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?

My son was 18 last December.

Start of the first lockdown he said he wanted to do low carb like I do (not as strict as me, he eats fruit). He was verging on overweight then - he's never done sports, always hated it and used to eat takeaways most days bored at college.

He's lost 3 stone and is now confident enough to try fast walking/jogging with Dh.

He's done really well and looks and feels better than ever.

So it has worked out well for him.

Plus he hated college and I think most of it was comfort eating.

Why do schools need to sort it out?

Parents are responsible for their children including their health. You can leave the home to exercise even in lockdown so no excuses for most. Not to mention there are plenty of ways to exercise in the home.

I think it's a bit of a sweeping statememt, and not up to schools to resolve. My teen and DP haven't put on any weight, myself and younger child have put on a little bit. We have been eating more than usual but have maintained our activity levels.

What a horrible post

It’s your responsibility as a parent to at least try and steer your DS towards being a healthy weight. He hasn’t put on weight eating burgers and sweets outside, he put on weight weight food you and your DH/DP bought.

A lot of people managed to lose weight during the lockdown(s) so it’s not impossible.

I've seen suggestions that this time we should have workout to help out, rather than eat out to help out. Could be brilliant - emphasis on both activity for physical and mental health. Lots of different activities on offer in parks, reduced price gym classes, boost the fitness industry again now so many are out of the habit or converted to home workouts.

Mines lost weight and gained muscles. Been working out all this lockdown.

yabu,
but I think schools should prioritise sports/being active in any case.
not exclusively in the shape of formal pe. but by promoting cycling and walking to commute to school, by encouraging games/dance during breaks.
promoting afterschool outside activities like walking, running, sports, gardening...

I agree that this isn't for schools to sort out. There is already so much catching up that they have to do.

My dd has done plenty of exercise in lockdown - running, walking, online dance and aerobics sessions, weight training. There is loads that can be done in the current situation, even if they are missing out on the usual activities. Not all teenagers will have put on weight in this period.

I would like to see lots of subsidized exercise opportunities after lockdown, though - for everyone, not just teenagers. Gyms, sports activities, dance classes etc. Make it easy and affordable for people.

So @Alisonshaw what is your angle? Really crap journalist, or weird fat fetishist who's enjoying stories of all these other fat kids?

Whilst I don’t agree that it’s the state’s / schools’ responsibility to step in to “fix” overweight teenagers, and I think that a national measurement scheme is an awful idea, I do feel there seem to be a lot of people on this thread that are quick to judge the OP on what she is or isn’t doing at home.

My 12 year old daughter has put on a lot of weight since the first lockdown last year. I don’t have any junk food in the house or unhealthy snacks, but she is miserable about not being at school and around friends and bored, so comfort eats whatever food there is in the house. She has become anxious about going out now so won’t even meet a friend for a walk despite my best efforts, won’t be seen out of the house with me, and point blank refuses to do any other kind of exercise.

I am a single mum working full time (from home) so it’s impossible to give her my full attention during the day, but I am doing everything I can to be encouraging and keep her healthy both mentally and physically, including meeting (virtually) with a therapist each week to talk about my concerns. My older daughter seems to be faring a lot better throughout all of this, seems relatively unfazed and has remained active.

I guess my point is that this ongoing situation is sadly proving to be extremely detrimental to many children and teenagers’ mental health, and that seems to be manifesting in many different ways, so it isn’t always as easy as just condemning parents for not doing the right things.

Other people’s situations can be complicated and challenging in ways that aren’t seemingly being considered by most on here, so please let’s be kind to each other.

I would like to say that I am very open to any guidance / tips anyone can give me to help motivate my daughter to be happier and healthier, that’s what we all want for our children isn’t it, after all.

I think most people under driving age have found that their physical activity levels have decreased a fair amount, just by not going to (and walking around) school. As a teenager we walked a decent amount around the school corridors as lessons seemed to be timetabled so you went between the 4 corners of the school...

Currently all lessons are in 1 place, lunch is a few steps away (rather than in town/canteen) and there's no school journey either - there's usually a decent distance between drop off points and the classroom.

I walk to school with my 5 year old normally, find it easy to do 10k steps without thinking about it much. In lockdown with schools closed it's more of a case of going out for a walk as well as a 5k run to get to my step target and still needing to meaninglessly walk up and down stairs at bedtime to get 10k steps.

I think we underestimate the effect on activity of just not being at home, especially if we don't have a big house..

@DinoDisco

I've seen suggestions that this time we should have workout to help out, rather than eat out to help out. Could be brilliant - emphasis on both activity for physical and mental health. Lots of different activities on offer in parks, reduced price gym classes, boost the fitness industry again now so many are out of the habit or converted to home workouts.

I think that's a brilliant idea (when the time is right)

@Alisonshaw

Ok maybe I'm wrong. I suppose only time will tell if this generation can beat the obesity crisis. And maybe we all need to take a step back and take personal responsibility. And we need to make sure we don't see a rise in eating disorders, maybe more needs to be done to prevent that.b

You make constant reference to 'we' throughout your posts, OP. Why is that? The only 'we' that is relevant is that we are the parents and it's our responsibility to do our best for our children.

There. I've handed back the responsibility to you, to manage your own child. Crack on with that, it's your job, you wanted it.

Stop talking about other people and generalising so much.

It's been said before but as your child has been at home, you've been responsible for the food.

It's been a great opportunity for my Ds to lose weight and get fit. There hasn't been the temptation of everyone going to the chip shop at much time at college and then buying crap from the shop for the bus home.

He's eaten 100% what I have cooked for him (and the odd takeaway every couple of weeks as a change).

He's really learned about nutrition and portion control in a way that he never thought about before when he was just shovelling crap down his face at college because everyone else was doing it.

He knows now how good it feels to eat a proper diet without all the crap and he says there is no way he's ever going back to eating rubbish again.

I tried for years but when they get to 14/15 they tend to go power mad with pocket money, peer pressure and takeaways. So it's been a good thing that he's had this time to learn and appreciate good food.

But ultimately, the buck stops with me in terms of my children's eating. My six year old would love to live off haribo and chocolate milkshake. As a parent and the one who buys and prepares the food for her, I don't let that happen.

My teenagers have not gained any weight so I agree with those saying a blanket approach is not needed. What is clear is that many teenagers have had their mental health negatively impacted and I really hope that services are prepared for this and planning how best to deal with it.