Opinions on childhood obesity...

NewChristina

The PARENTS control what the kid does, and what comes into the house, and what kind of eating habits these kids will have. If they are obese, the parents should take the full blame and, to a radical extent, I think they should be charged with child abuse.

To some extent. You can't FORCE a kid to eat things. I tried to push the issue with my fifteen year old when he was five. I was going to MAKE him eat that broccoli. He ate it all right... and made himself throw up on the table. My two year old will throw things that he doesn't like on the floor and will go hungry before eating something "ucky." (This is why I keep other things around that are healthy that he will eat.)

Sure, I can keep things out, but I can't force good eating. I'm going to guess that you don't have children. Once you have your own, you realize that everything is not as black and white as you seem to think.

I would never force my little guy to eat anything, but he has choices. Eat this or that or nothing. My guy won't eat broccoli, but loves green beans, wax beans, peas, and many other veggies. Yesterday, he had the option to eat the sweet potatoes or leave the table. He's three. He chose to eat the sweet potatoes. It really is easier than many think.

Killing_Perfection

Most adults don't even know the basics of a healthy lifestyle, only few of those I know actually have any idea what food is high in carbonhydrates and what is high in protein - most even don't get what the benefits of protein, for example is. They think 'diet' and 'low fat' is good - no need to know more than that. And it's so much easier to just hand the kids a bag of chips than to endure their *****ing or cut some pineapple.

Part of this problem is ignorance, part is laziness. I have neighbors that have extremely overweight children. I actually fit two times into one of them, and she's what? Fifteen now?

I look at them and I see myself, bullied as a child for my weight (amongst other things).
Some people have no idea what they put their children through.... And in some cases I think it should really be taken into consideration to take the child away, as harsh as that sounds.

BrunetteRunner87

I feel so sad when I go to the zoo and see fat kids :-(

Obviously it is the parents' fault but I can understand that being a parent isn't so easy. I'm just sad for the kids because I wasn't overweight as a kid, and it's still hard for me to be healthy. I'm sad because these kids will be struggling all their lives.

vim_n_vigor

The PARENTS control what the kid does, and what comes into the house, and what kind of eating habits these kids will have. If they are obese, the parents should take the full blame and, to a radical extent, I think they should be charged with child abuse.

To some extent. You can't FORCE a kid to eat things. I tried to push the issue with my fifteen year old when he was five. I was going to MAKE him eat that broccoli. He ate it all right... and made himself throw up on the table. My two year old will throw things that he doesn't like on the floor and will go hungry before eating something "ucky." (This is why I keep other things around that are healthy that he will eat.)

Sure, I can keep things out, but I can't force good eating. I'm going to guess that you don't have children. Once you have your own, you realize that everything is not as black and white as you seem to think.

Um, sure you can. I have a 4 and 5 year old. They don't eat their dinner, there are no other options. You absolutely can force good eating. You don't have to give in every time they don't want something or want something different. I don't force the food down their throats, but they have a small amount of everything on their plate, they eat it, they can have more of whatever they want on the table. They don't eat, they don't get anything else. They sit at the table until everything is cleaned up, and then the food is gone. Just gone... They will eat. They know this is what will happen. They also know I am reasonable. If there is something they haven't had before and they really don't like it, at least they tried it.

Bobby_Clerici

The PARENTS control what the kid does, and what comes into the house, and what kind of eating habits these kids will have. If they are obese, the parents should take the full blame and, to a radical extent, I think they should be charged with child abuse.

To some extent. You can't FORCE a kid to eat things. I tried to push the issue with my fifteen year old when he was five. I was going to MAKE him eat that broccoli. He ate it all right... and made himself throw up on the table. My two year old will throw things that he doesn't like on the floor and will go hungry before eating something "ucky." (This is why I keep other things around that are healthy that he will eat.)

Sure, I can keep things out, but I can't force good eating. I'm going to guess that you don't have children. Once you have your own, you realize that everything is not as black and white as you seem to think.

Um, sure you can. I have a 4 and 5 year old. They don't eat their dinner, there are no other options. You absolutely can force good eating. You don't have to give in every time they don't want something or want something different. I don't force the food down their throats, but they have a small amount of everything on their plate, they eat it, they can have more of whatever they want on the table. They don't eat, they don't get anything else. They sit at the table until everything is cleaned up, and then the food is gone. Just gone... They will eat. They know this is what will happen. They also know I am reasonable. If there is something they haven't had before and they really don't like it, at least they tried it.

