This Obesity drive in the news

[Piffleoffagus]

is it the Governments fault?
I understand that it is in the Govts interests to address obesity, as it is obviously a massive drain on the NHS, but is it their fault?
Hmmm... A junk food tax? healthy food VAT reduction?
Why is obesity on the rise? Are people suffering with illlnesses which predispose them to obesity, is it from childhood, is it down to no control?
I'm baffled that people can let it go so far without seeking help. Esp in the case of children.
Am I naive, I am really interested as to me it seems an easy thing to spot and solve, aside from those with thyroid or other problems which need specialist ehlp etc...

I think it si down to bad eating habits which start in the family.

I often see children ebing greetd outside schoolgates with a packet of crisps, even at our tumble tots session that finishes at 12.30 a lot of children get a crisps at the end of it. I take dd home for a proper lunch instead.

I don't think a tax on junk food is right, but the government could do something promoting junk food, like improving school dinners, and eliminating vending machines from schools.

before I moved house a few years ago I used to take the bus with a lot of secondary school children adn I was shocked to see them eating mars bars and drinking cokes at 8am!!

MOst mumsnetters here seem to be very conscientious abvout the food their children eat, and I'm not against the occasional treat, but what I see in this country, even among adults (ie in my old office), is people snacking all day on crisps and chocolate and biscuits (and then maybe have a salad only for lunch).

Piffleoffagus, the solution is simple in theory, but the implementation is not easy, anyone who has tried being on a diet will know this. It's really really hard, and if you're dieting and everyone else at home is eating chips and icecream, is almost impossible.

I remember seeing a programme (one of those reality tv shows) about a kid who was put ona diet because extremely obese, but his mum kept on buying stuff that he wasn't allowed to eat and everyone else in the family was pigging out in fron of him, no wonder his diet failed.

It's also down to a large use of processed and readymade foods which are much higher in fat content than home cooked food.

You can't really blame the government for the habits of a whole nation, and it won't be easy to change them!!

It is obvious why children are fat: their parents have terrible dietary habits themselves. It is too convenient in our lazy arse society to drive everywhere and buy McCrap or defrost pizza than cook proper meal.

But after their kids have had a medical fat check - which is what government is proposing every year - are they going to say, "You re killing your child, you have to feed it better" When the parents are probably obese themselves and will not want the extra fuss of cooking decent food and will be furious about having their own "weight issues" challenged. What can the government threaten these parents with if they don t change? Are they going to say fattening a child so as to endanger its life amounts to abuse? Maybe they should.

Being obese myself I believe my personal problem is down to parenting. As a child when I needed emotional support I was given chocolate instead of hugs...when I was good, ill, hurt, upset,it was chocolate instead of love...and this has stayed with me into adulthood.

So now, whenever I achieve something, get upset, get emotional, feel unwell (nothing like falling pregnant for these feelings to kick in ) I turn to food. So nothing the government do could stop me from turning to a choccie bar, the same as there was nothing they could do when I wanted a cigarette...they can make these things more expensive but if you earn enough money, the cost becomes irrelevant and it is down to the individual. I have conquered my 30 a day 26 year smoking habit, but the 33 years of choccie abuse will be here to stay for a while longer I'm sure

Needless to say I will be doing plenty of hugging throughout my own childs life

I am on a diet as I saw the scales edging up over the last 2 years, my dh also was 2-3 stone overweight and has dropped too, I am very careful about what my kids eat. My mother was teh saem with us, maybe it is nurture then...

I don't think it is purely down to the 'lazy arse' society and parents not feeding their children correctly.

We are in an age where women work 9 to 5, bring up their children, and hold the family unit together so there is not as much time as in previous generations to dedicate to cooking meals. I am fortunate as I work from home so can balance my time so, for me, this isn't an issue but for single mothers I imagine this must be a constantly struggle.

Also, we are in the age of computers. Once upon a time children played in the streets, hop scotch and footballs and tag...nowadays they surf the net or play Nintendo. Exercise is key as well.

Why is Britain particularly overweight as a nation??
What do French/Italian/Spanish etc do that is so different from us??
Can't see what the government can do about it though.

Surely we need to find the root cause before they propose 'fat taxes' etc??

gingerbear

as an Italian I can partly answer your question: we eat a lot less convenience food, and the vast majority of mothers work there too (actually, probably more than they do here, I don't know many SAHM in Italy, but know lots in the UK), it is I think a question of habits.

My mum has always worked full time 8to13 and then 15to19, and she's always cooked lunch and dinner.

She did sometimes resort to buy ready cooked food, but in Italy there are plenty of places, rotisserie style, family-run, that cook food and sell it the same day. It's still as good as home made stuff.

They eat less fat, much less butter, (preferring olive oil), they drink less (or at elast they don't do binge drinking as the british do - no offence meant to anyone).

It's true that soemtimes it's the lack of time, but I tend to cook in bulk and home freeze stuff (especially for dd), and cooking a plate of pasta doesn't take much longer than heating up something in the oven, you can make the sauce while the pasta cooks. Also if you're really short of time, what about a salad and some tuna, or cheese, or poached eggs? There's plenty of healthy things poeple can cook without resorting to convenience food.

Sorry if I keep repeating myself, but it is a quetsion of habit, and culture, possibly.

One last thing, Italians too these days complain that children are getting fatter than they used to be, and as far as computer games and sport are concerned they're just as bad as in the UK.

But still I think you see far less fat people around and it must be down to the type of diet.

webmum, thanks for that. I had a feeling it was to do with lifestyle. I wish the UK had more 'healthy' takeaway places. I try and cook healthy dishes, and our family evening meal tends to be pasta/ rice or noodle based. But often feel I am battling against my daughter who at the moment is going through a 'chips with everything' phase. I recall on holidays in Spain and Italy, locals buy more from markets and small shops, but even the supermarkets seem to have better quality, more variety, cheaper fresh produce than what is on offer here. Maybe large towns in the UK have a better choice, but round here supermarkets seem to have a monopoly and fresh produce is v expensive.

