to think that this 'epidemic' of overweight children is bullshit

[EssenceOfJack]

For example, article here about a child who is 'overweight'
According to this children's BMI calculator my DD1 is on the 93rd percentile and is overweight when if you look on my profile you can clearly see that she is nothing of the sort.

Are they just measuring these small children when BMI means feck all (the calculator reckons it can tell you results for children from 2 to 20) and declaring them overweight based on arbitrary measurements and then the NHS using these figures to tell us all our children are fat?

I ask in all seriousness as at DD1's primary school I can genuinely say I haven't noticed one overweight child, and we live in a mildly deprived area so are supposed to be rife with 'fat kids'. yes, some have baby fat still, but they aren't fat

So AIBU?

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tbh I went to pick my dd up from a party and was a little shocked at how big some of her class mates had become, they are not tall either...

sorry but this has not been my experiance lately

I am not sure BMI should be used for children.

But children are becoming fatter, both in the UK and in Belgium where I live, and what we consider normal is changing.

Your dd looks gorgeous and healthy in the photos btw but unfortunately there are more overweight children then ever before.

YANBU, although I've just calculated my dd's BMI and she is underweight. She always has been. At her school there are a few chunky children, one is genuinely morbidly obese (mum excuses it and piles in her lunch box). On the whole they are healthy looking children. OTOH, at her last school, I'd say that a good 25-30%
of children were overweight. We were in Thailand and having plump children is seen as a sign of prosperity. Cultural issues have to come into play somewhere I think.

DS1 and DS2 are not overweight (DS2 is very chunky, thickset, he was 10lb+ born and is built big) and nor are their classmates/peers.
When DS2 goes for his swimming lessons there is a school with older children having lessons in the big pool. A fair few of them (would say about 30%) are very big, rolls of fat etc, the children are around 8-10 yrs of age.
Even DS2 noticed.

Unfortunately I don't think it is BS.
None of the dcs at primary school here seem to be overweight but I have been quite amazed at the size of some of the girls I see walking home from the high school so there is obviously something going awry with children's eating patterns.

There are an awful lot of preschoolers who are being given crisps and sugary drinks too, so I can't think that will do any good in the long run if it's a regular part of their diet.

The kid in that article is beyond gorgeous (shame about the uggs).

Not seen any chubby kids around here (which is weird actually because you would expect a few naturally bigger kids), but this is Chelsea dahling so maybe that is to be expected.

All the kids at DS's school are a fit as can be, they vary in size but all look just fine - but the school itself is big on sport and they walk everywhere around London so that is probably why.

I am not sure how appropriate BMI is for anyone, let alone kids. However, there ARE a lot of obviously overweight kids around. Kids should be thin, until they get to the puppy fat stage anyway.

I think lots of people have lost sight of what normal looks like. And I mean this in terms of aspiring to be too thin as well as being unaware of being overweight.

BMI shouldn't be used for adults really, it is not an acutire gauge of fat - there are far better tests that can be done to measure fat and muscel percentages.

BMI though is an easy test, and a person who's BMI if below 25 may well find that they fail a fat % test and have far to much fat which is unhealthy.

But non of this can be used to test children.

what is great is the amount of sports springing up around the country again, encouraging children to take part and enjoy sport and encourage a helthy life stype

As a primary school teacher, I've noticed a number of unhealthy children who lack stamina. Many of whom are not overweight, just under-exercised and badly fed, lacking enough sleep and generally unfit.

I know that in the US, where they're always going on about an epidemic, actually the average BMI hasn't gone up since 2002. So the problem, if it's a problem, has already solved itself. Don't know about the UK but I bet it's the same.

Morloth I think hits the nail on the head. It's going to depend a lot on where you are living as to what you perceive to be as "normal". Anyone living in Birkenhead might have a very different idea on childhood obesity.

according to that one, my kids are both overweight.

I'll be honest, they are well padded! ds1 has a bit of a tummy on it! But they don't look any different to any of the other kids.

However, on this one they are "at risk of becoming overweight"

On this one they are obese

and on this one they are in the healthy range

So who knows?

on HIM, not it!