^^^^^^^^^
THIS
Some people forget that in a real family, it's the parents who are in charge - not bratty kids.
Childhood obesity screams parental failure.
And these poor kids will struggle their whole lives because of it.
TAKE CHARGE!:drinker:

nikkijoshua

In most instances, it is the parents fault for their child's obesity, but not in all cases. I was overweight from around age 8 until 11. My parents were complete health nuts and I was the only overweight person in the house. My sister was a stringbean. My parents didn't keep alot of junk food in the house, my mom made everything from scratched, and my father gave us freshly squeezed vegetable juice on a regular basis. I loved fruit, vegetables, and other healthy foods that my parents geave me everyday. The problem for me was not what was in the house. It was all the goodies I got when I wasn't at home. I was extremely active, but I overate. Every morning on my way walking to school, I would stop at the neighborhood store and spend money from my allowance on cookies, fudge brownies, and other sweets. My mom didn't know. She saw me gaining weight, but she never was too hard on me about it. She just continued to be a good example. When I decided to lose weight, I used my parents example and lost the weight. Since I was already active, I only needed to cut out all those extra sweets. When I did that, I lost the extra weight very quickly and was able to enter middle school slim and trim like I had planned. I don't blame my parents for me being an overweight child and I do give them credit for being the example I needed to get to a healthy weight.

It's unfair to blame parents without knowing for sure if they are actually to blame.

I work for a child nutrition program for low income families and counsel parents of overweight children regularly. In most cases, the parents are the blame and sometimes they're not. Some of these moms feel completely helpless because they leave their child with the grandmother or aunt or another family member while they work because they can't afford childcare and while the child is in the care of others, they're receiving all kinds of healthy foods. In alot of these instances, the young mother is often ignored when she tries to tell that older family member what not to feed their child. It's sad sometimes.

Overall, parents need to set good examples so that the child has the tools they need to achieve and/or maintain a healthy weight whether or not the parents are to blame for their child's obesity.

ssteinbring677

TL;DR

Some people are bad parents

Wish I could upvote this comment, sir.

jenniet04

The PARENTS control what the kid does, and what comes into the house, and what kind of eating habits these kids will have. If they are obese, the parents should take the full blame and, to a radical extent, I think they should be charged with child abuse.

To some extent. You can't FORCE a kid to eat things. I tried to push the issue with my fifteen year old when he was five. I was going to MAKE him eat that broccoli. He ate it all right... and made himself throw up on the table. My two year old will throw things that he doesn't like on the floor and will go hungry before eating something "ucky." (This is why I keep other things around that are healthy that he will eat.)

Sure, I can keep things out, but I can't force good eating. I'm going to guess that you don't have children. Once you have your own, you realize that everything is not as black and white as you seem to think.

Um, sure you can. I have a 4 and 5 year old. They don't eat their dinner, there are no other options. You absolutely can force good eating. You don't have to give in every time they don't want something or want something different. I don't force the food down their throats, but they have a small amount of everything on their plate, they eat it, they can have more of whatever they want on the table. They don't eat, they don't get anything else. They sit at the table until everything is cleaned up, and then the food is gone. Just gone... They will eat. They know this is what will happen. They also know I am reasonable. If there is something they haven't had before and they really don't like it, at least they tried it.

^^^^^yes, this exactly. Yes there are things kids don't like, but if you make them try it often enough they will learn to like it. My 9 yo hated broccoli and asparagus with a passion, would make himself puke if he put it in his mouth. My rule is 3 bites, then you can eat what you like that is on the table. Guess what, he loves asparagus now and will tolerate broccoli. LIke I said before, you are the parent, it's your job to ensure that your kids are eating the right way by not giving in to their behavior.

kmm7309

Twenty years ago, I was 3, and I don't remember how fat anyone was. :bigsmile: However, I feel like that responsibility falls on the parent to provide a safe haven and build strong, healthy habits. I think the bigger problem is, now more than ever, the carefree attitude of many of the people my age (mostly younger) that are having children. I don't know why, but the childbirthing rate in my town has exploded. It started when I was 20. They just started popping out of everywhere. I decided to wait. I've been married 7 years, and I plan to have one next year. I've already done my research, and I know to plan every moment of my pregnancy the best I can. I decided to lose weight and fix my poor eating habits BEFORE conception to give my child the best start I can. But most of my "friends" have this "oops-I'm-pregnant-what-now?" mentality. That translates to poor parenting skills, self control (obviously how the kid got here), and misunderstanding about their roles in respect to their children. :explode:

kmm7309

I work for a child nutrition program for low income families and counsel parents of overweight children regularly. In most cases, the parents are the blame and sometimes they're not. Some of these moms feel completely helpless because they leave their child with the grandmother or aunt or another family member while they work because they can't afford childcare and while the child is in the care of others, they're receiving all kinds of healthy foods. In alot of these instances, the young mother is often ignored when she tries to tell that older family member what not to feed their child. It's sad sometimes.

