To think there is too much emphasis on healthy eating these days?

[Dancergirl]

In particular in schools? It seems that every school has a 'healthy eating' policy these days and it's drummed home what's healthy and not healthy etc. Now I know childhood obesity is on the rise but really...I don't see many overweight children around, let alone obese ones.

I think the real risk is the rise in childhood eating disorders such as anorexia and a psychologist friend of mine told me sufferers are getting younger and younger. Of course it's down to many factors, the whole celebrity culture and desire to be thin being one.

But I don't want my children getting obsessed over healthy eating and a lot of time seems to be spent at school encouraging this. At home I try and give them a good balanced diet but chocolate/biscuits/cake etc aren't banned either.

The fact most kids arent allowed out to play has a lot to do with it,

I'm only a 90's kid and theres a huge difference , I woke up had breakfast went out to play and came back when I was hungry which could be like 6pm.

I think exercise is one of the main issues, we seem to have been more active as kids and usually were running about outside. PE or ex erode of some sort should be happening about 3 times per week instead of the often cancelled once a week.

Also fed up of finding it hard to find trousers or joggies that don't have hideously big waistlines (unless it is those pull elastic ones). Just took a pair back to Sainsburies that would have literally been at my 6 yr olds ankles. Wonder if this shows how big kids are getting.

Problem is that sport outside PE lessons at school aren't affordable to everyone, and if you have a child who HATES playing chase, or football, or team games, but LOVES trampolining - if you have no money, how do you PAY for the trampoline lessons that would help YOUR dc to exercise?

I see a LOT of people who try their best to feed their dc on a VERY limited budget (think less than £3 per person per day), whose dc REFUSE to do competitive team sports outside school (where they are forced to). Where do they find the money to pay for the ONE form of exercise that dc will happily do?

And DON'T tell me that you get it funded if you are on benefits - that's untrue. I pay for my DD's trampolining out of her maintenance. I get £12.50 a week maintenance. £5 goes on paying for the 'dues' for the club, and another £3 goes on paying her share of the petrol in her friend's mum's car. Doesn't leave much for the REST of the week out of the maintenance, does it? And when I didn't get any maintenance - I couldn't afford for her to go. It was THAT simple.

And yes, eating exactly the same as she does now, she WAS getting a bit porky. Nothing I could DO about it though, until I started getting maintenance for her.

Some people LOATHE competitive team sports with a passion, and would rather be overweight than do them. Yet find a different activity, and they will happily exercise. All well and good if the money is there...

Exercise doesn't need to be at a club or some other expensive hobby though. An active lifestyle with lots of walking, running around in the park etc can be more than adequate. The problem is people are to quick to get in the car or on the bus rather than walk now and to many children are encouraged to play inside rather than being kicked out.

It's definitely not feasible for children to play out like they did, even as recent as the 90's, I was never indoors! However sirzy is right no one needs to take them to expensive sports classes. Just out walking/playing in the park, perhaps the parents are not super interested in exercise either which would make it difficult.?

Some schools must run after school classes? We used to have aerobics and dance as well as the team games and a running club.

A very slim friend of mine always had a packed lunch at school which contained two slices of white bread and butter, two packets of crisps, a mars bar (or similar) and a drink. One of the packets of crisps was to make a crisp sandwich with the bread.
I had a ham sandwich, yog, fruit juice and an apple and I was twice her size.
Life ain't fair!! :o

I don't see many overweight children around, let alone obese ones

Where do you live?

I think people have just grwmn more accustomed to seeing so many larger children that it has become the norm.

I was a "fatty" in the 70's - I was probably a size 14 aged about 12/13. DD is aged 12 and would be horrified if I accused her many friends, who are about a size 14, of being fat - there are so many that size now that it seems normal.

@bigtillymint so true.

If you think can't see fat kids, its because its become normalised.

Go onto Friendsreunited and look at a picture of your peer group at Primary School. Then look at your DCs peer group. Massive difference.

I saw a bit of Jaws2 the other night. Late 70s and it was so shocking how much skinnier most people were.

But the other difference between now and the 70/80s is probably exercise, yes.

I grew up in the 70's and 80's. We were out all the time running about (no fancy sports classes or clubs) as our houses were overcrowded and too small, we had crap 3 channel TV that only had kids shows for about an hour after school, no computer games or DVD's and we walked to school come rain, hail or shine. Also takeaways, mcDonalds and Pizza etc just never really happened. Not a lot of sweets but remember scoffing on loads of biscuits and bread and jam.

bigTillyMint I dug out my teenage photos from 1989 last month. My 16 year old friends at the 'chunkier' end of the spectrum to my eyes today look absolutely 'normal/skinny'. I also think there was probably only one or two sizes difference between the 15 girls in the class.

