It makes me so angry that CICO etc. isn't taught in schools
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noobletmcnugget
Posts: 518 Member
It only takes a few minutes of skimming this forum or doing a few google searches to see that there is an absolutely RIDICULOUS amount of misinformation out there concerning weight loss. There're hundreds of fad diets and weight loss myths out there. In a lot of cases they end up putting people off trying to lose weight (because it seems like this impossible task) or results in people developing disordered eating patterns. It's so damaging physically, mentally and emotionally for so many people.
It makes me angry that we aren't all taught the basics about weight regulation, nutrition and fitness as children. The reality of it (which basically boils down to CICO) makes it so much simpler, sustainable and manageable than all these fad diets make it out to be... and people will actually get the results they're looking for.
Ugh it just annoys me because I know so many people who have struggled with their weight for so long because they weren't properly informed.
Rant over.
It makes me angry that we aren't all taught the basics about weight regulation, nutrition and fitness as children. The reality of it (which basically boils down to CICO) makes it so much simpler, sustainable and manageable than all these fad diets make it out to be... and people will actually get the results they're looking for.
Ugh it just annoys me because I know so many people who have struggled with their weight for so long because they weren't properly informed.
Rant over.
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Replies
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It is in biology0
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Maybe it depends on where you go to school, but I know we had health and nutrition classes where I grew up. Didn't stop people from getting fat, pregnant or STDs, in some cases, all 3. You can't force people to care about information, no matter how early it's delivered. I see people I remember sitting next to me in poli sci and science post incredible misinformation about politics and science on fb all the time.0
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I also find most nutritionists, and physicians don't teach you this either. It's crazy. But, I also know overweight people who will not count calories because it is too much work so even if they are taught this doesn't mean they will put in the effort.0
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isulo_kura wrote: »It is in biology
It wasn't though that's the problem.Maybe it depends on where you go to school, but I know we had health and nutrition classes where I grew up. Didn't stop people from getting fat, pregnant or STDs, in some cases, all 3. You can't force people to care about information, no matter how early it's delivered. I see people I remember sitting next to me in poli sci and science post incredible misinformation about politics and science on fb all the time.
I live in the UK and I was never taught properly about it. And I realise that some people don't take notice of anything they're taught, but at the same time some do, and I think everyone should be given access to that information.
Maybe it's just different where I grew up, idk.0 -
Umm yeah, it is. We teach about physical, social and emotional health actually.
*mini rant moment*
Why do schools have more and more responsibility chucked at them?! Is it too much to ask parents to parent?!
*rant over over*
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Grew up in Holland and got it at school. Indeed Biology classes. All depends on the school and their program i think.0
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If you can't get some schools to teach sex ed or the theory of evolution, I don't think you're going to get them to teach kids how to nourish their bodies properly.0
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Umm yeah, it is. We teach about physical, social and emotional health actually.
*mini rant moment*
Why do schools have more and more responsibility chucked at them?! Is it too much to ask parents to parent?!
*rant over over*
what?? maybe OP is referring to health class where that should be part of the curriculum. It's not throwing more responsibility at the schools. come on! You must be one of those teachers who just got off spring break counting the days until summer because you have it so hard.-1 -
Umm yeah, it is. We teach about physical, social and emotional health actually.
*mini rant moment*
Why do schools have more and more responsibility chucked at them?! Is it too much to ask parents to parent?!
*rant over over*
Maybe it's different where you are. I was never properly educated on the subject at school.
Considering that we're experiencing an obesity epidemic, I reckon there's a decent number of parents who are misinformed themselves, so it's not ridiculous to think that educating all children about it at school would be a positive thing.0 -
We had plenty of education on this - didn't make a difference. a) You can take a horse to water, but you can't make it drink and b) the biggest influencers are not at school, but at home - parents. Responsibility stops there.0
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Umm yeah, it is. We teach about physical, social and emotional health actually.
*mini rant moment*
Why do schools have more and more responsibility chucked at them?! Is it too much to ask parents to parent?!
*rant over over*
This is my initial reaction as well, however, I realize some people suck at being parents and some have no knowledge whatsover about food, nutrition, and calories themselves. I'm not putting all the responsibility on the schools, either, but very basic facts about food, what is nutritious, what is not, what a calorie is, etc. should be included somewhere in elementary school, even if it is in P.E. Waiting until middle or high school for biology is too late IMO.
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farfromthetree wrote: »Umm yeah, it is. We teach about physical, social and emotional health actually.
