Childhood Obesity

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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.

Yes, but it is Green and Blacks - can't have children eating green things, Caligula

I think that part of the problem is that although many people know part of the message about healthy eating, they don't know quite how unhealthy and calorie-laden the junk version is. What I mean is, I think if you serve your children a traditional dinner like boiled potatoes and steamed broccoli and some sort of chicken, meat or fish, it will fill them up and nourish them and doesn't contain loads of empty calories. If you let them stuff themselves with pizza or Macdonalds with fries or whatever, they will consume an awful lot more "useless" calories in the form of fat, whilst not being nourished and not feeling any fuller. I think a lot of people don't realise how many more junk calories the latter type of food contains.

Obesity's not just about food though is it, the selling off playing fields thing must have had a big impact.
And the way transport policy has led to towns being so carved up by new roads that it's impossible to walk anywhere. And don't get me started on the closing down of swimming pools with the assumption that we can all join private health clubs....
Agree about parental responsibility re food though.

I've had plenty of food refused
I just assume they are not hungry - if they genuinely do not like something I would change it or offer something else.
There are things ds (12) will not eat eggs, mushrooms,celery etc
I don'y buy anything rubbish, if I buy sausages I buy good ones and only once a fortnight.
dd (3) has never eaten salad, it is on the table 3-4 nights out of 7 then all of a sudden she likes raw spinach and lambs lettuce.
Offer it for long enough, eventually....
Maybe I've been lucky but food is my BIG thing :)

Kathy, totally agree. There are only 2 swimming pools locally to me, and are both a bloody hassle to get to, not to mention expensive.

Agree with that, Dino (am not being licky though, OK? ).

Also often adults treat themselves with food and use food "treats" as rewards for their children - but when it's a McDonald's and a bag of Haribo it's hardly a treat.

If parents don't buy junk food then their children can't eat it. obviously there will come a point that a child has enough pocket money to supplement home cooked food, but up to that point I can't see how parent's can side step the responsibility of what goes into their children's mouths.

When my DTs were born 2 years ago, I was given a post pregnancy book plus various leaflets. They were awashed with information about nutrition. I know there are thick people out there but honestly, how many times on the news, TV programmes, newspapers, magazines etc do you see articles about healthy eating? Are these thick people blind, illiterate and deaf? Of course not! Most of them can't be bothered!

Call me narrow minded but from my own personal experience, too many people are too lazy to make the effort to feed their children nutritious food. I'm not saying that they can never have process food but it should be the exception rather than the rule.

I would also add that if children know that the unhealthy food they desire is in the house and their parents are readily manipulated, of course they will hold out until their parents give in. If you don't buy junk they will not eat it - children will not starve themselves to death to avoid eating nutritious food!

I do the don't like thing with DS but it is fizzy pop I tell him he doesn't like. As a coca-cola addict I think I am doing him a favour. Agree with lots of what is written on here though.

One thing that gets posted on here a lot though is "all things in moderation" and while I think there is some truth in that some things should be moderated much more than others eg chocolate more than brocolli or whatever.

No they're not blind, illiterate and deaf, but they are really very stupid. And they honestly have no idea of the real consequences of shite food.

Look at those idiots who go on Honey We're Killing the Kids. That programme is utterly astounding. At a rational level, these people know their kids aren't getting a good diet, but it's not actually until they're shown a physical representation of hte consequences of how they're treating their kids, that they truly understand what they're doing. Like I say, thick!

Have to agree with Caligula. People really do not seem to know what is in their food at all or what foods are healthy or not.

And it is a minefield out there in the supermarket. Take for example yogurt
Which bloody yogurt do you buy????? Which is healthy and which is full of crap? It's yogurt therefor it healthy NO??? Why not? Look its got fruit in it Hasnt it? and its low fat and low sugar Surely that is good?

See what I mean? I can understnad why people are confused alright.

