To think after lockdown teenagers need to lose weight?

[Alisonshaw]

I know during lockdown alot of us have relaxed and probably snacked alot more than we should have and I know that his has unfortunately extended to my teenage DS too. He is 17 and has piled on the weight over lockdown. I wouldn't say obese but certainly something to keep an eye on. Do we need to make more of an effort nationally to help us all lose some weight, but particularly children before it is too late?
Maybe schools need to introduce more PE (although with stretched timetables this would be very challenging) or maybe a national measurement program of older teens. Maybe just a bit of time to get over the stress of the last year we and our DC have been through?

IME teenagers arent generally overweight. However, many adults I know have piled weight on.

@passtheorange

People need to start taking responsibility for themselves if you ask me, and parents should be responsible for instilling healthy eating and exercise habits in their children.

It is not up to schools, the NHS or any other official body to do it for us.

Those with genuine eating disorders should get the support they need of course, but not the overwhelming majority who just eat too much, exercise too little, and act all surprised because they've gained weight.

I agree. Some people are pretty quick to want everyone else to 'support' them and that support will somehow magically lose the weight for them.

No.

Get rid of the crappy food in your house, cook dinners that take longer than 20 mins in the oven and dont come from a jar or box, get out for brisk walks or break a sweat at home. People always moan "it's not that easy". Its not. Losing weight isnt easy. However, it is simple for most people. It isnt rocket science. People just dont like it.

They need excersize and more actively. Maybe not for weight control but certainly mental health reasons and re socialising away from screens. How that is done ? I really don't know. They need to be made happy again not forced into something many would hare. But in all honesty just walking to a bus stop , moving between classes, normal PE and time with peers would help.
Maybe free ( or very discounted) access to all physical activities should be done so climbing walls, trampoline parks, swimming pools, ice rings etc all become accessable cheeply for teens so they are active whilst having fun and can socialise again? I can't see team and competitive sports going well after this sadly.

You’ve been posting about your sons weight since he was 15. It’s all you post about.

I find this a little alarming,

I agree it would be great if schools could do more PE/outdoor learning when they go back, because it has been proven time and again exercise is great for physical and mental well-being. I think looking at weight as at school should be avoided, but boosting self esteem and opportunities to try different activities that they missed out on in the past year, would be a benefit to so many.

I don't think you can say something about all teenagers because of your one child.

I agree, and perhaps I have over generalised, maybe most people haven't put on weight over lockdown and perhaps we should focus less on just one age group and more on healthy eating in general.

Just seen op's posting history, seems like an unhealthy obsession that maybe you need some rl support with. Either that or something you know will get a reaction, because I can't think of any other reason why you would post so many near identical threads.

My 17 year old is underweight having had several growth spurts in the past 2 years and he is on build up protein drinks to combat his dizziness. He weighed himself after Christmas and bemoaned the fact he had not put on weight.
I think YABU op, you and your DS are the only ones who have control over what he eats although I do get its hard to get teens to do things they don't want to.

@Alisonshaw

Perhaps a national measurement program is a step too far and I understand that there are far too many negative consequences and eating disorders of all kind should not be worsened or created by such a program but I do think that as a society we need to be careful to not let obesity become the norm and that we do need to take a look in the mirror at the deep realities.

It isn’t society or the schools or the government. It’s you as a parent! You are responsible! What are YOU doing about your son?

Schools should and do promote healthy food choices, lifestyles and exercises, but by teenage years it’s really down to the teenager and their family. I can teach all about good food choices etc but if the parents/child won’t buy and cook that food it’s almost pointless.

People need to take responsibility for their own health.

There’s no reason that teenagers should have piled on the pounds during lockdown.

I imagine many people have put on a bit of weight during lockdown, but it will fall off again when we're eg walking to work again

I'm more concerned about eyesight (too much time on screens) and mental health (isolation)

Slap a fit bit on your son and go tell him to walk 10k steps or go for a run or cycle daily.

Are you doing exercise daily? Role modelling is important

What are you doing to support him. Both of my teenagers have been exercising in lockdown. We are fortunate enough to be able to be able to allocate space for a weight bench and squat rack so the eldest has put on muscle. We don’t buy vast numbers of snacks (because I would eat them!).
The school sets PE and Games activities for our year 9 DS.

Weight issues are difficult to discuss on Mumsnet. I don't know what the answer is but I wish I had learned about healthy eating from someone as a teenager (I was stick thin and could eat anything so I did).

I know it's the responsibility of the parents and I do it with my own. Unfortunately some parents don't do this.

I think some posters are being a bit disingenuous here. On MN, nobody is ever overweight but the reality is that obesity is at an all time high. Burying our heads in the sand and just saying 'it's a personal issue' doesn't look at the bigger picture. At the moment, it's likely obesity will continue to rise and addressing it at childhood is the easiest way to deal with it - however I agree now is not the right time and I don't have a simple answer on how we do this. Children are already overwhelmed with school work as it is so that is not the right place.

I think there's a lot to be said for communities working together (in normal times) with campaigns like Food for Life Get Togethers and local sports groups to pull together disadvantaged children who are more likely to struggle with weight without the right support.

Agreed, there are issues around obesity that are nothing to do with lockdown, and need tackling at every level, from Gvt, through institutions, to communities, families and individuals.

But you have to start with yourself and your family because that’s the only place you know you have control.

Lockdown has seen the visibility of exercise like nothing before! The popularity of J Wicks and numerous other workout programmes, numerous teens and their dance routines on SM, everyone walking, walking, walking.

In our family, teen cooking increased during first lockdown due to having more time, making our own bread to avoid shops etc.

