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?

ivykaty

i think 3m is just MadMathsMummys way of signing off

There is nowhere for kids to run around aimlessly burning off calories since most schools sold off their playing fields.

yes tether - and at least good old palying fields were dog free

You want to have a chat to GabberFlasted on that thread, s/he's injected a whole new element into that debate.

lol yeah 3m is my way of signing off as im too lazy to type mad maths mummy!!!

3m

LOL MMM , just realised i got your name wrong but then, so did you

see I kept thinking three men... and thether - i may go and peek when feeling brave

i realised that as soon as i sent it - you can let me off, im a newbie!

3m

Okay, IABU then
DD's are only 2 and 4 so I have not been 'around' older kids to see, and avoid like the plague the pools when they are in there because I can but genuinely, in my area I have seena few larger kids but none that I would say have rolls or anything.

I just assumed that because the BMI thing is bullshit that the rest of it is, but have been put right!

try putting in for a boy of 15 who has grown to 6f7" and is playing rugby, running, and weights - he weighs 220ilb and is very fit and healthy but very tall and muscles galore - he has had a fat test with calipers - and is way under the right ratio for fat to muscle

yet the calculator says he is overweight. So if he was to lose weight, he would lose muscel, not fat and that is not good as your fat stores should be lower and your muscel higher.

It is basicly a very crude calculator that doesn't take into account mucsel mass.

You really need to do a preper fat test and see what the percentage of fat is - it will be and should be more for females.

I thought the obesity epidemic was a load of BS,as no child at my dcs school was overweight and I never see any that are.But we live in a 'well off' area.When I went to a supermarket on the edge of a very deprived area,I could see the difference and it really was shocking to see the size of some of the children.It can't be comfortable being that size.

I was in a play cafe with my kids the other and a good percentage of the children were overweight - most of them under five. I think it is a real shame as they will probably struggle with their weight all their lives due to bad eating habits now. I honestly don't understand why parents don't take more responsibility for their children's diet. It is not as if there isn't enough information out there. I think a lot of it is down to lazy parenting and people who think that chips and sausages every night is handy and therefore will do.

I think it is interesting how many people say there are no overweight children in their primary.

Actually it is hard to tell - and in fact as others have said, our perception of fat is different from years ago.

My DD is pretty slim, but seems preternaturally skinny when compared with other children her age. Actually I reckon she's at the skinny end of OK.

A lot of overweight children don't seem it until you see them swimming and spot the big bellies (no child over about 3 should have a belly) and boys with man-boobs

Roughly tallying up DD's class whom I know pretty well, I would say at least 10 of them weigh too much (out of 31 I think).

I think BMI is an ok indicator for adults, I mean there is a hefty range on what is ok, I am 5foot 2 and I think it is 8stone something to 10 stone something. Over or under that is not ok, I can tell from looking at my own average build body (which is carrying too much fat at a BMI of 24.something). It is silly quoting examples about rugby players and athletes because anyone who was one of those would understand and measure themselves differently.

I'm inclined to think BMI is ok for kids too. The woman in that article is being very silly. The letter makes it clear that her DD is only just into the overweight catergory and so it is just telling her to watch it. Kids are meant to look skinny, her DD looks neither skinny or fat so the result does not surprise me. Why go to the media and invite everyone to comment on her child's appearance. To me that is an odd thing to do.

It is not the athletic and rugby player though that are doing the measuremnt - it is the goverment and they are not taking this factours into account - and it isn't just these sports people - there are others.

far better to measure fat to muscle ratio - as that is a real indication if someone if carrying to much fat, and that is the dangerous part.

You could have a BMI of 24 and be carrying 32% fat - which is dangerous for a woman or a man, also much greater indicator that the peron is at risk of diseases that could kill them

My DS is clearly underweight. GP will look at him and will clearly identify that he is underweight. According to the BMI he is in the 13th percentile so technically healthy. I really wonder what he would have to be like to be considered underweight as there is no excess flesh on him and bones sticking out everywhere. I am not convinced these scales are acurate.

Clary's point about not noticing chubby kids until they are in the swimming poolis a really good one. I take dd to a toddlers swimming lesson that starts just after the local secondary schools have their slot. The year 7s are in just before us and so we sit on the side and watch the 'big kids' finish their swimming session.

