at being shocked at the huge amount of teenagers who are overweight?

[Blossomhill]

Controversial I know. I also completely understand that their will be children who are overweight for reasons beyond their control. However it really does upset me to see so many children and teens who are obviously quite considerably overweight

i know but as a very over-weight mother of three, i don't feel that i can comment!

Sorry what I meant was it is a touchy issue and I am not meaning to be controversial. If anything I would really be happy to see more help and advice out there to help these children.

I agree Bloss. It's very worrying. I remember when I was young hardly any of us were fat and nowadays there are so many teenagers who obviously are carrying far too much.

According to figures out in the papers last week about one in four ten year olds is overweight with the fattest kids in London.

Yes spidermama that's what I mean. When I was at school their were hardly any overwight children.

i was an 'overweight' teenager. i wasnt obese, but was certainly overweight.

teenagers have a huuuge heap of pressure on them, its a very insecure time. i was called fatty, fatso, was accused of stuffing my bra (i was about 12 years old and a C/D cup). my comfort was food. not excessively at that age though. i put on more weight once i left school.

i am now obese. slowly losing weight.

i do worry about childrens weight, dd1 is only 8 (in a couple of weeks) but has got a bit of a tummy and looking at the hospital leaflets, if you cant get clothes to do up then they are overweight. so i now how to face my GP and see what the suggestions are about making sure she doesnt put on too much more so when she grows she evens out. I dont want her to go through what i did.

BlossomHill I agree with you, but would be grateful if you would accept this gift of a hard hat.

It has got to be down to lack of education, the removal of home economics has failed a a generation of children. I know a teenager who don't even know the basic food groups, i.e carbohydrates, protein.

He does now, his mother went bonkers and he is now under no illusions.

btw, i hit my adult height at 13, and was about a size 12/14 at that age.

Thanks Bree :S I think education is the key. I truly do care about these kids a lot. It upsets me as I know with the majority of cases diet and exercise can really help.

lossom If you are concerned about children and teens why did you just put teens in title.
As a mum of a ds who has battled with his weight. i have found that a lot of teens go through a "fat" stage then grow out of it.

I also know that it can be hereditary. In my family we are all tall and fairly slim so genetics plays a part too. However I think the earlier a healthy diet and general exercise is introduced into a child's life the less likely they will be overweight adults.

2shoes ~ why are you being so picky about the title????? IMO teenagers are children!

yes I know just feeling all severely over protectibe of them. No Idea why

the girls do exercise and eat a fairly healthy diet. unfortunatly they have also suffered when dh was in hospital as didnt get out as much as needed and a lot of meals eaten on the go.

it is heriditry in somecases. which is why dd1 is small and squat like me (hate saying it but its true) and dd2 is tall and lanky like her dad. dd3 is little as well.

Going to sound really old but "in my day" meaning when I was a child - there were little to no processed foods in my house (1970's)everything was cooked from scratch

and when you go to diet clubs now, what they teach us is get back to basics, get the fresh produce out and know what you're putting into your body

we played out after school, climbed trees and I shudder at the danger we put ourselves in - I can remember being 9 years old and being on an adventure at least a mile away from my house, we'd go out in the morning and come back only when hungry - my children are not let out of my sight

added to that there was the chippy BUT due to lack of money that was a rare treat, no macdonalds, KFC etc, I can actually remember when Wimpy was the only burger bar and that was relatively new

and there was also no sky, so childrens tv was only on for about an hour and half, now it could be on pretty much all day if we let it

so i think it's a combination of things, easily accessible processed food, fast food, lack of exercise and games, increase in computers, hand held games etc

and this is from a mum who has to force her children to go and play in the garden because they need to move and get fresh air when they would much rather be in front of the TV, PC or computer game

I also think it's acceptable these days to have a "muffin top" not necessarily caused by being overweight but having really awfully tailored clothes that are not complimentary to the female figure

now I'm off to continue practicing being Miss Jean Brodie

Aww fair enough. I am not attacking anyone I just know how awful being a teen can be without the additonal pressure of being overweight.

I agree with you blossom. it is sad. what is the solution? No idea. I do think that Proper education of parents about what over weight actually is in a child so that it can be caught early before they are teenagers.

Also being able to run round outside without fears of paedophiles and the elves of safety interfering. CHildren generally seem to be more indoor based than 20+ years ago.

i knowe BH, which is why we are tackling dd1 tum now and not leaving it until she is older. would hate for her to be overweight like i was.

Yeah it's sad jj. I am same with my 2. I like them to have exercise and take them out on their bikes etc but they have no where near as much exercise as I did. I was always out climbing trees, playing run outs etc etc and I think that's what children should be doing.
I know that children will be weighed at school so maybe that will be the way forward. However I don't just think a "you're child is overweight" is enough. It should be and you need to do x y and z. Maybe their should be more classes to help people be re-educated?

and I am sure misdee that you are doing it exactly at the right age to make a difference!

It's modern life. Kids used to be running around all day. Now they are sat on their arses playing computer games, or they are sat on a wall drinking beer. People used to cook meals. Now many folks live on processed stuff. I read something about how many people are actually consuming fewer calories than they used to, but lead such sedentary lifestyles that they are just getting bigger and bigger. We've invented so many things to make our lives physically easier that we've left ourselves with nothing to do! People don't walk anywhere, have gadgets to do every chore... it's a really big problem.

You can really notice a difference when you go to somewhere like Paris. You simply don't see as many overweight people. Of any age.

I think the less-processed food makes a difference. And the fact they tend to walk around the city quite a lot.

I also think that too many people area accepting of pudginess in 8-9 yr olds. I obviously realise that everybody is until differently, but is remarkable to me how many children of that age (often girls) are really on the porky and not encouraged to take more exercise by their parents at an age when it would actually be fairly straightforward to make changes to diet and level of activity. In a way, it's kind of more normal for women past puberty to have a few fat stores (for hormonal purposes and from hormonal effects) than it is for their tweenies. I find it sad ti see entire families with young children all the same shape as their parents, because if they're that size at that young an age, they'll be a lot bigger than their parents as adults.

Its odd you should post this, because over the last week I've been thinking that very, very few of the kids that I teach are overweight. I'm very overwight, but my kids are not, hardly any of their friends are either.

you're right duchesse and we all know that being overwight can lead to all sorts of health problems so target the problem early!

elfsmum your childhood sounds like mine - out all day, sometimes on bikes, sometimes playing in the fields behind our house (all built up now but also playing there when it was a totally unfenced off building site; that would not happen today).

at my primary school in the 1970s generally there would be one or two plump kids per year, that's all. And it was a mixed middle/working class area, with no doubt all sorts of food being eaten at home. however i'm sure more was done from scratch; there just wasn't the range of ready meals etc we have today.

Today I am shocked for example at just how much bad cellulite I see on young girls under 10 when I take my children swimming. Where does that come from ?