Also, who learns to cook these days? Is it still on the school agenda? If there was a culture of learning to cook with mum / grandma, surely this would help people not to rely so much on 'conveinience food'.

Agree about 'computer culture' - as well as computer games, this includes addiction to mumsnet!!

convenience food is a rather blanket term. e.g. in italy a couple of years ago i was gobsmacked to see a wide range of dolmio type jars available in the supermarket... i thought they were an invention for the british! but even something like this or a fresh prepared soup or a bagged salad while being "convenience" needn't be terribly unhealthy.

I think the snack thing is also really big in the UK. In Germany and France they do sell crisps, but in big bags with peppery flavours you're supposed to decant them into bowls and serve them with drinks, not buy a bag and eat them on the hop. Also the range of chocolatey snacks available in newsagents here is not the norm in the rest of Europe if you wanted chocolate, you'd be more likely to buy it in the supermarket, not pick up a Crunchie while buying your newspaper.

The number of kids here eating crisps/chocolate on the way to school not even afterwards, but at 8.30 in the morning! really freaks me out.

serenequeen

you're right in that the term convenience food covers healthy food as well, processed food is probably a better term, and I would include readymade sauces and soups in those as they contain lots of ingredients that are not necessary and preservatives to make them last longer.

You do find those in Italy as well of course, as you do find some ready made frozen meals, but to be honest they're mostly used by students (this is what I used to do). My mum never bought them, and she's not a great cook! (she probably is by british standards) What I mean to say is, she doesn't particularly enjoy cooking, but she likes eating fresh prepared food as opposed to processed food, so she cooks.

I want ot know what happens if you arefilmed and used on the news as an example of fat person

agree woth frogs about crisps in germany - no sncaking there unless Wurst!

We as parents are responsible for what our children eat and the amount of exercise they get. Its too easy to say I don't have time to cook properly or whatever but surely its part of parenting - no-one says I'm too busy to change a nappy.

Its a cop out to blame advertising or poor education. You don't need a degree to know that junk food is bad for you.

I would argue its do do wiht increased wealth and also the idea that people think they deserve things allt he time..

I agree Coddy - we have an 'I want' society and people aren't willing to take the consequences for their actions, its easier to blame someone or something else.

child dies

yes, Cod, I want to know that too. Last night they used the image of someone's fat wobbly bum and I thought - what happened if that was my bum!! I bet they don't go round asking 'can we use your huge fat @rse for the 6 o clock news tonight'!

My mum thinks that people hink they deserve lifestlyes that are way beyond their income and have no fear of debt.

she knows,she works for the CAB

i suspect the obesity problem is inversely proportional to income, isn't it?

foxinsocks, you just made me choke on my coffee (black, no sugar).

But on a more serious note, wondered if the rot doesn't start even earlier. I've just looked at the packet of Hipp organic baby cereal which was given free by Bounty, and which still says 'from 4 months' despite 6-month weaning recommendation. (Confused? You will be.)

The SECOND ingredient (after rice flakes) is sugar. It doesn't give a percentage, but the next three ingredients are 'organic orange powder' (whatever that might be) at 5.7%, 'organic apple powder' at 4.5% and 'organic banana powder' at 4%. In other words, somewhere significantly north of 6% is likely to be sugar. And this is touted as a healthy product, being Hipp and organic and all that.

have just read in paper about the little girl who died. its bloody awful.

all very well saying dont blame the parents but whose fault is it then?

although i also think schools are to blame providing such unhealthy school dinners-if this hasnt changed dramatically by the time my son goes to school he will take a packed lunch.

why dont parents tell their children the harm this food can do to them?

i have just seen an overweight mum and her overweight daughter get on the bus ONE stop up the hill. my 3 yr old son walks up that hill nearly every day.

i really feel so strongly about this-something has got to change.

i'm just off to get a bar of choc from the work vending machine.

My son has school dinners and has not weight problem and has no weight problem, sometimes in summer he prefers a packed lunch. But then we enver have crisps or fizz in the house, we do not snack on junk, the worst thing he has is a muller corner. He is not overactive but prefers playing out with friends than to staying in on PS2.
I wish school dinners were better to be honest, but I notice when ds's friends come for tea, all they will eat is pizza, nuggets, beans and chips!
Mind you none of his friends has a weight problem either.
It is complex puzzle too

school dinners though at majority of school just seem to be pizza and chips, chicken nuggets and chips, fish fingers and chips etc etc. even if its something that could be healthy like a bake or shephards pie its still served with chips. and then theres crisps, chocolate, pop etc.

even if children arent visibly overweight the salt and (bad) fat content is horrific.

i dont see how schools can justify feeding kids this rubbish.

I've had similar experiences to artyjoe, I am also obese (although working hard not to be, 20lbs down and counting) My Mum did give me love and hugs but they were always secondary to a food treat. I remember her giving me a bar of chocolate if I ate an apple. Portion sizes were also much too large.It set up a whole pattern of unhealthy eating habits that I have struggled all my life to change, have been much to thin and am now totally the other way. Now as an adult I am obviously responsible for my health and I know I have no-one to blame for my current size but myself. I am determined to lose weight this time once and for all as I am now at the point where I am seriously worried about my health and extremely grateful I made it through my last pregnancy (was planning to shift the weight first but didn't happen that way.)

I feel totally responsible for my children's weight and eating habits and am determined that they will grow up with a healthy attitude to food and a normal weight - no worries with DD, she is a tiny thing, DS is showing signs of being much chunkier.