child hood obesity...what are your views?

Tasha - posted on 06/09/2011

Dana, i agree, 100% was wrong of me to say, but really my point, i hoped to have made is that we as parents are the example and hope to teach our children healthy eating habits. A bit chunky or skinny, healthy is what i hope to acheive when it comes to my child.

Tyrae - posted on 06/09/2011

Unless it's a medical problem it is the parent's fault. Kids don't know what food choices are good for them. It's up to their parents to show them a healthy way to eat and live.

People blame the fast food places out there as the cause of obesity, but I'm pretty sure I don't see McDonalds or A&W forcing food down kids throats. It's the parents buying it for the kids. It's the PARENTS decision to give it to the kids.

Chatty - posted on 06/09/2011

That's a great point, Laura. Skinny doesn't equal healthy.

Laura Zoey - posted on 06/09/2011

I'm one of those people everyone hates, I eat everything and anything and have never gained extra weight. I gain perfectly with pregnancy, loose it all in weeks and continue to eat whatever I want and stay thin.



BUUUTTT, I'm not healthy!

I'm not fit

I need to eat right and exercise even though I'm not struggling with weight. I have a high metabolism, sleep tons, and am quite restless so I figure these things contribute to my nice size, but my mom never stressed healthy eating to me cuz I always was small.

Thin doesn't equal healthy. So even skinny kids need to eat right and exercise and WE as parents have to teach these things and enforce it.

So it's not just the fat kids who need to be taught about healthy living, it's all kids.

Chatty - posted on 06/09/2011

Tasha, while I agree with you for the most part, and do believe that parents are responsible, I don't always believe it's 100%.

What about school aged children that get to leave during lunch breaks, or find their own ways home from school etc. If you're talking about younger, elementary aged children, then yes. I agree, but not once they're into highschool, or are given certain liberties and freedoms to hang out at friends houses etc.

A parent CANNOT be there 100% of the time, which is why it's so important to teach our children the importance of proper nutrition.

Tasha - posted on 06/09/2011

We are 100% responsible for what goes in the mouths of our children untill they start buying their own groceries. We are the first line in the defense to teach our chilren healthy habits like eating and being active. I think some cases could be considered abuse or neglect, some parents a literally giving their kids less of a chance to be healthy and happy because of how they feed their kids. I do understand that sometimes health issues cause obesity, and people are just genetically different, some eat right and work out and are still large, while others do nothing and look slim. In the end its about being healthy, whatever weight you are. You cant eat cheeseburgers and sit on your butt and expect to be slim, or more important, healthy. I love to eat, but i also like living and feeling good, i love bacon and cake and lots of stuff that isnt good for me, and i dont deny myself those things, i just dont eat them everyday. We are our childrens safe keepers, we have to teach them to make good decisions so that when they're on their own, theyll be smart, informed decision makers.

April - posted on 06/09/2011

Dmak, it's like you read my mind exactly!! Btw, I saw a little two year old yesterday that was so fat that her eyes were sunken in (she had fat pouches under them). She must have weighed in around 60 pounds!!! I couldn't believe she was only 2! I would have liked to have said something to her mother without being rude or coming off as ignorant because who knows if this child has a medical condition.

Laura Zoey - posted on 06/09/2011

Cherish, idk if the rice cereal caused her to gain weight or not, but my son was exclusively breastfed and he was 20lbs at 4 months, he didn't have solids for months after that either!
My husband is overweight because of hs mom. She a,ways is asking about food, are you hungry what do you want? I'll cook for you? Do you need more? Etc etc
She always is feeding us and when he was little she always did the whole clean your plate routine. She serves good healy food but the quantity is overboard and she feeds you too often!
She's improving now, but the damage is done, matts been overweight for about ten years now and it's incredibly hard for him to loose it now. Also he got a job at mc donalds at 14 years old and all the free soda and discounted food didn't help, he was already overweight and it just got worse.
He is incredibly fit though, he can run longer then me, ride his bike, etc. He can run up a flight of stairs and I'm huffing and puffing behind him even though I'm a skinny 120lbs girl.
Weird enough is even though he's about 60lbs overweight, his medical records are beautiful, great bp great heart etc, he's lucky so far but we worry about the future if he can't loose it.
And he still holds bitterness towards his mom cuz she let him get fat before he was 10 and it wasn't his choice, she fed him and didn't stop.

Cherish - posted on 06/09/2011

also my daughter is in the 95 percenttile for her wieght and 90th for her hieght.