I understand this, but on the other hand, I see obesity as much more multi-generational than most. It's not like 20 years ago 33% of the US became fat and it stuck. It is partially the fault of our uninformed parents and grandparents who refuse to change their ways. But at the end of the day, it's a community effort to educate the uninformed.

amersmanders

I made the mistake of going to Winco (grocery superstore) on a Sunday afternoon, which meant it was packed. While waiting in line, here is what I noticed: cart after cart full of processed food. Stouffer's Lasagna, Hamburger Helper, Swanson TV Dinners, Totino's Pizzas, Kraft Easy Mac, Chef Boyardee Beef Ravioli, and that's not to mention the amount of soda, white bread, chips, hot dogs, treats, etc. Here's what I didn't see (and I looked because I had quite a bit of time while waiting in line): fruit, vegetables, fresh lean meats. It really made me wonder how often most households cook. I wouldn't begin to assume that what I saw on that one day is representative of all of society, but we've gotten fat off of processed foods. I heard one poster say, "If man made it, don't eat it" and I have to say that there's a lot of truth to that. The foods I saw (poisons more like) that were prevalent in shopping cart after shopping cart have been the creation of corporations looking to get rich- and they have. They've made their money off of our laziness and ignorance/denial about proper nutrition.

The sad thing is that the people in the grocery store that day were at least choosing to buy food at the grocery store instead of going to McDonald's. It's a lateral move at best, but it's something. Poor eating choices are everywhere. That's all convenience stores sell. Even regular sit down restaurants are guilty of serving oversized portions (e.g. Claim Jumper) or unhealthy "unlimited" sides (e.g Red Lobster, Olive Garden). The point is, choosing to eat healthily is sadly more time consuming and often more expensive. And an apple for $1 is less filling than a cheeseburger for $1, no matter how much healthier it is.

I think with as busy as people are they tend to take the path of least resistance. It's lazy. It's cheap. It's unhealthy. Do people know better? I think so. But obviously it's not enough to break the cycle.

But while I agree that parents need to be responsible for what they are feeding their children, I think this is something we need to tackle as a society. Our meats and dairies have hormones and antibiotics. Our fruits and vegetables have pesticides and fertilizers and are genetically modified. And everything else is sweetened with HFCS or aspartame. And we ingest this poison day after day. And we let our kids ingest it, which is even worse. The complacency has to stop somewhere. Has to.

The easy target is the parents of obese children. It is. Especially if those parents are also obese. But while we're pointing fingers around us, corporations are making billions of dollars off of us, and laughing.

Really, we're all sitting here judging these parents. Why not talk to them instead? When watching their children, why not bring your own healthy snack to share with them instead of what's available in their fridge? Why not plant a few fruits or vegetables in a small area close to their property so that they can pick and eat the fresh produce when it is ripe? Arrange an outing with the kids and their parents to go to the farmers market. It's better to do something than watch a family system that's doomed to fail and watching the kids get fatter and fatter. Mentor them. Encourage them. Invite them.

Bobby_Clerici

In most instances, it is the parents fault for their child's obesity, but not in all cases. I was overweight from around age 8 until 11. My parents were complete health nuts and I was the only overweight person in the house. My sister was a stringbean. My parents didn't keep alot of junk food in the house, my mom made everything from scratched, and my father gave us freshly squeezed vegetable juice on a regular basis. I loved fruit, vegetables, and other healthy foods that my parents geave me everyday. The problem for me was not what was in the house. It was all the goodies I got when I wasn't at home. I was extremely active, but I overate. Every morning on my way walking to school, I would stop at the neighborhood store and spend money from my allowance on cookies, fudge brownies, and other sweets. My mom didn't know. She saw me gaining weight, but she never was too hard on me about it. She just continued to be a good example. When I decided to lose weight, I used my parents example and lost the weight. Since I was already active, I only needed to cut out all those extra sweets. When I did that, I lost the extra weight very quickly and was able to enter middle school slim and trim like I had planned. I don't blame my parents for me being an overweight child and I do give them credit for being the example I needed to get to a healthy weight.

