CHILDHOOD OBESITY

ebony__

Sorry if this offends anyone but I find it difficult to comprehend hOw anyone could do this to their child?
It's one thing to make poor decisions fOr your self but for your child?

Id like to know other peoples thOughts...?!!

1Kristine1

You might get attacked for this..

proudarmywife06

Some children have traits that just make them obese. It's not always the parents fault.

ebony__

You might get attacked for this..

I'm just asking for people's thought, happy to listen to what everyone has to say regardless of if I agree

prismblitz

I was an obese kid, and still obese all the way up until now, when I'm 28.

It's hard being a kid these days. It's just...hard.

I'm just thankful I got out of the teenage years before YouTube and Facebook and all that stuff. High school would have been so, so much harder being a fat kid.

Especially teenagers. They're sensitive as is, you know, with all those hormones running amok.

ebony__

I was an obese kid, and still obese all the way up until now, when I'm 28.

It's hard being a kid these days. It's just...hard.

I'm just thankful I got out of the teenage years before YouTube and Facebook and all that stuff. High school would have been so, so much harder being a fat kid.

Especially teenagers. They're sensitive as is, you know, with all those hormones running amok.

You look great btw. Well done

astrylian

A multitude of factors. If parents fail to realize their own unhealthy habits, they may not realize there is actually an issue.

Some parents think weight gain in children is a normal phase, underestimated "baby fat", and expect it to pass.

I grew up with a single father and it was in his budget to buy the cheap, unhealthy things - or the quick, unhealthy things, because he was too hot and exhausted after a long day's work to cook when he got home - we ate a lot of TV dinners and Stouffer's casseroles.

We are also currently living in a country that has a huge perception problem regarding portion sizes.

There are loads of unnecessary hidden calories in almost anything we eat, these days. That doesn't help.

There are so many things that could contribute to the raising of an overweight child.

foxyforce

Some children have traits that just make them obese. It's not always the parents fault.

i might believe that children have traits that make them more incline to being fat, but not to being obese. i think it is a total form of child abuse. they don't need to starve their kids but there is no reason for childhood obesity. so sad.

proudarmywife06

Thyroid problems and diabetes can make a child obese

ebony__

I think I may have worded the topic more harshly than intended because yes I agree that there are a multitude of factors.
Just wanted to open a general discussion about it

ebony__

Thyroid problems and diabetes can make a child obese

I would call these medical conditions as opposed to traits but yeah it must be hard for parents I kids that have these problems.

ebony__

Thyroid problems and diabetes can make a child obese

I would call these medical conditions as opposed to traits but yeah it must be hard for parents Of kids that have these problems.

foxyforce

they make people more inclined to being fat, obesity is something different. i am reluctant to believe otherwise without some information and sources.

salubriousliving

from a perspective of an obese child, now being an obese teen, my mother one day told me that she "wished she didn't love me so much" and i asked her what she meant by that. she told me that she didn't want to hurt me, she wanted to protect me, make sure i had enough in my belly. she wanted to make sure i was happy. she just wanted to radiate her love in all forms. and i guess that took its toll. so, i guess to answer your question, at least for my mother and father, it was out of love. even though it seems like an odd way to show love.

Arexxx

I ate the same healthy stuff as my brother, who is a twig, but I ended up round.
Sometimes it just happens.
(Edit, excersize was probably a factor. I was not a sporty kid. A brain tumour removed in childhood meant my coordination and movement skills are pretty *kitten*.)



Although, if you're talking about the parents who feed their kids pizza and chocolate milk for breakfast, I agree.

ebony__

I took my son to a children's party today, it was at one I those fun factory kids places and was all catered for and yoour not actualy allowed to take your own stuff in.
In my opinion the food was pretty crap to start with, the basic kids party food , but fine what ever rs just a one off type thing.
But there was a woman there who had taken a heap of stuff in her handbag, her two kids were noticeably a lot bigger than the others there, every time they went to get a drink she would fill their glasses with coke or soft drink even though they seemed perfectly happy with the water the other kids were having,
And when it came time for them all to sit at the tables and eat their food, her kids were happy to have the same as the others, but she piled their plated up with stuff from her hand bag like crisps and Lollies.


I found this really sad.

The kids were all about 5Years old at the party

ebony__

from a perspective of an obese child, now being an obese teen, my mother one day told me that she "wished she didn't love me so much" and i asked her what she meant by that. she told me that she didn't want to hurt me, she wanted to protect me, make sure i had enough in my belly. she wanted to make sure i was happy. she just wanted to radiate her love in all forms. and i guess that took its toll. so, i guess to answer your question, at least for my mother and father, it was out of love. even though it seems like an odd way to show love.

Thanks for sharing
I hope more people add in their perspectives

For me it's because I LOVE my son that I make sure his diet is healthy and treats are as treats not an hourly occurrence
Even if it sometimes makes him upset with me. It usually takes about 5 minutes till he's over it and happy again.

roachhaley

take a look at these

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJkE32xwsO0&feature=channel&list=UL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T24B6T-hp0E

ebony__

I will when I get to my laptop... What are they about?

roachhaley

I will when I get to my laptop... What are they about?

childhood obesity - the causes, case studies, etc

KS_4691

Thyroid problems and diabetes can make a child obese

I'm sorry, but I've taken several advanced genetics courses, and these factors do not cause obesity. Maybe an increased propensity for weight gain, but there is certainly no causation there.

Tixxie

You might want to read this article - there's been much talk in the UK recently about whether allowing a child to become extremely obese is child abuse and therefore should they be taken into care.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19267308

And for those that immediately think no, it's not abuse, would you feel the same way about a parent starving a child to the point of malnutrition?

ebony__

Thanks I'm looking forward to checking all these suggestions out tonight.

