Childhood obesity

I’m going to suggest communism.

We’re the same. 90th centile as a baby, now approaching 5 and had the reception letter to say she was overweight.

Never sits still. Walks to school and back, does dancing and swimming and out for hours on bike or scooter, dog walking etc at weekends.

She eats objectively a better diet than most kids I know. Breakfast is porridge, weetabix or eggs. School lunch. Dinners are generally cooked from scratch, plenty of protein or veg which she eats plenty of. Snacks either fruit or veg. Only drinks water (doesn’t like milk to drink though has it on porridge etc). I try to be relaxed in as much as if treats/ sweet stuff is available she can have it and I don’t make a big deal of it but it’s not every day. I do bring her a snack after school but it’s fruit, maybe a biscuit on a Friday.

She does eat a lot though, big appetite. Still, I’ve seen skinnier children eat more.

In our case it just has to be genetics.

Oh no, even the cats are eating too many Maccy Ds 😂

Suggest you explain your point better in future if this many people can’t understand your point. I personally wouldn’t be judging these “communities” of people in poverty, who are most likely to be single parents with more than one child to feed if I was “on the brink of obesity” myself, rich, had a partner and only one child. Kind feels like you’re punching down.

Vast vats not vast cats

It sounds pretty likely that he’ll be “fat” before reaching adulthood, so you should probably try to hold back your judgment. But yes, you’re absolutely right that you have far fewer legitimate obstacles to your family having a healthy diet and active lifestyle than many people do.

I agree that post feels insulting like it implies the peasantry are too stupid to know eating vast cats of popcorn and gallons of cola will make them fat and a bunch of savages who will tear apart any helpful weight loss tips from better off individuals.

I can't tell if it's meant to be insulting or a genuinely well meaning wealthy guardian reader who doesn't know many non wealthy people and thinks everything is statistics?

Either way having a thin 8 year old is nothing special, some kids just have really fast metabolisms I was a match stick at that age and ate mounds of sweets. More fool her if she thinks her bank account is going to stop him filling out as he gets older

That's the point isn't it - sadly it's the lax or uneducated attitude now for your young child that will lead to obesity later in life, or high cholesterol or clogged arteries.

Please look after your child's physical health. Get off the screens. Eat well (there are loads of free resources online) and get outside. It'll be good for the whole family.

Well, if he’s at private school he’s already moving more than kids in our state school where PE and daily mile (as well as art and computing btw) seem to be always very short/ cancelled because they are not taken seriously. If he eats at school I imagine the food is also better quality. And he does climbing an hour every week. I also suspect your UPF is Ocado and not Iceland (I.e less UPF).

You really don’t see how not being poor helps?

OP my guess is you're probably underestimating his size/weight, especially if you are overweight.

Why not go for more walks with your child and get them to see exercises as a positive? Why use the screen? Go for a walk, collect bugs etc and show how fun it is to get outside.

You sound like a lovely person, but allowing/teaching your child to be sedentary isn't good.

What an awful, judgement thread, from someone “on the brink of obesity” (I note you reserve the word “fat” for working class people).

As others have already clearly explained to you - no, there’s no magic wand that makes people on lower incomes fat. Your child is lucky so far and will no doubt catch up with you soon. Also, diet and exercise are continuums and yes - you could literally feed him more 💩 and encourage him to be more sedentary I suppose. He could also be less lucky and have a lower metabolism. Not sure you exactly deserve a medal though.

Health psychologists here.
I suppose there is an overall/definitive answer, for children or adults.
A mix of how much kalories in relation to exercise. But recent research are pointing more and more to Ultra processed food consumption and the link with many many health struggles including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, depression, and so forth.
So the quality of food. It is different to eat 1/2 avocado or a McDonald burger. They actually have the same calories, but I think everyone can tell the difference in terms of health benefits.
One thing to also keep in mind, is that Obesity is not always synonymous of unhealthy. Or better, being slim is not always synonymous of being healthy.
You can be slim and have steatotic liver, or high cholesterol due to the quality of food. And you can be obese but not being diabetic or have high cholesterol.
for example, real story. One lady I know is very skinny, always was, in her 60s. Had high cholesterol, high blood pressure. Eats not that much but it’s always ready meals and all the sort of ultra processed.
another lady, a few years younger, obese for most of her life. Probably eating too much, but seuper healthy. Never touching anything ready, buying fresh, cooking from scratch. Sure she has joint pain and difficulty in walking. But perfect cholesterol, heart works well, no high blood pressure.
Why? I think is the quality of food. No food has to be banned, but people with more money are able to choose healthier or higher quality products and don’t need to rely on cheaper (for a reason) foods, high in kcal and oils and preservatives and so on