*mini rant moment*
Why do schools have more and more responsibility chucked at them?! Is it too much to ask parents to parent?!
*rant over over*
what?? maybe OP is referring to health class where that should be part of the curriculum. It's not throwing more responsibility at the schools. come on! You must be one of those teachers who just got off spring break counting the days until summer because you have it so hard.
Wow. That doesn't really seem called for.
@farfromthetree FWIW, I agree with you. I took both health and home economics in school, but my parents were the ones who taught me to make good food choices and not fall for scammy weight loss products.
Lately it seems like people think it's just the parents job to provide food, shelter, and clothing and the school's job to teach kids everything they need to know about life.0 -
parents are the ones feeding these kids. they might learn it in school....( i dont recall learning it) but will that help if parents only give the kids junk? teachers loads are heavier all the time. don't put them down. u think spring break is a break? ya. right. not saying all teachers a great but no field of work is going to have all awesome workers. what a generalization0
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dirtyflirty30 wrote: »We had plenty of education on this - didn't make a difference. a) You can take a horse to water, but you can't make it drink and b) the biggest influencers are not at school, but at home - parents. Responsibility stops there.
Surely you should at least take the horse to water so it has the option to drink, rather than let it wander aimlessly around for it?
I agree that parents should definitely be taking responsibility in educating their children, but I reckon a substantial number of parents are misinformed themselves.
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Cheetos in, cheetos out?
But seriously, yeah I agree now that I think about it.0 -
Yah... I feel like it's the parent's job to make sure that a child knows how to feed themselves properly. Also to me, common sense/biology/physics teaches you about how pretty much everything runs on energy, which can have the unit of calories and that you can't just make something from nothing. That might just be me though as my mom drilled it in to my head everytime she was losing weight (a healthy way) that it was to exercise so that you were burning more than you were eating. Which really is mostly right as long as you realize she was using exercise to create a calorie deficit.0
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Honestly I don't remember anymore if they taught it or not. But I do know I have known it for years and years of trying to lose weight. All the gimmicks are just that - gimmicks.
I think what they need to teach in schools is not just CICO, but that people need to start counting calories and start being calorie aware before they have a weight problem. Most people have no clue how many calories they are eating. They simply eat when they are hungry, eating what tastes good to them until they aren't hungry anymore. That is a sure-fire recipe for over-consumption for most people and it's one of the reasons why most Americans are overweight or obese.
I remember the first time I discovered how many calories were in a "handful" of nuts. I used to eat a "snack" of nuts by several handfuls! I bet you I was eating 1500 calories in nuts for a "snack".
Most people have no clue how much they are eating.
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noobletmcnugget wrote: »isulo_kura wrote: »It is in biology
It wasn't though that's the problem.Maybe it depends on where you go to school, but I know we had health and nutrition classes where I grew up. Didn't stop people from getting fat, pregnant or STDs, in some cases, all 3. You can't force people to care about information, no matter how early it's delivered. I see people I remember sitting next to me in poli sci and science post incredible misinformation about politics and science on fb all the time.
I live in the UK and I was never taught properly about it. And I realise that some people don't take notice of anything they're taught, but at the same time some do, and I think everyone should be given access to that information.
Maybe it's just different where I grew up, idk.
I'm in the UK too. It is covered, briefly, in biology. Also a BASIC grasp of physics helps.
How long do you want a school day to be/tax to be increased to (or diverted from elsewhere), to cover what is common sense and should be taught, through example, by parents?
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It isn't? That's where I learned it.0
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PeachyPlum wrote: »farfromthetree wrote: »Umm yeah, it is. We teach about physical, social and emotional health actually.
*mini rant moment*
Why do schools have more and more responsibility chucked at them?! Is it too much to ask parents to parent?!
*rant over over*
what?? maybe OP is referring to health class where that should be part of the curriculum. It's not throwing more responsibility at the schools. come on! You must be one of those teachers who just got off spring break counting the days until summer because you have it so hard.
Wow. That doesn't really seem called for.
@farfromthetree FWIW, I agree with you. I took both health and home economics in school, but my parents were the ones who taught me to make good food choices and not fall for scammy weight loss products.
Lately it seems like people think it's just the parents job to provide food, shelter, and clothing and the school's job to teach kids everything they need to know about life.
Yes, you are right. Probably not called for but how did the OP making a suggestion turn into a rant about parents not parenting?
I also agree it is absolutely up to the parents. But it is a simple concept that should be discussed more, not only in schools but physicians offices.0
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