To be shocked at the level of obesity of British children?

[MEM00]

Having recently come back from holiday I found myself really shocked by the size of so many other British kids at the resort we were at. It was mostly a mix of British, French and German families and I found it impossible to not notice the difference in the British kids compared to others. DD is 8 and I would say average sized, by no means skinny. She made friends with another girl the same age by the pool, and i'm not joking when i say the other girl must have been twice the size when they were next to each other.

Am i overthinking this? Because it really makes me worry for the future.

This isn't intended by be 'fat shaming' in any way btw.

I don’t have kids, but I am a teacher. I fast until lunch so don’t eat a snack at morning break.

However, many of my ten year olds pile out the door with 2 or 3 items for their 15min playtime. They are often ‘healthier’ snack items (although there are lots of crisps and biscuity things too) but I often think if they’re busy eating, then they have zero time to run around and play. Many of them are still trying to finish their snacks when I collect them to come back inside.

As a child I hated meal times, later than average, as all I wanted to do was get out to play again. This is what made all the pleasure centres in my brain light up. Not food.

Those old enough to remember Butterflies & Mum’s cooking, sexist in its depiction as it was, that was my reality. Food was functional & not appetising. I wonder if Wendy Craig aka Mum, Ria, in programme would have resorted to Waitrose ready meals & garlic bread if available & teen boys bigger as result? Prob decanted it & hidden packets in bin :)

Madness

I bought a Viennetta during lockdown to introduce my kids to its deliciousness. Never have I felt so betrayed by a memory and my kids no longer trust my judgement on desserts!!

I know! And it was the height of luxury back then! And when they brought out Romantica 🥰

I agree. I feel sorry for kids that are hopelessly overweight: it’s not their fault it’s soley their parents.
You see kids walking along the street with huge belly’s and tree trunk legs that are actually waddling! And 8 year old should not waddle, they should be flexible and fit so they grow into a healthy adult.
The parents will know they’re doing the wrong thing but keep not properly regulating their kids diet. It’s really sad 😢

We were in Spain last summer and all the fat kids were British. If they can afford to travel to boutique resorts, then money and time are not an issue. People can’t take responsibility for their own health, their children’s health. Letting your kids get fat/obese is child abuse. The amount of excuses people make for this is ridiculous.

The ‘overweight’ child in class used to stand out, now probably half are overweight and it’s no longer shocking, looks ‘normal’ to the parents and so nothing is done. I’ve had parents say I don’t know where the weight comes from it’s just them, they barely eat, while knowing it’s a magnum for breakfast, half a pack of cookies mid morning, 2 bags of crisps after lunch, a share bag of Harribo….. I’m not making this up

It’s this sort of defensive response that halts any useful discussion.

Oh my goodness, @Bruisername! Venetia was the height of expensive sophistication when I was a child! We never had it at home, but I had it at a friends house once, bliss! I daren’t get it now, I fear the disappointment would be too great 😂

Are you the school? You may have more of a leg to stand on if the canteen wasn't full of this same shit for the kids' lunch!

I loved Butterflies and had a soft spot for the oldest son 😁

PatchworkElmer · Today 16:16
I think the shift from letting children play out is a massive, massive part of this. At my DC’s age (mid primary) I’d be out for hours playing in the street.

Yes, and it's not just the physical playing - when you're running around you can't be eating all the time. Indoor things like computer games and watching TV just seem to be made for continuous high-calorie snacking.

I did post up thread, though that a study showed our poorest families would have to spend 75% of their income on food in order to meet UK nutrition guidelines.

I was in the Co-op when the local high school ended the other day. In came a group of boys (2 from our street about 500m away) who each bought things to eat walking home - including, a pack of 6 croissants, a tray of iced donuts, big bag of crisps, large bar of chocolate they all bought a fizzy drink. I walked home behind them with DS2 and DD. They ate whatever they had bought and put the wrappings in bins.
That will be after whatever they bought at break and lunchtime at school.

Secondary schools sell all sorts at break- last week I was in one that sold : tuna melts, pizza slices, cheese on toast (2 slices), bacon, sausage or egg sandwiches, hot sausage rolls. They buy food at break and then have their school lunch . Costs a fortune. Many schools find salad and veg left and tipped into the bins at lunchtime. It isn't just boys who buy this food at break, girls do too.

Interesting. When I was in school we had snack time sitting at our desks, and playtime outside was separate. I remember my favourite snack was a cup of apple puree lol, lots of kids had UPF stuff but iirc there wasn't a huge amount of time so we only had an item each.

What chance do kids have now, everything is just stacked against them.

Does the username refer to fruit and veg in the weekly foodshop?

Our canteen doesn't do pop and chocolate and crisps but cheap carbs are the options and food is cheap and not particularly great. Also , we do still have a leg to stand on. Both things are wrong. It's NEVER ok for a child or an adult to eat 5 jam doughnuts and 2 litres of coke 5 days out of 7. No amount of gaslighting or whataboutery will make that acceptable. The country is getting fatter and the global food companies are booming. We must act.

I agree, my DC are late teens/20s now but the amount of 10-16 year old that are slobby and u fit is shocking. Sit in front of a screen eating rubbish, no exercise, lazy parents feeding them takeaways or easy junk food.

We had homemade dessert every night after dinner. I don't do that now, though!

Well we should all care as it is a problem for our society. More and more children are obese before they even read double figures in age. This will have a serious impact in future years for thr health of the nation as a whole. It will impact working lives, benefits and everything really if it continues.

Ye were obviously very posh!

They all do this though.

Our local Tesco Metro looks like locusts have descended at home time and mornings.

And also, when l was teaching, loads of kids had parents that went to Costco. Then these kids would bring in shitloads of chocolate and sweets to sell at break time.

The school removed the vending machines 24 years ago, but they still find a way.

In respect of what the school was selling, they caterers have to make a profit so they sell food that appeals. Otherwise there would be no healthy options at all, as there would be no caterers, and not food either.

An experiment I the US ages ago, put things like chopped carrots and cucumber at counter level and eye level where kids would see them first. They bought loads. But then they threw them away
uneaten. So they were persuaded to change their buying habits, but not to change their eating habits.

What salad and veg? It's all hotdogs and sausage rolls, panini's, pizza and then every type of cake imaginable, washed down with a fizzy drink. Why on earth is this allowed??

I was equally shocked on holidays recently.

So many obese children. Like seriously obese 5 and 6 year olds. It was actually really upsetting.

I think UPF has a lot to answer for.