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 find it absolutely fucking appalling when I see fat adults inflicting their same shit lifestyles onto tiny children. I know it can be nuanced and health conditions can be at play, but sometimes, often, it’s just shit lifestyle. And that tiny child is being set up for a very difficult life. And that is distressing.

Take a football to the local park after dinner, do a weekly family fun run, explore the local footpaths. Exercise as a family is easy and with a few exceptions there is no excuse.

It's like that for now but other countries are catching up.

Fat kids become fat, unhealthy and often unhappy adults. Why wouldn't we care?

Parents don’t lead by example and food is seen as a “treat” rather than fuel. Mine knows being hungry is fine, snacks aren’t necessary (it’s how I was raised so knew no difference, not some superiority thing I just copied how we were raised). We are gym members and mine grew watching us enjoy exercising and came hill walking and camping from walking age. Guess what? She’s slightly underweight (only by 3 pounds) and stays roughly at that. Obesity killed my father while I was young and I’ve never lied about why there’s no grandad. My mum who was the “you don’t need a bloody biscuit lunch is only an hour” is still alive and independent. OP is right to be concerned. When the fat kids time bomb goes off there will be no fucker to fund their health care and wipe their arse for them (my dads reality for years)

For people to make proper informed choices about the food that they consume, they need to have the knowledge to make those choices. Money will be a factor in those choices too. But, make no mistake about it, the Government is doing nothing to protect its citizens from the harmful UPFs. They are making too much money from all the kickbacks they get from these food corporations. I would bet that the elite, in this Country are not eating the rubbish that most of the public will be subjected to.

I remember when Augustus Gloop in 1971 actually looked fat now he just looks pretty averaged sized.

This is also definitely to do with affluence and poverty. UPF food is cheap and tends to be attractive to children.

As a counter point to another posters stats, my DC are at a private prep in an affluent area. Not one child in the reception intake is obese/ overweight. They also exercise every single day, alongside lots of outside play time. This is a money/ class divide.

From reading ‘Why We Eat (Too Much)’ current research shows that it can be a very complex issue and not always simply a case of just eat less. I don’t know however if they also applies to children. Obesity is a major problem and has been for a long time. Some people have lost perspective of what children should look (e.g. ribs visible) as we see so many who are overweight which is becoming more and more the norm.

Pretty much this.

Fat parents raise fat kids.

A cursory look in the shopping trolly of very overweight people explains why.

Personally I think the weather is a huge factor- in France and Germany theyd be out a lot more and schools generally do a lot of swimming and outdoor activities, camping trips etc.

What a weird response! I think most people are able to look after their own kids whilst being concerned (not judging) about others.

If i'd seen an 8yo by the pool with a vape or a beer, would you be accusing people of judging? But being concerned about an 8yo weighing probably 7 to 8 stone is? I would think anyone should be concerned about the impact on the future health and wellbeing of children and the impact that will end up having on the NHS!

Agreed. It’s abuse in my opinion. If you cannot look after yourself you shouldn’t really be responsible for a child if you are inflicting bad habits on to them. It’s beyond shameful.

You have to be living under a rock to not know what a unhealthy diet looks like.

Yes, they have lots of pre-packaged food. I would say similar to the UK, but they have loads more sweets, sweet bread type things, etc. they have similar amounts of pizza etc., fewer to none curries, more filled pasta, same amounts of jars of sauces etc. lots more crisps!!! All in all, pretty much the same.

It kind of does affect other children too, if the normal weight ones are seen as not normal. Because then health becomes an abnormality, we should all care about this really, societal reasons.

It also rains in France and Germany. It’s not a schools responsibility to ensure children take regular exercise - it’s something parents should and can easily do.

Some of them are going without proper food and nutrition because of child poverty in this country . Apparently 5 years olds are 4 inches smaller on average than ten years ago under Tory rule so everything is balancing out. What a country!

YANBU, people don't like to hear it but YANBU anyway.

There's a very strong link between overweight/obese parents and children.

And with over 63% of British adults being overweight/obese, it sadly stands to reason their kids will be too.

Yes I'd be curious to see a picture of the guy who was the "fat kid" in my school in the early 90s, I'm sure he would look "normal" now.

I saw a movie from not too long ago, probably 1999 and an (adult) character was teased about his weight but looked pretty slim to me!

I care because it is upsetting to see so so many children who are being set up for a lifetime of being more susceptible to a multitude of life limiting and life shortening conditions.
Just as I find it upsetting when you see children sitting in cars with parents smoking.ita avoidable and awful

Also, Ive said this on other threads, why is it so wrong to judge. Yes we judge, its a human trait, its how we become socially aware and social cohesion takes place

I judge you badly if you mug old ladies. I judge you badly if I think your parenting has caused your child harm.

Whats the problem?

Fortunately for social services, ‘tantamount to’ doesn’t mean ‘is’ otherwise they’d be pretty busy.

I don’t believe anyone genuinely gives a shit about the pressure on the NHS or the health of the individual child. They just want to be shitty about fat people to make themselves feel better.

I’ve been the frazzled mum coming home from work and feeding the kids. But is easy and cheap to bung chicken pieces and lots of veg into a slow cooker/you can get it all frozen do more nutrients than ‘fresh’ and already diced and already cooke with a lovely aroma when you get home.
And no-one needs biscuits or crisps as ‘snacks’