Cherish - posted on 06/09/2011

My daughter wil be 3 in aug and she weighss 42 pounds. But the reason shes so big is because she had acid reflux so bad that we had to start putting cereal in her bottle at two weeks old. And that caused her to gain weight fast. At 4 months she already weighed 17 pounds.And she goes outside and plays plenty, and to be honest she doesn't even eat that much. Her two year old cousin who only weighs 20 lbs eats twice as much as she does, and shes still small

Hayley - posted on 06/09/2011

as brutal as this sounds parents are completely to blame if their child is overweight through excessive eating. There is absolutely no excuse for a parent allowing their child to eat more than they should. Too many times have I heard the excuses " i just can't stand it when they tell me they're still hungry" or "well you try saying no to him/her they go crazy" etc etc... Its bloody ridiculous. How difficult is it to feed a child properly....hardly rocket science. Common sense!!!!!

Stifler's - posted on 06/08/2011

That is very true Jakki. Also people are in denial about healthy portion size, what they're eating being healthy and how much physical activity they actually do.

Jakki - posted on 06/08/2011

I always imagine our cave living ancestors - imagine how much effort was needed to go and gather a cup full of berries or honey out of bees' nest, and how rarely these treats would be available.



But now we just reach out an arm to the supermarket shelf and get something with 1000 calories in it. Just like that. It is human nature to make us eat lots of fat and sweet stuff, to survive through lean times. It takes education and massive willpower to stop the urge to cram more stuff into your mouth.



So why is the obesity epidemic exploded so seriously in the last 20 years? Changes in lifestyles - more and more enticing (and cheap) junk food and more and more enticing things to do in front of a screen (wii, DS, DVDs etc).



As well as those factors, there's one more thing I reckon is a big issue - this generation of parents are getting less and less able to say NO to their kids when the kids ask for something, whereas our parents didn't have a problem with it.



Anybody agree with that?

Chatty - posted on 06/08/2011

I agree with most everything that was mentioned here about it being a combination of several different factors, but the bottom line, and I think Emma said it best. At the end of the day, with the exception of medical conditions, it is simply boils down to calories in vs. calories burned.

We can encourage a child to be active. Our children can be extremely active their entire childhoods but what about when they're older. Without teaching them a proper understanding for themselves, of how to eat proper well-balanced nutritional meals, we're setting them up for failure in their adult lives. Eventually people slow down and become less active, so if we don't teach them how to eat properly and instill in them exactly how important regular exercise is, it's going to be a losing battle.

Not only do we have to monitor what they eat and encourage them to exercise, but we need to TEACH THEM how do motivate themselves to do it.

Am I rambling? Anyhow, I agree....a combination of things.

Jessi - posted on 06/08/2011

Tj was and is mid to high 90's for height and low 80's for weight BUT all males on either side are over 6 feet tall (to exclude my oldest brother and younger cousin and his father's older brother). He's never been chunky and my dr was surprised he was as big as he was when he was born because I wasn't gaining weight....they actually told me i needed to make more trips to mcdonalds to gain some quick weight.

Stifler's - posted on 06/08/2011

Yeah I agree there is a competition between my husband and his cousin for whose kid is the biggest. Not necessarily fattest but the tallest and all this. It's weird and I don't even care whose kid is the biggest but they do this thing where they talk up their kids height and stuff and weight and I'm just like as long as they're healthy who cares.

Lady Heather - posted on 06/08/2011

A lot of people seem to think with the little ones that bigger = better. Freja was born in the 3rd percentile and has grown significantly since then. She is now slightly below average for weight and height. Obviously she was not meant to be tiny. But that doesn't mean she has to keep doing what she did in the first year. She's where she's meant to be because she directs her own food intake (and isn't given massive portions that she feels she must finish) and I supply healthy foods to choose from. But I have babies in my family who are HUGE and everyone thinks it's this great thing. It's fine. They are how they are supposed to be. My brother and sister were the same and they are scrawny now. It's just not every baby or little one is supposed to be that way. A high weight percentile doesn't mean you've won. Ha.

Good Day! - posted on 06/08/2011

Or trying to explain the being in the 25th percentile (which is up from being in the 10th % this time last year) is perfectly okay...especially when her height is also in the 25th percentile. She's perfectly proportional. There is nothing wrong with being a small child and it doesn't mean she's not eating.

Lady Heather - posted on 06/08/2011

And try explaining to her that the kid doesn't need corn on the cob AND bread. Corn is not a fucking vegetable! Rage. Yes, very glad we only visit with them a couple times a year.

