning and going-home time. Now Wick and Thurso are full of school children every lunchtime going round buying heaven knows what. I seem to remember school food being pretty disgusting at times but we ate it because we had to. We had mid-morning milk but I don't ever remember biscuits. We also had far more outdoor sports than children do now, no doubt partly because playing fields hadn't been sold off.

Funny thing is, whenever they do one of those programmes taking children back to school, or life, as it was years ago, they love it. Not saying they don't also like getting back to their normal life but it does make you wonder. And I don't mean the programmes where the whole family goes back because often the parents whinge so much it doesn't work. Children are far more adaptable.

[Thumper]

Sometimes the child simply does not like whatever it is that is offered and there's no way on earth they are going to eat it.Refusing them anything else can help but it has to be done reasonably.My oldest was a great eater and would eat anything you gave him and never even had a sweetie or chocolate until he was 3 and I had to move in with my parents and they started to give him sweets much to my annoyance.However he is now 16 and refuses to eat lots of things,it drives me crazy but he says his tastes have changed!Veg is a no no unless in a soup,fish-forget it,meat-well a little sometimes but most of it is noodles or pasta.My youngest is a great eater and will try most things and does like most things,maybe to the point where I have to watch what he eats now!Dont even ask about the middle one,its a nightmare feeding him!Diet has to be watched but I do think that kids today just don't get enough exercise,half of them don't even know what playing outside is which is such a shame but in this day and age a neccessary evil x

[Julia]

I let my daughter eat the amount she wants (within reason) but I never force her to finish a meal. I think she has a pretty healthy diet, she eats what the rest of the family eats, she gets no kiddies cereals but enjoys bran flakes or cheerios instead, her preferred drink is water, I've hardly ever fed her the likes of fish fingers or other kiddie orientated foods, she gets one or two sweets per week (never tasted chocolate until she was over a year old) and she eats a lot of fruit.

She is six years old and the school nurse said she was classed as 'obese', she may be heavier than her peers but she is also much taller, I think her weight is in proportion with her height. She is very active and does not lie about indoors watching tv, she is always out playing and running about. I honestly don't know what else I can do and I was extremely offended to receive a letter saying to watch her diet and restrict her fat intake etc.. I already do these things!

[changilass]

If the government really wanted to do something about the weight of our kids they would put more money into schools to allow them to have more pe/games lessons and after scool sports as we had when we were kids. Its not just about the food these kids are eating its also about the lack of exercise.

[Rheghead]

If the government really wanted to do something about the weight of our kids they would put more money into schools to allow them to have more pe/games lessons and after scool sports as we had when we were kids. Its not just about the food these kids are eating its also about the lack of exercise.

Has the level of PE gone down? I can remember my school timetable as having 2 hours of outdoor sports and 2 hours of indoor PE per week, is that more than now?

[huh]

I let my daughter eat the amount she wants (within reason) but I never force her to finish a meal. I think she has a pretty healthy diet, she eats what the rest of the family eats, she gets no kiddies cereals but enjoys bran flakes or cheerios instead, her preferred drink is water, I've hardly ever fed her the likes of fish fingers or other kiddie orientated foods, she gets one or two sweets per week (never tasted chocolate until she was over a year old) and she eats a lot of fruit.

She is six years old and the school nurse said she was classed as 'obese', she may be heavier than her peers but she is also much taller, I think her weight is in proportion with her height. She is very active and does not lie about indoors watching tv, she is always out playing and running about. I honestly don't know what else I can do and I was extremely offended to receive a letter saying to watch her diet and restrict her fat intake etc.. I already do these things!

If this conclusion was taken from her BMI, you should know that it's a very ineffective way of telling if someone is obese or not.

The BMI is meant to broadly categorize populations for purely statistical purposes. As noted, its accuracy in relation to actual levels of body fat is easily distorted by such factors as fitness level, muscle mass, bone structure, gender, and ethnicity. People who are mesomorphic tend to have higher BMI numbers than people who are endomorphic, because they have greater bone mass and greater muscle mass than do endomorphic individuals.
Similarly, ectomorphic individuals could conceivably receive a reading below the normal range, when in fact their body type makes it healthy for them to be thin. In fact, ectomorphs could obtain healthy readings even when their body fat percentage is higher than is healthy, as their low lean mass will lower the BMI.
People with short stature tend to have lower BMI. Therefore they should use a lower cut-off value for obesity diagnosis.[4] The same applies to older people, whose reduced muscle mass can hide additional body fat without increasing BMI.

[Julia]

If this conclusion was taken from her BMI, you should know that it's a very ineffective way of telling if someone is obese or not.

It was taken from her BMI.

Her school has PE twice a week.

[badger]

It was taken from her BMI.

Her school has PE twice a week.

Sounds as if there needs to be an element of common sense in all this. Some children will always be larger than others for all sorts of reasons and this doesn't mean they are obese. There's no doubt obesity is a problem with children and adults, you only have to look around you, but we don't want to turn all children into matchsticks.

As for PE twice a week, I seem to remember having it every day because I hated it but had to do it anyway. Twice a week isn't nearly enough given that for many children that's all they're going to get.

[mccaugm]

Has the level of PE gone down? I can remember my school timetable as having 2 hours of outdoor sports and 2 hours of indoor PE per week, is that more than now?

They are lucky to get a couple of hours a week...it does not seem to be regarded as a priority. The further up the school they get the less they seem to get. This is of course unless they choose PE as a subject..