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?

@Highdaysandholidays1

Deprivation: In the most deprived areas in England, prevalence of excess weight is 14 percentage points higher than the least deprived areas

in the above gov doc. Last month published as opposed to a decade ago that you posted!

Exactly, my stance overall is educating your kids and yourself is best, not just going off what they look like.

I do feel that habits area a massive thing. If you have never been in the habit of getting takeaways, eating crap etc then you will do it rarely.If it is the default then it will be hard to stop. My slim son has been told he is skinny for tears by overweight people who think they are normal.look at pictures from the 80's look at the size of people, they were not overweight.

When i did used to keep an eye on calories I was pretty shocked as I thought I didn't eat that much but I was still a consistent 600 or so over my recommend amount. I don't track anymore as I can tell now whats in what, but it was eye opening, the majority of people would be shocked I think.

massively echo this

I have to agree, there are so many kids at my daughters primary school visibly overweight. We live in an affluent rural village, so you would assume kids would benefit from having more outdoor exercise/ no Mc Donalds etc for miles. I think you are right in thinking some parents probably don't realise their child is overweight, as half the class is.

The lack of understanding about food and nutrition amazes me too. I’ve heard multiple people say that something like a cake or chocolate is healthy and not a “treat” because it’s organic! As if organic means “contains no calories”.

I’m not against organic food (or cake etc) but it shows how advertising messages delude people about what’s “healthy” - organic/low fat/“energy balls” etc when energy is just calories, not some kind of magic elixir.

Totally agree with you, @SockGoddess
Many people don’t know how to prepare a basic, balanced meal. I think this should be taught in schools as a matter of course.

And agree with comments upthread about portion size.

I had a patient livid with the lymphodema clinic once becuase they'd told him to stop drinking red wine "but red wines good for you, I have a bottle a night"

You suddenly realise why their so overwight and their diabetes control is so poor. God knows what a liver ultrasound would show, probaly a little white flag waving feebly.

Children do go through periods of being fatter and thinner (before growth spurts they might look a bit stockier) but once they get to age 5/6 you can tell that some kids are heavier than they should be. The parents are often in total denial - the amount of times I've heard friends and family raging that their child has been weighed at school and the parent has been sent a note to say they are overweight. If the discussion is online they'll usually send a picture of their child wanting you to agree that they aren't overweight when they clearly are. But they get loads of replies saying they're just stocky/BMI is a load of nonsense/they don't look fat at all etc. it's not fair on the child. I was an overweight child and it was poorly managed by my family and am now an overweight adult.

That sort of thing used to be taught by parents, but sadly we are now have more than one generation of parents who are not able to pass on those skills and sadly their children will be fed as they were. It is all really quite sad when information has never been more accessible than it is nowadays.

Schools missed the mark sometime ago with the introduction of food and design. More time spend on designing packaging for pizza and such like, rather than cooking. Whereas prior to the 1980’s at least girls were taught cookery and other household skills at school.

I think as a county we have been failing young people for a long time in terms of basic life skills.

In terms of portion sizes, I am beginning to wonder if there should be a ban on the production of oversize plates etc. to get people back on track as there are so many people who have not been able to grasp what a portion is.

Food is SO important to some families, as evident on mumsnet.

Whether that is talking about all the home made cooking they’re doing, or moaning how they can’t stop themselves snacking or, well, the Christmas food threads were just…. Well a but Henry VIII if I’m honest.

makes me so glad that for my children and I, food really is seen as a sort of adjunct o the day rather than the focus of the day.

booked a city break for us in half term. No restaurants booked. Will pop to Aldi, but simple stuff for lunch and dinner (packed lunch, dinner at apartment) and then the odd ice cream when we are out and about.

instead I’ve focussed my effort on researching what we will actually do and it involves a shed load of walking!!!

In terms of portion sizes, I am beginning to wonder if there should be a ban on the production of oversize plates etc.

the world has gone mad

.

That sounds miserable to me, the joy of travel is the food. I can’t think of anything worse than buying lunch in Aldi and eating at the apartment in the evening. You can be healthy and slim and still enjoy food, you just have to do it in moderation.