YABU, I think you haven't been to the swimming pool lately and looked at the kids there (You can't always really judge if a child is overweight or not with their clothe on. In a swimming costume, there is no doubt).

Also if you were going to spend your holidays in another country with 'less problems' like France, you will probably realize that a lot of the kids there are much thinner overall than here. The problem -just like with adults- is that you get used to see the average person being bigger so that becomes the norm and is OK.

Eg : I'm a size 16, so wear the 'average size' for women in the UK. I rarely find myself feeling obese here. When I go to France I DO feel obese because the average woman there is much thinner.
The same goes with children.

Re the BMI, the problem with these graphs are the same than with adults. They give an idea of where you are. But talking about 'baby fat' for school age children is just kidding yourself. They've lost a long time ago, when they were about 2yo!!

I know what you mean sailaway. When I look as ds1 in his trunks I can see that if I don't keep control, he is going to have a problem.

I think if their thighs meet halfway down to their knees and you can't feel their ribs, they've got a problem. (or are going to have one)

BTW, I have one child who is overweight according to BMI and I thik he is on the very limit of what is acceptable. Even though paed said that he is stocky so he will never be 'a stick' iyswim.
ds2 on the other side is just 'average' (ie 52 centile according to the school nurse). I can feel his ribs and bones which feel wrong for whatever reason. However, if I compare him to his peers, he certainly isn't underweight.

I think there is not a problem with obesity but a problem with fitness.

My dd is 9 and solid, not fat but you would never call her skinny. She is going into puberty now, wears deodorant, is starting to grow hairs on her genitals and has started to need to use a medicated facewash and moisturiser.
She is having definite growth spurts where she gets chunky and then shoots up and looks long and pretty lean which I think is normal.

She does a fair bit of sport, rugby once a week, swimming twice a week, netball once a week as well as the usual p.e and we go on bike rides/walks often. About twice a week minimum depending on the weather.

Dsd is also 9. Very short, very petite frame but she has a definite tummy and is really unfit. We take her swimming and she cries to get out after 20 mins because she says she is tired, we go on a short bike ride and she becomes breathless, very red faced after a very short while.
She does no sport other than swimming on a Sunday with us and the usual pe lessons. Her diet during the week is full of processed crap. I really owrry about her fitness levels but her mum thinks she is absolutely fine because she is small.

There is a really skewed sense of what is good and what is not in this country. We do tend to judge peoples health on size rather than activity levels and diet I think.

Yes, that's how I feel about my kids, they are on the very upper limit of what is 'acceptable'. Sometimes I feel they tip over and I have to adjust to try to pull them back. tbh, I think they need to lose a bit to avoid possible future problems, but dh strongly disagrees!

You've met my kids riven, honestly please - did they look fat to you? (I worry about it a lot)

I don't know if BMI should be used or not, but I do know that there are 3-4 children that I see at DS1's school that are overweight, they aren't a little heavy they are overweight.

that is quite a high percentage from 24 children and take that accross the school and nation that is alot of overweight children.

I am afraid it is true, sadly.

I think it may depend where you live - on holiday in Wales last year (sorry to Wales - I love it!) I noticed a lot of fat children, esp girls - the boys play football, see.

Even in our middle class area I can think of quite a few children who weigh too much. Fat chubby toddler arms are OK on a 2yo but not a 5yo.

You see it at swimming too. Quite a few of my DCs' friends (more girls than boys, again) could do with losing weight. A lot of it is because they are driven everywhere I am afraid. The dad of a pal of DS1's recently expressed amazement that we had walked there to fetch DS1 - it was about a 15min walk

To be honest, whenever I go to a school event, I'm always shocked to see over half the class are obviously overweight.

But I do think the charts are misleading sometimes. A muscular child may be classed as overweight simply because he/she is "heavy" in build without an ounce of fat on them.

My youngest is 9 and only weights 3st 7lbs which is underweight. He LOOKS very underweight, is nothing but skin and bone but he's healthy and has more energy than any of us.