There is a significant % of them (at 11) who are overweight. They can't get out of the pool without the steps because they are so heavy (one of the things they were trying to get them do was some lifesaving stuff about hauling yourself out of the water.) They run along the side to the changing room obviously embarrassed by their size, clutching boobs/belly. We live in a relatively middle class area with fairly well regarded schools (Lincolnshire.)

We have lost perspective of what 'overweight' is, and also how physically unhealthy and inactive some of these kids are....and unfortuantely the inactivity is learned behaviour i.e it is highly unlikely that an inactive child has highly active parents. The stats on obesity show that only a very small amount of obese children have parents of a normal weight. It is a family problem.

YANBU

"It is a family problem"

Too right. I have very fat neices and nephews, and have spent years tutting over my SIL's insane portion sizes and constantly replenished snack drawer.

Now, horror of horrors, my dd has started to get a bit porky round the middle, basically because she is horribly inactive. I was also bone idle as a child, but was skinny as a rake. Don't know why my daughter is lardy, unless she's inherited dh's fat gene. (dh isn't fat but most of his family is obese).

I've got to get her doing more. She keeps asking me to buy her bigger trousers, but DH has pointed out that wearing clothes which are just that little bit too tight is a great way of reminding her not to eat that second portion of steamed toffee pudding at school. So the poor child is having to wedge herself into her uniform every morning.

standanddeliver I'd oblige her to do sport and get bigger trousers in the meantime. How old is she?

I'm surprised they give sticky toffee pudding in school.

Skinny with ribs showing is normal for primary school aged children, but we have lost sight of this, so to us, that looks underweight when it isn't.

I didnt think there was a problem and thought it was all blown out of proportion, until I went to another school where there were a lot of overweight children. Not huge numbers but probably about 10%. In our school there are no children that appear overweight. In fact we often meet at the beach and I can remember thinking last summer how thin some of them were with their ribs showing and legs that were like sticks. Some of them need a good feed to be honest - I have seen a few articles recently showing that there is some concern nationally that some children are actually becoming underweight and not being fed enough fat and energy foods for their ages as some parents react to the obesity crisis or the bid to eat healtily. Seems to be going the way of one extreme or another.

I had a letter after the reception weighing programme saying that my dd was slightly overweight. I was absolutely gutted at the time and felt totally outraged and everyone I told was shocked and horrified that she was classes as overweight as she just seemed normal.

However, I'm lucky enough to have a friend who is a paedeatric dietician and was involved with the weighing program in schools and helped me calm down and look at it a bit more rationally. According to her, as a society, we have totally lost sight of what is 'normal' for a child (ie skinny enough to see their ribs) and children who are overweight now appear to our eyes to be a healthy weight. Even though dd was, according to the letter, only 2lb overweight it was an early wake up call and made me consider her diet and exercise. She wasn't eating the 'wrong' things, just generally a bit too much, so we have addressed that and tried to increase the amount of exercise she gets and pretty soon she was back within the normal range.

there are lots of fat children at the swimming classes I take DS1 to. (aging 4 -11).

Agree with Daisymoo. People have forgotten what a normal weight is.
Around here in Manchester there are so many fat adults and young people it is very worrying.

Kids spend on average 2 hours a day watching TV/playing computer games...and I know of many that do far more than that, and some of thsoe kids aren't that fat just very unfit.

I do think people who are the 'same size' though can weigh massively different amounts. For example, I know for myself that 9 1/2 stone = very very skinny, my 'normal' weight is higher than that. But for some people of the same height (5'6) they would feel 'right' at 91/2 stone.

Similarly, my children are all different - ds1 is VERY skinny - he is nearly 9 and weighs about 3 1/2 stone. He is average height. Dd is 6, and a more solid build,but not in the slightest bit fat. She has broader shoulders, a broader pelvis - ds1 has an incredibly narrow build, so much so that I can reach round his middle between thumb and forefingers (iyswim). They are both very active and fit. Ds2 is tiny, but appears more stocky than ds1, because he is more in proportion than ds1 - He is smaller overall, weighs less but appears less 'skinny'.

So I think crude generalisations aren't right - just a commonsense approach. We go for 'health' in diet and exercise, not worrying about what the books say.