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.

DD is 4ft 1in and exactly 4st last time she was weighed

Yes, it's a massive problem and has been for a while. Unfortunately, the 'eat less, move more' crowd massively simplify this complex condition and put the blame solely on the person/parent. Also proper specialist support is very lacking. This needs to be tackled on a large scale and on multiple levels.

This thread will be overtaken with 'eat less, move more' though!

Yanbu op. I've just got back from the local paddling pool and nearly half the kids were obese. It's very alarming.

What makes you think that, out of interest?

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

Yet in countries where schools do more physical activities it’s less of a problem. Children spend a large part of their lives in school and learn from their teachers and their peers. Of course schools have a huge part to play in this. School dinners can also play a huge role. In the U.K. schools sold off their playing fields or built over them and we allowed school dinners to be contracted out to the lowest bidder. If we’re serious about change that’s where the focus should go.

That's usual response about obesity.

I live next door to a large secondary with catchment of a relatively deprived area. Probably about 70% of kids there are overweight to obese.

Every morning no exception they queue to local Gregs and Tesco to buy donut/pastry and fizzy drink and eat this on the way to school. This cost £3 average. Daily. The level of nastiness in this food is incredible.

Bowl of porridge with full fat milk is about 30p. To add flat peach in season now is 25p. Or banana 20p or pear in winter 40p.
2 free range Lidl eggs and a toast 60p.
Natural Greek yogurt with fruit and granola will be about 70p.

There is absolutely not a single excuse apart from being very ill for parents not to feed their kids proper food. It is way much cheaper and only take a few min, e.g. worst case scenario porridge can be made in microwave in 2min if no time to make it on hob.

This just cannot be the case that British parents are the busiest and the poorest in EU to destroy kids health like this.

Shitty about child neglect, yes.

Why wouldn't anyone be shitty about that?

As parents we are given the hugely important job of feeding our children and seeing they get enough exercise.

It's clearly not happening for far too many children.

Not really. If you want a continued free at the point of use health service you need to do your bit and make healthier lifestyle choices. Two thirds of adults are overweight or obese and with that carry all the otherwise avoidable life limiting health conditions and subsequent demands on the NHS.

Obesity affects the NHS which has to provide super sized wheelchairs, beds, MRI scanners and more. It also results in diseases related to obesity. We all pay for it so it affects us all.

Except it takes me 20 minutes to do a Thai curry using paste, coconut milk and rice, veggie, or chicken or fish! Or 25 minutes for a risotto. It's just an excuse for lazy people who don't care about healthy eating and won't take responsibility for themselves. And that's why people are fat . . .

How would a child know that their diet is unhealthy? That is when habits are formed, and those children grow into adults, who will likely follow a similar diet to what they had when they were children. That is what needs to be tackled, the foods that are available, that we eat. How many people were aware of the rubbish going into their food, when they started buying things like findus crispy pancakes, and pop tarts for example?

I've never understood why stating simple facts is considered shaming and to be avoided.

If you were going up to kids, jiggling them while chanting fatty fatty fatty then of course that would be outrageous but it is a fact that a lot of us in the UK are overweight or obese. Including me. It's not shaming anyone to acknowledge that and discuss it as a health issue.

It has turned into a demonising fat people thread. It allows people to feel superior. The odds are that some of those posting hateful stuff about fat adults have overweight children and are unaware of it.

We've forgot what kids are supposed to look like.
Wonder what 2024 would look like?

Idk how much higher the obesity rate is to other countries for children but it is sad as it is often just a reflection of parental choice

We live in France, a lot of the pre prepped stuff in jars are things like ratatouille (it’s really tasty), aubergines in a tomato sauce and generally healthy things. People seem to eat bread and salad with dinner but a smaller main.
Loads of choice of fruit and veg but expensive, so many yoghurts and cheeses it’s hard to choose. Parents tend to work full time here so it’s not a case of they have more time to cook but the school dinners are healthy and good quality. Here the council funds sailing lessons and swimming lessons for school children.

This thread will be overtaken with 'eat less, move more' though!

Because for the vast majority it absolutely works.

But when parents can't seem to do this for themselves, they're hardly going to be able to do it for their kids.

It's like telling your kids not to smoke, while you're hanging a fag out of the side of your mouth.

Its no more specialist than it was 30 years ago when obesity was not as high (it was high, but not as high as it is now)

The change has come because we humans have chosen to eat too much, food is cheap, plentiful, we eat it on the go, at the bus stop, on the train, a snack before dinner, a snack after dinner. We also dont move around as much as we used to

Thats what has changed and that pretty much equates to 'eating more and doing less' therefore the opposite is needed

Im not even finished on my own journey yet, Im still overweight having lost weight but ultimately its my choice how I manage this, I have PCOS and an underactive thyroid to contend with too so its very hard.

Sat inside playing on screens. Get driven everywhere, guzzling on junk food, constant snacking.
I live in a quiet cul de sac. Once upon a time there would be kids playing out, roller skating, riding bikes, playing hide and seek. Never see it anymore, none of them.play out

Even frozen dinners though are not inherently calorific. Its portion size. You could be eating the most healthy risotto the world but with 3 bowls of it, still be gaining weight.

Nuggets are 50 cals each. A McDonald’s nugget happy meal is very low calorifically but does that fill up a child for dinner by todays standards. No, because they are more used to eating double that and will still be hungry. This is why portion size is the most important factor I think. McDonald’s is not healthy but alone, its not going to cause weight gain. Healthy choices aren’t healthy if you are eating 3x the amount.

Healthy eating is part of the syllabus at primary school. I remember both my kids spending a lot of time on it!

Possibly, but the OP is talking about kids she saw on holiday abroad, so the low income argument goes out of the window. Unless some parents have their priorities completely skewed.

Yes, your right specialist help has always been needed. A lot has changed, as you say which makes it a very complex issue. And as such it can't be 'pretty much' equated to 'eat less, move more'

Well done on you weight loss despite your difficulties!

You see it on mumsnet all the time. Take plenty of snacks to keep them occupied, give them a snack to keep them quiet, give them a snack so they don't go hungry, give them a snack when they get in from school because they are starving. Children need to learn how it feels to be hungry and there is nothing wrong with having to wait for dinner. Children do not need constant snacks, especially not as a reward or to keep them occupied.

I don’t believe that fat people don’t realise they are overeating. Most bigger people just enjoy snacks, treats, loads of mayo calorific sauces and large portions too much to choose only the healthier or smaller option sometimes. At all you can eat buffets they pile their plates high like mountains because they enjoy eating it. And once their stomach becomes used to eating very large portions then it’s harder to feel sated.

and when their metabolism changes in middle age they carry on eating in that style, but their lifestyle may have got more sedentary too.

once they’re overweight and their health is impacted they only get more sedentary. Mobility scooters with very large people on are becoming more and more common.

life is stressful too. We feel we deserve treats to cheer us up after a shit day.

We will soon be like the US where some menus are plain shocking. The portion sizes and calorie count of some places! I was looking at one the other day. All your daily calorie needs in one main meal dish. ONE! So if someone has breakfast, snacks, lunch and desserts, they’re eating WELL over what their body actually needs ,