The joy of travel is food?

bloomin heck, polar opposite to me!

Sure we will enjoy an ice cream on hoof but really…. It’s about being together and lots of experiences whilst on holiday.

I book a beautiful apartment. Right in centre and with a balcony.

I do simple dinner on balcony, then board games and then a film. Single parent with two early teens.

Oh and a glass of wine for moi

sure as heck doesn’t feel depressing! 😂

Gosh how wonderful of you compared to us mere mortals houfing down massive takeaways while sitting on our arses....

Sorry, sorry, we walk everywhere on holiday, and in day to day life, mine are little but they're active all day, toddlers groups, dog walks, playground and garden. They eat tons of fruit and veg and when we're on holiday we still think about what to eat and going out for lunch is something my husband and I like so we love finding kid friendly places to eat out.

We will still do packed lunches etc but food prep, meals all at the table together, going out for a coffee/hot chocolate on wintery days when you can't spend uqite so much time outside. These things are all pleasures. You can enjoy food, have food be important to your family and still not be some kind of weird food obsessed maniac.

That said, you'd think I'm dull as anything as I wouldn't be drinking wine on the balcony, not that fussed about drinking and since having kids can't be doing with my kind of hangover but that doesn't mean I think your badly for enjoying a glass

I didn’t say one was better than that other

in fact the “foodie” said my holiday sounds “depressing”! 😂

Agreed that idea is nuts.

I have a variety of different plates in my cupboard

Some are the size of a pizza. But I don't regularly use them to eat off daily. But having a plate to put pizza on is useful.

I also have even bigger plates which I use as serving plates or sharing plates.

Plates are useful in different sizes.

Personally we do supermarket breakfast and sometimes a picnic lunch (with local food which is great) or evening meal (or even a McDonald's because it's easy)

It saves money but that allows us to have a nice meal out having neither spent too much nor eaten too much. Eating out at lunch tends to be cheaper and quieter.

It's a nice balance between the two alternatives.

Some of those experiences are food though! Eating pad thai at a night market in Bangkok, noodles at a street stall in Xi’an, a ryokan in Kyoto, okonomiyaki in Hiroshima. Amazing pasta in Naples, food at a Christmas market in Munich, Kasespaetzle in a Tyrol mountain hut, tapas in a bar in Barcelona.

Obviously it’s not the sole focus, but a big part of travelling somewhere new is trying new cuisines, experiencing different places to eat. Would you honestly travel to Japan and just live on cheese sandwiches in your hotel room? Never bother trying the local food?

Exactly. Trying the local food is my biggest pleasure when I am away. I’m not talking expensive food, often just good local food sitting in a cafe watching the world go by, I am not going away to eat a cheese sandwich in the room. Market with the freshest bread, local cheese, some fresh olives, local tomatoes and a glass of the regions wine. That makes a big part of the holiday for me,

one of the highlights of my kids lives was eating noodles in Bangkok and they still talk about the we weren’t allowed to try the local soup in Phuket because it was “only for locals”. And no, not one of them is overweight.

But that is normal now, that's the point.

Not saying it's acceptable that various governments have allowed society to develop in this way, but it's normal.

Same as it's normal that people can't get GP appointments and wait 4 hours for an ambulance while they are dying of heart failure.

Which is all great.

but is it really so far fetched to imagine a family where eating really is an adjunct to a holiday

I have just booked a private horse riding tour for my children and I through the Andalusian countryside. That is what excites us. We will return back to the apartment, dusty, tired and utterly exhilarate I reckon. They will shower whilst I lay out a smorgasbord of bits I’ve picked up from the local supermarket… either an Aldi or carrefour and that will obviously include native foods but there will definitely be some lays crisps in there! Will be under a tenner for the 3 of us, we will eat on balcony in our pjs whilst people watching below talking about the horse riding day we’ve had.

We each have our different pleasures in life and it’s baffling to me that it is so shocking to some of you that some families really aren’t bothered about food “experiences”!