Childhood Obesity

[speedymama]

Just read \link{http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4756370.stm\this} and I must be missing something. Surely what a child eats is the responsibility of its parents? Unless you live in a cave 1000 metres beneath the earth's surface, how can you not know that too much junk food is bad for your overall health? How can you not know that a diet containing fruit and vegetables along with protein and carbohydrate sources is much healthier than a diet laden with processed saturated fat, processed refine sugars and far too much salt?
Isn't time that people stopped blaming everything on the government and accept responsibility for their own actions? Most of the meals that a child will eat will be in the home so the responsibility for their diet is with the parents. Fortunately, it appears that schools are starting to address the nutrition in the meals that they provide thanks to Jaime Oliver. Time for parents to do the same. There is plenty of free information in the library, health clinics, doctor's surgery, internet, TV, even the supermarket's free magazines are getting in on the act. In my opinion, too many people can't be bothered to feed their children properly. Please note that this is my personal opinion and it is based on what I have witnessed in my own extended family plus with friends and acquaintances.

I completely agree with you. We live in a world where people always try to blame someone else and avoid taking any responsability. I am entirely responsable for my child's diet - and health - so I'll only have myself to blame if anything goes wrong. I think we get enough information from the media to know what's to do and what's not.
The other thing that amazes me sometimes is the sheer lack of common sense of some people.

totally agree

haven't you ever wondered about the people in the photosDo you think they know their backside is on the news?

But government does have a role to play. It pains me to say it, and it's not PC, but lots of people really are just thick. They will not actively seek out information about diet, sunhats, smoking etc. etc. and they have to be told. That's what public information campaigns are about - the drip drip effect of getting a message through.

You could argue that government could leave the children of the thick to stew in their own juices, but an awful lot of children would suffer.

The blame probably does lie with parents in the majority of cases, but with people who do not know what is healthy and are unable to access recipes, goods or even nail the basics of cooking, then it is the governments responsibility to get these people on track foodwise.
If nothing else (from the Govts point of view that is) obesity causes masses of health problems and costs the NHS millions - so that in itself makes it a Government level problem to tackle.

TBH from the evidence of my own eyes I find the statistics hard to believe. That is saying that 4 children in my DS's class of 30 will be obese and, while I realise that there obviously won't be an even spread, not one of them is.

Speedy, no it's not.

I have one child who will happily eat everything that's good for her, another who has a completely unhealthy diet. And it's not from want of trying.

Shall I send her you way for a week?

People are thick.
Was told by an HV (in a rural part of UK btw) that she dealt with a dad who thought that strawberries were sweets and wouldnt accept that blackberries grew outside on brambles until she physically showed him.
It is hard thouh-junk food everywhere an everywhere.
Am readin William Leith's 'Confessions of a Food Addict' at present.Most illuminating.

I could argue that my kids don't eat unhealthy food simply because I've never got it in the house.

at Caligula - tell it how it is, girl. Although I actually agree with you. I was out with some friends and one of them reassuring another about her DS's poor diet, saying that she was like that as a child but has grown up into a healthy adult. The conversation moved onto various topics before coming round to said friend's IBS. Hmmm - could the two not be related?

Piffle, just wondered what you would do with a child that refused to eat your healthy food? 'Cos that's what I've got, and believe me, we do have some in the house, dd2 eats it

Needs to start young. Like not putting suitable from 4 months on egg custard and chocolate bloody pudding in jars...

Agre with SpeedyMama. There was a boy on GMTV this morning, he was 12 and weighed 20 stone. His Mum said 'We've had no help from the Government'

FFS. Makes me so cross. People need to start taking responsibility for their own lives.

dd1 ate everything from 6 months. At 10, it went downhill.

what exactly is the unhealthy food that she likes...

HM, I never did that with either of my children. It made no difference to the way they are now.

Pancakes
Sausages
Bacon
Yoghourt
Oranges
Apple
Strawberries
Yorkshire Pudding.

And that's about it.

Agree that ultimately, the buck stops with parents, but more does need to be done on other levels to combat this problem.

IMHO, the worst thing they ever did in schools was to stop proper cookery lessons. Lack of education in this matter is the centre of the problem.

Carla, had only read the OP - wasn't getting at you!

I think that parents often try to get their babies onto three square meals plus puddings too early (again, in general, not aiming this at Carla!). Then when they won't eat, they offer more and more "kiddy" food, then are surprised when they won't eat lentil rissoles.

carla, it is difficult isn't it? I think all you can do is keep plugging away. My DS1 (now 6.5) was an incredibly fussy eater, but a combination of perseverance, getting him interested in preparing and cooking food, and him learning about healthy food, have paid off and now, although he is very very skinny, he does at least eat a balanced diet and will try just about anything. He is very keen to eat healthily, now that he is old enough to understand about it.

So persevere, I'd say.

hunker - I so agree! I was in the caff at Hamleys with the DSs and there was a family next to us who were - well - fat. They had a baby in a buggy and when said baby refused to eat his savoury jar, his mum got out a jar of chocolate pudding and started shovelling that in! I was transfixed, DH had to kick me to stop me staring at her.

Hee Hee. I do that staring thing Dinosaur

LOL at the vision of a staring dinosaur and a fat chocolate scoffing baby!

The other thing that pees me off is when you hear paraents say to their kids "you won't/don't like that" My mum said this to me on a regular basis as a child, ans as a result, I can honestly say I never ate a fresh vegetable until I left home.

I do think that a lot of childhood obesity can be found in families where adult obesity is present. Chocolate pudding is the common denominator in this

Scientific, aren't I?!

Dino - rofl at you staring

I say "you won't like that" about the Green and Black's plain chocolate I want to scoff without sharing it with DS and DD.

And I'm right, ha hahahahahaahahahahahahahahaha!!!