To think we’ve lost sight of what a healthy child’s weight should be?

[Winniethepoohandtiggertoo]

Walking through town today as kids were leaving school and I was quite shocked by the size of them (primary kids). But then I noticed that so many of them were overweight that in a way it isn’t surprising that maybe their parents haven’t noticed or realised there is a problem? When I was little kids were skinny things, now it seems the norm for them to be built like shot-putters! I know a few parents with overweight children but they insist they’re ‘strong’ or ‘solid’, or ‘they run around so much they just burn it off’. When so many kids look like theirs it probably isn’t surprising they think that?

I don't think parents have lost sight I think it's denial. There was a time when people started growing taller than previous generations, now we are getting wider.. food definitely impacts growth, even things like gestational diabetes and formula feeding usually end up bigger kids. It's not just down to parents not wishing to see their children as big, it's a whole lifestyle and societal problem. Knackered unhealthy parents with equally unhealthy children.

Just to note here - though I don’t disagree with your overall point - I have one formula fed child who is very slim and one exclusively bf child who is very chunky and we’re on constant (secret) watch about their diet and weight. I know it’s anecdotal but I didn’t want anyone who was struggling with having/choosing to formula feed to feel that they are condemning their child to a lifetime of obesity and a poor palette. I’ve had the polar opposite experience of what the NHS would tell us. My ff child devours vegetables and will try anything whereas the bf one wants only beige and sugar 😩

Hi what TV add is this?

You know that the studies are actually the polar opposite of this for EBF babies!!!!
Please go do some reading before spouting your incorrect 'thoughts'

WHO study 2019 found bf can cut childhood obesity by up to 25% in absolute terms 16.3% ff became obese, 13.2% who bf for some time, 9.3% for bf for 6 months or more

@smileladiesplease

How come then you posted The obesity today in children is mostly cars everywhere and no running around outside. a mere fortnight ago?!

Relationships with food are difficult. I grew up with a mother who was always dieting and restricted certain foods to the point that when I moved out I went mad for them. Hoovered everything in sight because I hadn't been allowed it. Chocolate isn't the devil but when you haven't been allowed it for 10 years you're going to eat far more than you should. I'm having to unlearn horrendous habits and reshape my relationship with food so I don't give those habits to DS. He's currently 3 and seems to be doing well. He grows out of his clothes in length before width and has a varied diet. I would guess other parents have also had their own struggles and habits that they pass on to their kids but we're all doing our best.

If the WHO say it then it must be right 👍🏻

Okay OP, I’ll help you out since you still haven’t given a healthy way about it.

Why children grow up having unhealthy relationships with food and how to avoid them

@OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea you are completely right. Even those congratulating themselves on 'cooking from scratch' are in denial about the poor nutritional value of food. How is crappy mince with a high fat content, which is what most people can afford, a great option for spag bol? Food has been proven to be poorer quality now due to industrial farming methods and that includes all food, so even if you sit down, have nice quality cultural family meal time and cook from scratch, the actual food itself is still problematic, and m-c families are in denial about this, which is why although there is an SES patterning to overweight and obesity, people have overweight kids and struggle with being overweight themselves. Wealthy people are often slim through extreme peer pressure, and eating better quality food, and exercising, but that's not the majority of people in the UK! Don't even get me started on the m-c denial about alcohol contributing to this...(alcohol has never been cheaper and that's calorific).

Yes but that’s breastmilk, not breastfeeding habits IYSWIM. I didn’t say breastmilk makes a baby overweight and I know you can’t overfeed in this sense. I’m just wondering if the extreme end of ‘feeding on demand’ ingrains a mentality that any negative emotion must require food (for both child and parent).

What people largely overlook is that bf babies being less likely to be obese later doesn’t mean breast feeding prevents obesity.

It could just as easily mean that parents who breastfeed are statistical more likely to be better educated and more affluent (because in UK culture they are the ones who breastfeed more often). And more affluent educated parents are more likely to feed their children well, send them to sports clubs and care about their weight/have time and energy and money to do something about it.

Not looking to engage in bf V ff debate - as per my previous post I have done both and couldn’t care less what people do as long as it’s right for them and the baby is fed. But it really bothers me when people spout ‘evidence’ of what bf does when the studies don’t adjust for different socio economic groups or look at siblings from the same family unit. Of course bf babies end up healthier, doing better at school and generally better off if it’s the wealthier families who are doing the bf 🤦🏼‍♀️

Three-quarters of the adults in England are overweight or obese. It isn't a minority issue about 'other people' it's about all of us bar a minority!

commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn03336/#:~:text=Adult%20obesity%20in%20England,is%20classified%20as%20'overweight'.

True. Chicken breast used to be a 'lean' meat. It's no longer the case as most are fed to grow and be slaughtered sooner.