Stifler's - posted on 06/08/2011

That is Logan exactly. He eats when he's hungry and he'll eat his veges so I don't care if he doesn't like meat much but she will freak out and try to put an egg in his milk and all this crap because he hasn't eaten the 5 metric cupfuls she's dished out to his plate.

JuLeah - posted on 06/08/2011

Sugar, processed foods, TV/Computer, cuts to PE and other sports programs ..... fast food .... results in fat kids

Lady Heather - posted on 06/08/2011

That's exactly my MIL Emma. We had Freja there about a month ago and one night she decided she didn't want much dinner. She already eats way more than most kids her age (despite being really skinny), so I never worry about it. She'll eat when she's hungry, I figure. And who knows, maybe her stomach was bothering her or something. But MIL was all freaked out. "omg! She hasn't eaten any chicken. Eat some chicken Freja. Mmm...yummy chicken." She wasn't even 2. If she just wants a couple of bits of veg for dinner, who cares?

Jenn - posted on 06/08/2011

I think there can be medical issues that cause weight issues, but for the most part, childhood obesity is caused by poor diet. The neighbours's kid is 6 and weighs about 90lbs. I watch her sometimes before school and she brings her own breakfast which consists of chocolate pudding, fruit punch, sugar-coated dry cereal, and a banana. She is an only child, and is babied and spoiled and gets what she wants by crying and whining a lot. They eat a lot of McDonald's, and pizza, and her school lunches are packed full of pre-packaged foods. She is a bright, sweet, active girl, but she just eats horribly. The worst part is - she already gets teased about her weight. :(

Stifler's - posted on 06/08/2011

I think people also feel like they are starving their kid if it isn't eating 24/7. This uis nothing new, my mother in law insists my son doesn't eat enough when he poops and grows non stop so he must be getting enough. She thinks I should spoon feed him still at 17 months and he should be running around my house with biscuits and juice constantly or something as if this is normal parenting.

Lady Heather - posted on 06/08/2011

I think there are about a million and one reasons why kids are bigger these days. To name a few - parents are uncomfortable letting their kids roam the neighbourhood like so many of us used to do, we're all plugged into devices that don't allow much movement (computers, video games, tablets, blah de blah), most homes are either single parent or two working parents so cook/prep time for meals is kept to a minimum and more convenience foods are used, we are becoming more and more disconnected from food sources (although there's been a resurgence of back to basics lately - yay!), parents are passing on their own food addictions to their kids, parents have to work so much to provide necessities these days that little time is left for their own exercise - kids need positive modeling!, etc. etc.

It's like all these things are coming together to create a big shitstorm of fat kids. Some parents just kill their kids with love. My husband was an obese child in the 80s. Not too common back then. He was very active outdoors. But his mother fed him to fat. She still does it now and she tries to do it to my daughter. Eat more, eat more, you're a growing boy and all that. To which my mother would have said, "Sure he's growing. But which way?"

I don't know how much of it is directly linked to early solids. So many of us in our slimmer generation were fed early solids and while it may have caused us other problems (I don't know), it doesn't seem to have made us bigger. I think perhaps that there is a tendency among those who feed early solids to perhaps do other things that promote obesity when the kids are older.

Lacye - posted on 06/08/2011

I'm happy to say that I didn't start Lily on solids until she was about 5 and a half months old. Still before 6 months but she wasn't getting full with just milk. Even then, she got rice cereal.

Jessi - posted on 06/08/2011

We're well aware there has been concern of obesity in the states for a while now but when the concern is shifting off adults and more and more onto children on a daily basis we as parents need to figure out how to control it.

Cathy - posted on 06/08/2011

We Brits could have told you that years ago...!!!

Unfortunately so much has become Americanised in our own food culture that we are rapidly catching you up!

Dana - posted on 06/08/2011

In the US you will find that parents who wait until 6 months to feed solids are few and far between. The common practice seems to be 3 months, start the cereal. Also, we've had an obesity epidemic for years too. This is not something new in the US. It's just something that's finally recognized as unhealthy.

Cathy - posted on 06/08/2011

I do think Jessi makes a valid point in her OP.

It was standard practice 50+ years ago to give babies solids from a very early age ... And 50 years later when the recommendation is 6 months we have the obesity epidemic in children. I don't think it's necessarily good for an infant to be given solids from such a young age for a number of reasons but I find the obesity link a little hard to buy into.

Now obviously if a parent has started solids early and has the kid on the burgers and fries before their first birthday then you can call it a problem...

Obesity has so many factors, medical conditions and genetics can cause even the healthiest people to battle with weight. Throw into that mix a poor quality of diet, too much processed, fatty and salt riddled foods. Eating too much, lack of understanding of calorie content and the requirements of age and body type. Not enough exercise, too much time on video games or sat infront of the TV.

