Elementary School Gym teachers telling kids to restrict calories!

I agree that nutrition and stuff should be taught. But there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. Stressing calories can do more harm than good, even for the obese kids.

First and foremost, I would attempt to verify exactly what is being taught/ told to the children. I'm hoping it's a case of the child misinterpreting the general message. I don't think the teacher meant any harm but a logical part of the talk on nutrition I would think would involve a focus on healthy vegetables and fruits, lean proteins, and complex carbohydrates in balance. I'm hoping your child got a full message and was speaking to you about one particular part, which yes, would bother me as a parent.

Education on nutrition is very important, and should begin in the home. After being super morbidly obese the majority of my life, I am VERY conscious of how I educate my daughters and the messages I send on nutrition and exercise. We also lead by example. As you have seen for yourself though, what happens outside your house is out of your control to an extent. Intervening with the school by verifying what is being taught and giving your input should cover that.

I have spent a lot of time discussing with my oldest (13) the concepts of head hunger versus physical hunger, nutrition, balance, hydration, activity, and the general concept of CICO. I have explained WHY a 750 calorie frozen pizza is not a "snack" but a meal, that would be better eaten in a smaller portion along with fruits and vegetables. The little one (20 months) has been introduced to the healthiest choices and the concept of "sometimes foods." I'm hoping this is the right approach because I really don't want either of them to go through what I have gone through. It wasn't in the non-existent "how to give your kid a kickass life and be a great parent" book but I do think it is an important part of parenting.

As a parent I am appalled that your very thin child would talk about how fat they are. I would be very concerned about where this self-talk is coming from and how to deal with it. Have you asked why he believes that? I know that from time to time my oldest will say things along those lines and we spend time talking about the importance of HEALTH and how that can be measured, not just in numbers on a scale. I think the research and discussion on ideal weight and BMI drove it home but it is an issue that sadly has come up after summer visitation or weekends with her mother. [See reference to not being able to control what goes on outside your home.] The bottom line is that you do what you need to do to help your child be the happiest, healthiest version of himself he can be.

I absolutely think that children should be educated on how to live a healthy lifestyle. It's very important that they learn to eat well and stay active. However I don't think telling children to count calories or that they have to earn dessert is helpful. Frankly I don't think adults should really have that mentality, it would be great if we all learned to maintain healthy lifestyles without obsessing about calories or earning treats. Many of us (myself included) are here on MFP to count calories but I wish I would have learned at an early age just to have a healthy relationship with food.

BrunetteRunner87 wrote: »

To add to that though I think the more education the better so at some point children should be taught how macro nutrients and calories work, the basic mechanics of it, the more knowledge people have, the better. But I don't think they need to be told what to do WITH that information.

^I agree with this. I would guess that a good percent of adults don't know much about this either.
This woman's son needs to see a professional. By his mother's own admission, he is very thin, and worried about his weight. This is clearly an issue for this young boy, and probably something his mother realizes did not result from a teachers comments.

I think for small children encouraging them to eat plenty of veggies, choosing fruit over cookies or candy, trying new foods, and making different choices would be sufficient. I'm a fan of meeting people where they are and if the student body is made up of fast food eaters, then teach them to pick the oranges over the fries and the milk or water over the soda, for example. Will they all do that? Not without parents backing it up but it would register more than counting calories. For older kids you can start educating them on calories and macros, but I would prefer a method that starts with making the kids aware of how many calories are in certain foods compared to others. My girls are juniors now but it seems to me they didn't really start learning nutrition in school until around 6th grade, in health class. I do not agree with a gym teacher telling kids specifically how many calories they should eat. I don't feel it is their place to do that. That should be done by the child's parents and pediatrician.

Calimom10 wrote: »

So, for the past few months I have been very concerned about my 11 year old son. Hes already very thin and has been talking about how fat he is. He has been eating much less, wanting to eat low carb bread over the whole wheat white bread he normally eats, and the last time I had lunch with him in his school he only ate 2 bites of his food. He said he was saving his appetite for popcorn in class.
A little background about me ( was bulimic and anorexic for 12 years) His biological father also was bulimic. So I already know there is a good chance my kids will have eating disorders.

The teacher should not have talked about eating nuts for dinner as a child. Other than that seemed like pretty generic information.

Unfortunately, you son's eating is much more likely to be learned from what happens in the family for the last 11 years as opposed to a few comments from a PE teacher (not in any way disrespecting teachers).

Have not read the responses but I would go talk to her and then the principal, I am all for teachers promoting being healthy but she is pushing an unhealthy view of food on young kids.

First of all kids need proper calorie intake for proper growth. If kids are active they should be able to eat what they want. If concerned about eating healthy teach healthy eating habits. They should not be counting calories and going to the extremes this teacher is teaching them.

She is setting those kids up for an eating disorder and she should be reported to the administration. I think that is absolutely horrible.

Seeing as far more people are affected by obesity rather than anorexia/bulimia, this is good education to prevent future problems with diet.

So, yes, kids should learn to count calories, so they aren't completely lost on why they put on the Freshman 15...