It's unfair to blame parents without knowing for sure if they are actually to blame.

I work for a child nutrition program for low income families and counsel parents of overweight children regularly. In most cases, the parents are the blame and sometimes they're not. Some of these moms feel completely helpless because they leave their child with the grandmother or aunt or another family member while they work because they can't afford childcare and while the child is in the care of others, they're receiving all kinds of healthy foods. In alot of these instances, the young mother is often ignored when she tries to tell that older family member what not to feed their child. It's sad sometimes.

Overall, parents need to set good examples so that the child has the tools they need to achieve and/or maintain a healthy weight whether or not the parents are to blame for their child's obesity.

I don't know about this. I hear what you're saying.
At some point people who live in an irresponsible way infect their kids. And part of being a responsible parent is planning when to become a parent - not as a result of 1 too many drinks or because the VIP room at the club was open.
In spite of anything you might have heard, kids do not come from the stork.
Becoming a parent should be a decision as opposed to tough luck which brings us right back to who's at fault.
The parent.

glovepuppet

if i didn't eat what i was given there was nothing else and i was sat at the table, looking at it.

i got an eating disorder. so that worked! :-)

steph124ny

It's because people no longer cook with fresh food. They buy processed garbage. For example, I posted on my facebook page one day that I had chicken out for dinner but couldn't think what to make. I ended up with stir fry with fresh veggies....but most of the suggestions involved boxed stuffing, canned soup, premade mixes, etc....

Kids don't just play anymore. They have "playdates" indoors while the moms sit and chat.

Doctors are too afraid of hurting anyone's feelings and being accused of fat shaming, so when presented with an overweight child, they beat around the bush about it, especially with overweight parents present.

kmm7309

if i didn't eat what i was given there was nothing else and i was sat at the table, looking at it.

i got an eating disorder. so that worked! :-)

Was the eating disorder because you didn't want to eat food, or because you had other issues (control, anxiety) to work out?

I don't see the cause-and-effect here. I'm really not trying to sound mean, but I don't know if that's a fair representation of the consequences of making your child eat green beans.

janeite1990

I have three little kids (six year old and four year old twins). I make some allowances for preferences. For example, one twin does not like cheese. I reduce the cheese on her food. Otherwise, what I choose is what is available. If they don't like broccoli, that's fine, but I'm not finding another option. They are on their own until the next meal. Most of our snacks are healthy, but we have a little junk now and then. My kids love fruit and veggies, and they will try anything. On vacation they ate calamari and every other seafood available. If I take my son to the store, he asks for every vegetable and fruit in the produce section. They are athletic and happy. They watch tv and play video games, but not exclusively.

Yes, genetics play a part for all of us, but parents are responsible for healthy meals for children, end of story. I don't buy the whole business about crop subsidies making cheap food more available. My grocery bill dropped dramatically when I started buying more produce and healthier options.

I blame laziness. Fast food is laziness in most cases. Cheap food is easy food that doesn't have to be prepared. I also don't buy that parents are overworked. I work fifty hours a week and my husband works seventy. We make time for healthy food. It's lazy to let your kids be addicted to screens and sugar because they don't bother you as much that way. Also, I'm tired of SNAP paying for crappy food that results in government paying for high blood pressure and diabetes meds.

Sorry, rant.

CarSidDar

I don't force the food down their throats, but they have a small amount of everything on their plate, they eat it, they can have more of whatever they want on the table. They don't eat, they don't get anything else. They sit at the table until everything is cleaned up, and then the food is gone. Just gone... They will eat.

I did mostly this. I did not force them to sit. If they were done, they were done. What they left on their plate was wrapped up and put in the fridge. When they came back hungry 30min later, their leftover dinner was warmed up and nicely put back in front of them. After a couple of times, they ate it the first time. I did not want to force food into them if they were truly not hungry. That is just another step toward an unhealthy food attitude.

Nothing is worse than cold broccoli...yuck.

kmm7309

Yes, genetics play a part for all of us, but parents are responsible for healthy meals for children, end of story. I don't buy the whole business about crop subsidies making cheap food more available. My grocery bill dropped dramatically when I started buying more produce and healthier options.

I blame laziness. Fast food is laziness in most cases. Cheap food is easy food that doesn't have to be prepared. I also don't buy that parents are overworked. I work fifty hours a week and my husband works seventy. We make time for healthy food. It's lazy to let your kids be addicted to screens and sugar because they don't bother you as much that way. Also, I'm tired of SNAP paying for crappy food that results in government paying for high blood pressure and diabetes meds.