Good Day! - posted on 06/08/2011

Yesterday my girls had checkups. My three year old had to get her blood pressure taken. I was floored. If that is not an indication of an unhealthy nation, I don't know what is. I fully believe that it is our eating habits, too much sugar and processed foods, that is the main culprit. A sedentary lifestyle also plays into it. (And I do understand that there are medical conditions that can play into it as well.) Maybe early solids has a role, but I have a hard time believing that it plays as big a part in the obesity epidemic as sugars and processed foods.

Rosie - posted on 06/08/2011

i feel it's a bunch of different factors, but children are always at the mercy of their parents. if you odn't overfeed your child and you notice he's getting obese it's up to you to do something about it, whether that be diet, exercise, or taking him to the doctor if all else fails.

Sara - posted on 06/08/2011

I know someone with Prader-Willi syndrome, and it's a chromosomal disorder. He does not function on the same mental level as a normal person, so it's not just like they eat themselves to death and understand they're doing it on the level you and I would. And yes, there are group homes for people like this.

Jessi - posted on 06/08/2011

Tara - I put that (as i told Jodi) because I understand opinions better when someone can give reason as to why they may disagree with someone else's opinion. I have saw people post there opinions disagreeing with others but not stating why they feel that way in many other conversations and many other communities. I would just like this debate to end well so moms can see and understand other moms points of view instead of arguing when they don't see the other's point and this conversation getting locked. I am truly interested in other's opinions on this topic whether they are medical issues that are hard to control/not controllable or behavioral problems on either the parent or child's behalf.

Jessi - posted on 06/08/2011

There is a sweet little girl I met in a play group my friend had started last year or so. When I met her she was 3 or 4 and around 60 pounds. I do not remember the condition she was born with but her parents didn't find out about it until she was a few weeks old. They noticed her stools were lessening and brought her in. The doctors concluded she has a condition where she cannot defecate on her own, she requires medication and lots of belly/back rubs to stimulate her G.I. Tract. This little girl CHOOSES to eat healthy and yes we did ask her mother about that. During our play group, her mother let her prepare her own plate and she only chose healthy foods and limited what she took (and trust me, my friend had enough treats she could have chose from). Her mother said she could learn a lesson or 2 from her 3yr old on healthy eating.

Now as far as force-feeding cereal via bottle, not everyone who feeds early does that. I took photos of his 1st time eating cereal for his baby book b/c i loved his expressions. He ate a little less than 1Tbsp which is considerably less than his hourly 9oz bottle he wanted.

And I do apologize for not making my opinion clear as I started this conversation when I got home from work at 1am. My conclusion of my opinion being a child who eats a lot and is actively outdoors vs a child who eats a lot and is actively on the couch, is going to be at a healthier weight even if they are above average size-wise than the kid on the couch flipping through channels or yelling at the tv b/c he just failed a mission on his "call of duty" video game. As Jodi stated "I think obesity in children is cause by many different things, and is not necessarily caused by a SINGLE trigger." She is 100% right, there is not 1 specific cause but there are contributing factors that we need to take into consideration such as: food consumption, activity level, eating disorders such as binge eating where they cannot tell when they're satisfied or they do it out of stress or simply b/c there parents allow it as another mom pointed out. By the way I saw that on Maury Povich and it was sad. The 2 year old weighed almost as much as I did at the time which was 125 (i think he weighed 100) simply b/c his mother (who by the way was "slim and slender") would let him eat whatever he wanted and if she didn't have what he wanted she would go buy it.

Lacye - posted on 06/08/2011

Parents' fault. I know this for a fact. I was an obese child after I moved in with my dad and step mother. When I moved in with them at 4 years old, I started to get chunky. The reason why I got fat, my stepmother would not allow me to go outside and play, she sat me down in front of the tv so she didn't have to watch me, and when it was time to eat she would fix a huge plate of food and make me sit at the table until I ate all of it. So yeah. Parents all the way.

Tara - posted on 06/08/2011

Hi Jessi,
In this debate community we don't normally tell people how to respond to topics up for discussion.

As to the OP.
Kids who are obese barring a medical or psychological conditions are obese because of, first the *quality* of the foods they are eating and secondly the *quantity* of the foods they are eating.
The average diet today contains far too much refined sugars, corn syrup and corn syrup products, refined enriched bleached white flour, red meat, processed foods, pre-packaged foods, foods loaded with sodium, trans fats and other saturated fats. They contain preservatives and chemical additives, they lack nutritional value.
Very very few children consume even half of their daily requirement for FRESH fruits and vegetables and fibre. Which are both extremely important in metabolism. Fibre is essential to eliminate a lot of crap from our systems.