I got much fitter with all the walking. Teen meet ups involved much walking.

Many friends and families looked at the health risks in COVID and took steps to lose weight, avoid diabetes, pay attention to a healthy diet and their immune systems.

But the marketing of unhealthy food is a major issue, and it isn’t surprising that people look to anything to cheer themselves up.

And young people are in desperate need of live social interaction including sport. I would love to see big Summer Camp opportunities for young people this year, to have outdoor fun, socialise, learn new skills, and yes, get active.

@StockingBlue

Agreed, there are issues around obesity that are nothing to do with lockdown, and need tackling at every level, from Gvt, through institutions, to communities, families and individuals.

But you have to start with yourself and your family because that’s the only place you know you have control.

Lockdown has seen the visibility of exercise like nothing before! The popularity of J Wicks and numerous other workout programmes, numerous teens and their dance routines on SM, everyone walking, walking, walking.

In our family, teen cooking increased during first lockdown due to having more time, making our own bread to avoid shops etc.

I got much fitter with all the walking. Teen meet ups involved much walking.

Many friends and families looked at the health risks in COVID and took steps to lose weight, avoid diabetes, pay attention to a healthy diet and their immune systems.

But the marketing of unhealthy food is a major issue, and it isn’t surprising that people look to anything to cheer themselves up.

And young people are in desperate need of live social interaction including sport. I would love to see big Summer Camp opportunities for young people this year, to have outdoor fun, socialise, learn new skills, and yes, get active.

See to me that reads as the very blinkered view of the privileged.

Teen cooking? Lots of time to encourage exercise? Baking bread?

Are you aware that millions of people struggle financially to put food on the table never mind cope with the stress of managing mental jobs/living on a pension/life in a crappy apartment/no help ever with anything especially not during lockdown...a jolly home baking exercise is not on the cards.

In my work I see so many beautiful families busting a gut to keep their kids safe and well in extremely trying circumstances. Well-intentioned advice from those who are in much more comfortable circumstances really doesn't help, and it actually makes me cringe for how ignorant so many people are.

What does help is to volunteer or donate or at least to stop being so judgemental. Don't beat up on people already having a hard time, it makes their lives harder.

*menial

Your DC have not been told to stay inside for a year. That's absolute rubbish. There's nothing stopping your DC from going for a walk, run or bike ride, with a friend, family member or alone. It's up to them to do it, not the government.

LookingForSalt
I can see how that sounds privileged, and so we are. But one of us was made redundant in March last year and the other had freelance contracts dry up. And we were ‘OK’ rather than rich in the first place.

We took to making bread and lots of other things too, to save cash, because we didn’t have any, and wanted to be out and about in the shops less. We had time because we weren’t commuting. But we were homeschooling/ supervising, and applying for jobs and chasing work.

It wasn’t ‘jolly’ and I am not blinkered. I see the same things you do, and many people who have walked and walked to avoid public transport are friends who work shifts in low paid jobs in the NHS.

Steady with the reverse snobbery.

@StockingBlue

LookingForSalt I can see how that sounds privileged, and so we are. But one of us was made redundant in March last year and the other had freelance contracts dry up. And we were ‘OK’ rather than rich in the first place.

We took to making bread and lots of other things too, to save cash, because we didn’t have any, and wanted to be out and about in the shops less. We had time because we weren’t commuting. But we were homeschooling/ supervising, and applying for jobs and chasing work.

It wasn’t ‘jolly’ and I am not blinkered. I see the same things you do, and many people who have walked and walked to avoid public transport are friends who work shifts in low paid jobs in the NHS.

Steady with the reverse snobbery.

I get that you have your own worries and that they're real to you, but honestly it is light years from the very real poverty faced by so many, most of whose voice will never be heard because they are too ashamed to share their story or because they are simply too busy trying to survive.

I'm talking about people without beds or working heaters or functional kitchens, who are children raiding children or in homes where a child is the main carer, where serious illness is a constant, where walking in your own street is scary... not those saving a few pounds by baking bread.

I'm not a snob. I used to be, I had a privileged upbringing and used to trot out the awful sort of judgmental crap so commonly posted on MN. But once you immerse yourself in the world of poverty, as I have during the course of my work, it stays with you. There is no sense of security in these people's lives, they face huge challenges just to get through the day. But a little thing we can all do is to be a bit kinder.

My teens will needs jobs after Lockdown. Losing weight might easier than getting jobs.

I think in most teenagers case, it will naturally fall off when they go back to school and wear nice clothes to meet friends at weekends.

Theres nothing for them to do at the moment, all socialising is online. Sports clubs etc will open again. They will be walking to school or college. It'll sort itself out

Just encourage healthy eating, snacking etc. Which you most likely do anyway

Salt I agree about those families.
At the risk of ‘poverty knowledge Top Trumps’ much of my work was with homeless people.

But those issues are not lockdown issues. They are deep, endemic, political, social, cultural issues, complex and acute. That have been affected by the pandemic, no doubt about it.

This thread is about the OP and her teens, and she doesn’t reference deep poverty.

I think teens like mine will be fine, we are privileged by education, cultural capital etc. I know how to get them about in the wider world after lockdown. The kids who will suffer are those in a flat with no balcony and no family cash for the whole summer. Hence my hope for huge youth programmes over the summer, accessible to all.

I also think that my point about marketing applies more to families with next to nothing than those who have wider choices. I am not about to take advantage of Tesco’s Club Card offer of 5 creme eggs for £1 as a treat, but I know people with less money than me who will, as a treat, and I don’t blame them.