Why is the phrase 'we've lost sight of...' only ever used in a weight context? It's one of those curious Mumsnet cliche phrases. 'She hasn't put a foot wrong' when praising Kate Middleton is another.

I certainly think we've lost sight of what a normal healthy weight is. As a family as are all pretty slim, I'm a size 8, my husband is a medium in clothes, our children are on the skinny side though not underweight. We all appear normal healthy weight. We aren't poor, we aren't mega rich, we just chose to eat mostly healthily and we do activities that involve getting off our bums (pre kids we ran marathons). When discussing kids size in passing (buying uniform for example) other mums will say to me yeah you and your husband are slim so you will have slim children. Well yes, we are, but if we ate lots and sat around we wouldn't be! We don't have some magic gene!

Then I look around and I see fat kids with fat parents, they drive the shortest of distances and they eat shit. You only have to observe the big kids at party's when the food comes out and it makes perfect sense. They brought pizzas out at a party recently and the big kid piled his plate high, I mean piled, he took about 8 slices (they are aged 6 for context) when the rest if the kids took 1. His parents are also big, this doesn't happen by accident. Oh and they aren't a poor family either.

When we go abroad to mainland Europe on holiday you can usually pick out the British families by their size, they look much bigger than their European counterparts. My husband and I actually had this discussion on holiday that the size difference was very obvious. I don't believe this is due to being poor or ill educated I think it's mainly just laziness and convenience. It isn't expensive to eat healthily, but you need to be bothered to prep and cook it. It isn't expensive to go out for a walk at the weekend as a family, it's free, but you have to get off your bum. I don't believe being poor = being fat.

Most people have a treat or 2 everyday don't they?! I know I do, and I consider myself pretty healthy with a BMI of 19 and I do a lot of exercise, similar to my kids. I cook all meals from scratch, no jar sauces, pastes etc. I will allow them a daily slice of cake and a packet of crisps I think. I don't have time to make "healthy" snacks as well and they won't eat them anyway! They use up lots of calories through sports and exercise so they need snacks they will eat.

I have one underweight child and one average child. Underweight DC is obviously so (and is under professionals for FTT and ARFID) and yet a lot of people think he ‘looks fine’ or ‘just has his dad’s build’.

I think people are keen to normalise no matter what the issue, big or small.

Daily slice of cake is a homemade cake btw

My son is 12 and has ARFID combined with painful joints (possibly hyper mobility that he has a paediatric appointment in September for).
He uses crutches on very bad days at school.

He is overweight (which could also be the cause of his joint pain, but he had the same pains when he was a healthy weight).

His diet consists of very beige unhealthy foods. There are only a few “safe” foods. It’s either eat them or starve because he literally won’t eat anything else without vomiting as soon as it reaches his mouth.

He wants to be more active and is very aware that he is overweight, but with a poor diet and pain it makes things very difficult.

Hopefully, we can get some answers at the hospital appointment in September and help him.

😂

Again go read the studies!

That particular study is exclusively breastfed not breastmilk data from 30,000 children in Europe tracked.

Breastmilk adapts to age of child and conditions it's not like having a feed is the equivalent of having a biscuit for comfort eating.

I agree that the British have lost sight overall of what a healthy weight is. It’s no surprise this is translated into also affecting the younger generations. My primary aged child’s school tries to teach the children the importance of healthy eating while completely contradicting their own words by offering many unhealthy foods as part of their rewards. I literally discussed this with the head teacher at the gate this morning - every single week the reward for good behaviour in Year 6 is baking or cookie decorating, the “carrot” for attending SATS club is that they give out hot chocolates AND biscuits. When I suggested fruit they said it wouldn’t attract as many kids AND it’s too expensive. Society is failing us, when people cannot afford the healthy options they don’t happen as much, if at all. It’s a huge problem!

It's not only kids, same applies to adults.

This is not what the evidence says.

Large cohort studies show that EBF (not just BM) considerably lowers the likelihood of obesity in later life. This is thought to be because the infant is in control of their appetite and they are not suppressing their leptin receptors, like bottle fed infants, and therefor continue to understand when to stop eating in later life.

I don't care how people feed but stating a possible link to obesity and comfort eating due to bf on demand because a pp think that is against the studies and there is a wealth of them out there.

We are talking about childhood obesity and yes the studies do link that.
Go read the studies for yourself.
There are other studies there including using opaque bottles for formula reduced overfeeding of babies. There are loads of them to go read it's not spouting evidence it's just stating the studies show the opposite of the posters thoughts!

Were those studies sibling studies? Or adjusted to account for socio economic differences? I’ve personally never been able to find any convincing evidence of the benefits of bf that does the above, so am always interested to ask this!