I'm quite interested,
Even though I was never affected by it , I was luck enough to have a very healthy upbringing.
I like hearing all the different perspectives

NocturnalGirl

Thyroid problems and diabetes can make a child obese

Perhaps, but these problems do not lead to significant weight gain.

butterflyqueen1984

I have always been obese! My parents took me to the doctors a dietion I think it was called! And I was put on a special diet, since then my body kind of shut down from food that it didn't like and I started getting food tolerances. This made me really depressed I felt like I couldn't eat what I wanted to, I was put on soya milk/goats milk as I was intolerant of milk, I wasn't allowed beef (to this day I cannot have beef) allergic to chocolate, certain additives, oh the list is endless! One day I got so fed up of being restricted of what I could eat I just binged, chocolate, crisps, fizzy drinks, fish and chips. I realised that I could handle the pain of eating these foods and just keep going. In the end my body just got used to fatty foods again and the weight crept up, the only food I have to be careful with now is dairy and beef. I do not blame my parents for any of this, they always made sure I ate healthy all the time. But when I got my pocket money that's when the crisps would be brought etc, I do think that if you restrict a child from unhealthy foods THE WHOLE time they will want to eat it more because people always want what they can't have!

karenjoy

There are very very few conditions that cause children to be overweight, and diabetes is not one of them, if anything, type 2 diabetes is caused by diet, not the other way around. I work in child health and in almost all cases children who are very overweight are overfed and don't take enough exercise, that is the bottom line.

Parents have no idea about portion sizes and how little a child needs in comparison with an adult, a childs stomach is the size of it's own fist, and if overfed it will grow, and thus need more to fill it, and thus feel more hungry...a vicious circle. Many parents 'love' with food, reward with food, use food as a way to pacify etc

Food does not equal love...I never reward my children or grandchildren with food or sweets, love is taking care of someone, not feeding them, its just that so many parents think that by feeding their child 'well' they are being good parents, it does not work like that, and it breaks my heart at how well intentioned so many women are, they will sit with me telling me their child eats next to nothing, when the child is clearly over weight, unfit and does not do enough activity...We are trying to educate parents, but there is a great deal of resistance and anger

ebony__

take a look at these

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJkE32xwsO0&feature=channel&list=UL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T24B6T-hp0E

started to check them out, i have a really bad internet set up atm but bookmarked for later, thanks looks really interesting

SuperstarDJ

Thyroid problems and diabetes can make a child obese

As others have said, no these may cause a slightly higher than average weight in kids but boy obesity.

Some children have traits that just make them obese. It's not always the parents fault.

Oh c'mon! What are these traits? A love of pizza and computer games? I have a friend with a morbidly obese child and the above two quotes sound exactly like the excuses she comes up with for her child's weight problem. Much easier than taking responsibility for it herself.

Kids can be emotional overeaters but obviously not every single obese child is.

It's child abuse. Plain and simple. Nobody is dumb enough or ignorant enough not to know that eating too much junk = major health problems. Hope these parents can look their kids in the eye as they're sitting in a hospital bed as young teenagers with cardiovascular problems; orthopaedic problems, breathing difficulties etc., etc.

dakotababy

I would not consider myself "obese" as a child, but definitely over weight. My parents enrolled me in any sports team/activity that I wanted to - skating, soccer, basketball, volleyball, dance - just to name a few.

My parents also grew up in the 1930''s where money and food were not easily accessible. For this reason - you NEVER stopped when you were full, you ate until the plate was empty. Our intuitive eating abilities were destroyed because of this. I based on when I have had enough depending on what is left on my plate - not what my body is telling me.

Needless to say, our meals were kid friendly - with large proportions. It was not so much about unhealthy food, but the proportion sizes and the whole "eat until your plate is empty, or else you will get punished" type of deal did not help my situation.

Over the past few months i have realized that I have never been "taught" how to eat properly! I ate nothing but carbs and meat - no veggies, no fruit. I did not even think it was THAT important. I am sure I am not the only person out there that never was educated on healthy eating and proper food proportions out there. This is the responsibility of the parents! (I am too old now to blame my parents), but this is going into neglect. When a parent is too scared to let their kids use a knife or stove to teach them to cook - that is neglect. This is a parents responsibility, and like someone on this forum called it the "bubble wrap" generation will not stand a chance.

ChelseaYepThatsMe

Some people in general are genetically built to be big. But as a parent of a very healthy little girl, I don't understand how people can just give in to their children. Yes, my daughter gets the occasional happy meal or ice cream and candy, but i don't make a meal out of the stuff. She'd rather drink water than anything else because thats what mommy drinks. If you set the example the child will follow.

SuperstarDJ

There are very very few conditions that cause children to be overweight, and diabetes is not one of them, if anything, type 2 diabetes is caused by diet, not the other way around. I work in child health and in almost all cases children who are very overweight are overfed and don't take enough exercise, that is the bottom line.

Children are not supposed to get type 2 diabetes!!! That is a new phenomenon caused by early onset obesity, diet and lifestyle. Kids with type 1 diabetes (the type [/u]normally[/u] associated with children) are often thinner than their non-diabetic peers as it's harder to get kids to maintain tight blood sugar control.

Parents have no idea about portion sizes and how little a child needs in comparison with an adult, a childs stomach is the size of it's own fist, and if overfed it will grow, and thus need more to fill it, and thus feel more hungry...a vicious circle. Many parents 'love' with food, reward with food, use food as a way to pacify etc

But why are parents now suddenly unsure about portion size??? How come our parents and their parents before them seemed to have it down to a tee, yet they had little to no knowledge about nutrition? Here we are, living in a time where we have never had so much access to information on nutrition, it's written on packages, on menus, every second TV programme and newspaper/magazine article is nutrition-related and yet parents have never been so dumb about portion size or food choices they make?