The amount of food kids eat should be dictated by them. But what we have seen is an increase in the portion sizes for younger kids. We all see a lot of kids eating because of boredom. The idea that kids should eat certain foods and adults can eat whatever they want is also to blame. When mom and dad munch out on a bag of chips each night after the kids go to bed and leave the bag out, kids see that and think that there is something they are missing out on.
When kids eat on the go, they are not letting their own biology dictate when they are hungry.
I do think there may be some merit to early solid introduction, simply because a child that young cannot determine when they eat, how much they eat etc.

Combine all that with a very sedentary lifestyle, lacking in regular DAILY physical activity, and being outdoors just being a kid and you have a recipe for obese kids.

But bottom line for me? Food, specifically what kind of food, is the culprit behind almost all obesity.
When you prefer high fat over fruit, when you prefer hot dogs and KD over something more nutritious and valuable your body becomes used to that and it changes how you metabolize food.

here's an excellent documentary on food and why what we put into our bodies matters so very much...

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/food-matt...

Kellie - posted on 06/08/2011

dosen't mean it is that, but the discription made me think of that, read the other link i put up too for binge eating. My point was, was to show you that you can do everything and anything but it sometimes still isn't enough and isn't the fault of the parents.

Cynthia - posted on 06/08/2011

thanks for the link. i had no idea. how sad

Cynthia - posted on 06/08/2011

my understanding now is that this is medical. a very sad condition. where the kid should never be alone with food. idk how to do that.

Cynthia - posted on 06/08/2011

ok so you just let him eat himself to death. i mean i see that as abuse too.
there are places for people with sicknesses like this. where they are watched and guards are in place to control them. i don't know the answer but it is not to do nothing. is their treatment... i'm about to check out the link. i've never heard of this, and i do wonder what a mother would have to do. man what a challenge. i feel bad for her.

Kellie - posted on 06/08/2011

Agreed Erin.

Erin - posted on 06/08/2011

I was going to mention Prader-Willi. This may not be a medical problem, but it would definitely fall under some form of psych diagnosis. Something this extreme is not even close to being the parents' fault.

Kellie - posted on 06/08/2011

I get that, but it sounds like Lissa is doing everything possible. You can't chain someone to a bed.

yippie found it, here it is, it's called Prader-Willi Syndrome:

http://brainfoundation.org.au/a-z-of-dis...

Lissa - posted on 06/08/2011

That I understand Cynthia but pinning a child down or locking them up is abuse. You can't eat out for every meal so that there is no food in your house. You can't physically put your hands on them to stop them from breaking locks or physically prevent them from leaving the house all under the law would be assault. Also how do you physically stop someone who is much taller than you, wieghs much more and is much stronger?
I get what your saying but it's not always black and white.

Cynthia - posted on 06/08/2011

ok i get that. disease = medical. that is the exception. if it is not medical and its not parenting the i give up. but even if the kid has a disease it is still up to the parent to control him. if he is getting food by any means possible then the mom has to stop him by any means possible. it is her job.

Kellie - posted on 06/08/2011

Lissa, this one's for you:

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/binge_ea...

Cynthia, I'm still looking for yours.

Kellie - posted on 06/08/2011

Cynthia, there is a disease and I can't for the life of me think what it is called, I will do my best to find out though, where the sufferers just eat and eat and eat and eat because they don't know they are full, they get food by any means possible, there is not a lot a parent can do in this situation. I will go find it now and post a link so you can understand more.

Lissa - posted on 06/08/2011

There are rules, there are consequences, there is consistency, there are other children in the house who are very well behaved. Counselling and help has been sought as there are clearly issues, that is not under parenting. My point was there may be other factors which are not medical (medical help has also been sought, there are no medical conditions).

Cynthia - posted on 06/08/2011

i would say lissa's situation is the parents fault too. but not about eating its more the topic of having control over your child. it is important to be the adult in your house from day one. to be the law if you will. there is no way my son would to any of these things because what i say goes. this is a different topic but it is also my point that kids do what we allow them to do as parents. if this mom gave this kid consequence for his actions them maybe he would learn that he don't get to have his way. if my son broke any lock that i put in our house he would hate his life because the punishment would be so sever that he would never for get that i'm the mom. this kid would probably be in some boot camp or controlled living if he did all these things under my roof but then under my roof it would never come to that.... this has nothing to do with over eating but under parenting all together.