I think you have just been lucky so far- unfortunately he is likely to be overweight as he gets older if you don't set new habits soon.

I've lived in very middle class areas and slightly more deprived areas and there definitely is a difference in the snacks offered to chodren after school. More fruit, cucumber sticks and oat cakes offered as after school snack in affluent areas vs jammy dodgers and crisps. Also noticed mote families out running and going on long walks together in more affluent areas.

This is on average, obviously there are families like yours, on both sides, who buck the trend.

Can I ask what type of area do you live in, if you mind sharing?

People in lower socioeconomic groups are usual in single parent households, so again less money coming in and they don’t have the help of another parent.

But this is probably the best post on this thread 👏🏼

We live in a high obesity area, and sadly in my DD's y6 class, at least 1/3 are obese already. I find it really upsetting for them.

Apparently they don't join in with PE, and they are sedentary during playtime. My daughter's school has an amazing play ethos, which has transformed playtime. She now clearly does so much she'll come home sweaty! But her larger peers opt out already.

My DD is a healthy weight. Her diet is generally good and balanced, whilst she avoids veg, she loves salads, beans and fruit. She also has treats, and given the chance, would scoff 4 biscuits in a go.

What I've noticed with her overweight peers is a) the quantity of food. My DD will have 1 packet of crisps, her larger friends will have 2 or 3, b) the lack of balance. DD eats some bread and jam alongside cucumber, grapes etc. Her overweight friends will have just the unhealthy bits, c) ultra processed food. My DD has cereal, cheap bread and the odd snack that's ultra processed. Almost everything else isn't. Her friends will have lunch boxes with nothing but ultra processed food.

I had a friend shocked by our fridge when she came over. Honestly, it's a regular fridge with regular food, but hers is entirely ready meals and ultra processed crap. Her and the kids are obese.

We're also super lucky to have a large garden. The kids go out in it regularly, hang upside on the trapeze bar, throw balls around etc. It must be so much harder if you don't have that.

But you said you’re overweight yourself “on the brink of obesity” so if you can’t manage your own diet and lifestyle how can you expect to feed a child a healthy diet?

🤣🤣🤣 a lot of drip feeding and then changing their mind on what they mean. Which is it?

I can’t tell if you are being deliberately obtuse or just struggling to understand your own thread

From my observations it is what children eat / are fed in terms of junk food. Processed good is addictive and you really have to be very firm with kids in terms of saying no. All the children I know that are overweight tend to snack a lot - it all adds up in terms of calories

Of course, people in lower socioeconomic groups have increased child obesity rates, due to a lack of education and lack of funds. They were probably raised on the same food stuffs and know no different.

As an educated, middle class mother, you obviously don’t have that excuse. So, why do you allow your young son to have a sedentary lifestyle and eat a diet which is so unhealthy? Your assertion that it’s not too bad, that he eats whole meal foods, that he’s still slim at 8 years old, are all irrelevant. You must know that if he continues in the same manner, he’ll be overweight by the time he reaches his 20s. If you genuinely think his diet isn’t too bad, I’d suggest you track everything he eats for a week in MyFitnessPal and see what it tells you,

You’re in the privileged position of having the intelligence to teach your son about a healthy lifestyle yet you choose not to. I find that astounding.

Not literally pizza and nuggets everyday but will be having significantly more ready meals/UPF and very little fruit and veg. It’s not conjecture, it’s the interplay of the lack of time, money, information and access to healthy foods that result in this. Just look at the food shops you see in more deprived areas versus those in wealthier communities.