I see a much greater range today and a much more even distribution, so 3 super slim, 5 slim, 7 large, 3 well padded. I'm guessing that one class will have kids sized from a 6 to a 16.

The wonder is that given the low price and availability of food, how anyone could possibly be 'normal'.

Note: Please ignore my terribly choice of adjectives, I'm not deliberately looking to offend anyone.

TakeYourScaffoldingWithYou Surely the much lower price of food should make it much easier to eat healthily since bad diets whilst not strictly cheaper are cheaper once you add the convenience factor (ie it's cheaper to buy easy, quick crap food than it is to buy easy, quick, good food) So cheap food should make it easier for people to choose a healthy diet as there's less of a financial hardship in doing it. It wasn't lack of availabe food keeping people thinner in the 60's and 70's.

I agree you probably do see overweight children every day, they just look 'normal' to you. Remember an overweight/obese child doesn't necessarily have the proportions of an obese adult.

Yes anorexia is a terrible illness, and it is possible for people to get too obsessed about healthy eating and weight to the point where it becomes a real problem for them. But I don't agree that this is 'the real risk' - obesity and related problems are very much a real risk as well, and almost certainly a bigger one. I don't have the statistics to back this up, but would be fairly confident that more children are at risk of health problems from obesity than from anorexia or similar disorders.

Maybe also anorexia is being diagnosed in children more these days, not just because it happens more, but because there's more awareness of it? Whereas in the past the children would have been dismissed as just 'fussy eaters', or it would have been assumed there was a physical cause for their weight loss or refusal to eat?

I don't think people in the 60s & 70s necessarily 'choose' a healthy diet for many it was forced upon them. The works canteen and home cooking was dull and stodgy and served in smaller portions. I remember my family laughing at the idea that anyone would have to go to the gym, they'd have spent the day cycling to school & work and doing a manuel job. They were knackered at the end of the day.

The choice of treat food was far smaller, look how supermarkets have grown and that's not because of all the fancy new vegetables and meat they're offering.
We remember ice magic, and those mousses with the cardboard lids because it was n't meat and veg. Thanks to cookery programmes and lovely ingedients my cooking is a lot tastier then my mothers and I want to eat more of it. My mother provided 'fuel' not a culinery delight.

I agree actually that there's a lot more tasty high-calorie food easily available now. When I was growing up it was meat/veg/potatoes for every dinner, cheese or ham sandwich for every lunch, maybe some plain stodgy homemade cake or pudding. No inclination to overeat!

Now I could quite easily be fat if I let myself, temptation is everywhere and it's not easy! You have to take some responsibility for controlling what you put in your mouth though.

I agree!

Deep fried pizza for brekky in this house!

I'm surprised more folk aren't way overweight. it does take some self restraint and discipline in this day and age to stay a healthy weight now we have so much food available and everyone seems to drive, all the household appliances to make life easier and work is often less active.

Portion size is certainly a factor. And not just takeaways, popcorn etc. Often in everyday restaurants. Huge, huge portions of food that I struggle to finish. Half the amount would have be enough. I try and stop when I'm full and encourage the dc to do the same but I imagine some people will just finish their plates because it's there.

It also shocks me when I see droves of teenagers coming out of school and straight into the chippie or MacDonalds.Presumably these same kids had a packed or cooked lunch and are going home to a meal.

Taking this slightly off-topic, but back to waht people were talking about earlier. I'm interested in those comments that you should be able to see the ribs and hip bones of children. While standing up vs laying down? Just see the jut of the ribs at the bottom or be able to see actual separate ribs? From what age, as I'm guessing this doesn't apply to a newborn, does it?

Not trying to troll, just genuinely interested if there's some sort of hip & rib guide that I don't know about.

Sorry but unless anyone can back it up with evidence, that's rubbish that you 'should' be able to see a child's ribs and hip bones. Says who? It depends on body shape, some children are natually thinner than others and some have more coverage (but not overweight). To suggest that a child is overweight if you can't see their ribs is dangerous territory imo.

Actually it's completely true, in children over ten you should actually be able to see their ribs. Google it if you don't believe us.

Sorry posted too soon, many paediatricians say you should,be able to from toddler age onwards, but the agreement is post ten its a definite sign of obesity I children not being able to see their ribs.

I did a minor search yesterday and didn't find anything.