I agree that SNAP shouldn't provide "junk food" benefits, but I respectfully disagree with your produce being cheaper.

I receive SNAP benefits (although this is my last month for them). The first month I had them, I hadn't started my diet yet, and I got so much food that some of it sat on my counter because it wouldn't fit in my walk-in pantry.

The second month I used more for meats instead of boxed dinners, and things got a little tighter.

The third month I started my diet, and incorporated all fresh fruits and veggies. Mind you, I comparison shopped at 4 different grocery stores by ads and drove between 3 of them to finish my grocery list. I switched to lean meats too. I ran out of benefit money.

This is my sixth month. I supplement my diet with frozen and canned veggies instead of fresh to keep costs down. I'm still short about $40 a month to get what I need. I don't eat out anywhere. I don't eat steaks every night. This is just to buy chicken, beef, pork, milk, eggs, cheese, bread, etc. I don't buy soda, etc. I have to feed 5 people on $72 a person. Sounds like a lot, but it's never enough for breakfasts, lunches, dinners, etc. And my teenagers eat all the time (they are rail-thin).

My point is that it's not as easy as it sounds to make that money go far. I've always said that I think that SNAP should require recipients to go to nutritional classes, and maybe cut out some of the obvious evils (cookies, little debbie, soda, etc) out of the program, but it's impractical to cut out everything that could help make your child gain weight.

bm99

This is a complete and total failure of the parents.
There are things parents can do for their kids which most do not. I want my own children to be at the top of life's food chain.
I have 5 kids and start them exercising at age 2. We call it "PT" which is USMC for "Physical Training".
It's not play time but serious. And it's neither optional nor negotiable.
At 8pm every day, we all gather and everybody does push-ups, pull-ups and sit ups. Once per week is self-defense training.
We do not do any cardio as each kid in involved in sports: swimming, tennis, hiking, track or whatever.
There is no TV or junk food allowed in the house, and computer time is limited and monitored.
None of our kids have ever been fat, weak or bullied, and no teenager was ever on dope or in trouble.
All excel in sports, school and their social network.
Parents have a responsibility to prepare their kids for the rough world we live in.
Success is a choice.

Good to see someone else who sees the value in exercise as a family! I plan on starting morning calisthenics in a year or so... I think it's good to get the blood pumping in the morning and it's a great way to learn self discipline.

As for the OP, who says parents don't want to be the bad guy? We "hurt" our children to help them every day (or we should!). Shots, discipline, not allowing them to run wild... I don't see food as any different. If you see your kid getting fat and know junk is the culprit, don't buy junk. Granted it's so much easier the younger they are to teach good habits, but even with older kids it's possible to lay down the law. The great thing about older kids is that you can talk to them! Tell you kids that the choices they make affect their health, tell them why they don't want to be fat... give them the power to take charge of their lives and bodies and maybe they can skip that helpless-fat feeling so many of us here experience.

I think so often parents want to go the nurturing route and tell a fat kid that it's not their fault but in reality that is not helping them at all. I'm not saying be MEAN, I am saying to talk to your kids and let them know that being fat is NOT good or normal but that they have the power to change it for themselves.

SherryTeach

As a parent of now adult, weight healthy children and a middle school teacher, I have some perspective. I am happy that my daughters are today fit, nutritionally aware consumers. I got great advice from my pediatrician when they were toddlers: prepare wholesome meals, don't have any food in the house you don't think is healthy, and make food a non-issue. I served meals but never required them to eat. There were no battles about so many bites or trying things or eating this to get that. at the end of the meal, everything got cleaned up and we were done until the next meal. Snacks were fruit or a few crackers/peanut butter, etc. but never enough to replace a meal. Since eating a meal or not never became a power struggle, my kids learned to try new foods because they saw me eating them and their natural appetite persuaded them that turning down too many items would not be a good Idea.

They also learned to help in the kitchen at an early age. It is certainly true that kids like to eat what they cook. To the folks who claim that there is no time for this, I have always worked more than full time and raised my kids alone. It doesn't have to be time-consuming to put together a simple meal.

As a teacher, I see that our new emphasis on No Child Left Behind and Race To The Top and the Common Core has caused everything to be eliminated from the curriculum except the core subjects. Kids no longer learn about nutrition at school and physical education has been mostly side-lined to an elective that you can only fit in if you aren't in music or a foreign language.