And then there are people like Gillian McKeith to confuse the issue by suggesting that in order to eat healthily you have to eat quinoa. For breakfast.

exactly - it's having no idea of the consequences, isn't it?

But what do we think about withholding medical treatment from people who are obese and who don't/can't/won't lose the weight? My mum (who has always been slim) had a triple heart bypass three years ago. She said the consultant was really nice to her, because she was slim and had never drunk or smoked and therefore "hadn't brought it on herself", whereas he was really quite horrid to another woman who was there at the same time who was quite overweight. My mum was quite upset about at the time.

God yes, Tarantula. I strayed into the yoghurts-for-kids section of the supermarket the other day - did my head in. And then DH bought yoghurt Petit Filoux instead of fromage frais. And I don't even know why we buy Petit Filou in the first place.

I am really struggling with the idea that people are too thick to know what is healthy food and what isn't. I've seen "honey we're killing the kids" but to me it is a motivational issue, rather than absolute stupidity.

I just think if you don't ever buy the rubbish stuff in the first place you are saving yourself a whole load of angst. DS was a nightmare about veg, but I still never bought junk food.

Its probably subconsious cos they are advertised so much on the tele Kathy.

but what is healthy food and what is crap?

Yogurt is just one example but we could say the same for breakfast cereals and lots of other things. so it doesnt surprise me that people get confused and then lazy about it all.

Bt then who am I to talk I ahd blackberry and apple crumble for breakfast this morning

I don't think that chidren are getting obese because they are eating too much yoghurt or breakfast cereal tarantula - however much sugar is in either of those two products!
I think the problem is that obese children eat high fat, high sugar food ALL the time and don't do any exercise.
Surely everyone knows fruit and veg are healthy, and deep fried stuff and chocolate coated stuff and an entire packet of jammy dodgers is unhealthy. I think it is often a question of parents wanting to change their own eating habits as much as the childrens.

Maybe I'm different but when I was pregnant with DTS, I knew I wanted them to eat healthily like my DH and I and that is the way it has been since I started weaning them. I have read books, I have listened to experts and devised a menu based on fresh food for the family. If they don't like something, I do not force them to eat it but I find that by changing the texture and making it softer for them to chew, they will eat it e.g I cut up green beans really small and cook them until they are soft. The boys will happily eat them. If however, I present it to them at least 3cm long and slightly hard, they won't touch it.

I agree that the labelling of food can be confusing and the food industry must be compelled and continually challenged to improve as well as simplify the labelling of their products.

bugsy - they may well know that fruit and veg are healthy - but would many of them know what to do with the veg???

Bugsy, those new breakfast products might well be (a small) part of the problem - eg Rice Krispies marshmallow squares which are basically like eating sweets, but you can imagine parents giving those to their kids and saying to themselves, 'Well, at least they've had a healthy breakfast!'
And what about those parents on the Jamie Oliver programme who had no idea you could eat basil - 'it's just green leaves!'
I'm not happy with saying people are thick, but I think a lot of people really do lack (what seems to us like) very basic info about food.

What about all the kids you see, walking to school in the morning while breakfasting on crisps, chocolate bars and fizzy pop? And then they stop off at the corner shop to buy another load of the same for lunch. And after school they're at it again.

And don't get me started on the mothers you see decanting coke into baby bottles for their 10-month olds.

[Boggled emoticon]

Yes, I know some breakfast cereals are more like sweet treats than anything remotely healthy. However, a one bowl a day wouldn't make a child fat if the rest of the diet was reasonable and they had a chance to do some exercise.
I think maybe HQoQ, I can't bear to think that an adult wouldn't know what to do with a carrot or some peas. I am probably in ridiculous denial!

But its not a case of just yogurts and cereals...it goes across the board and thats where the problem is. And people do think that a xxxx yogurt is as good as fruit and milk and so they see their children as having had SOME healthy food so they think that rest doesnt matter so much IYSWIM.

Teaching people how to cook might also be a good idea tho.