Doctors say childhood obesity is neglect - do you agree?

[mylittlefreya]

The article is here

I think it's interesting the comment about undernourished children being automatically a cause for concern, but its almost not politically correct to say the same about overfed children.

I also think peoples perceptions can be quite distorted - there is a big difference between chubby, and obese, but often I don't think people see this.

At some level this worries me and at another it relieves me.

What do other people think?

But is school the right place to get the message through? Children eat most meals at home. Changing school lunches has been a good step but only their parents can improve breakfast and dinner.

Agree NFK and I think there is also the problem that much junk food gives you a quick high and feeling full and then nothing as opposed to the long term fuelling of a good balanced meal with no high and we all like that feeling (which is why many adults are addicted to Starbucks).

But for many the choice is just not there. I was working near a run down area of an inner city and there were only 2 shops open out of a parade of 7. One was an offy and the other a "general store" - fine for pasties and pot noodles and rather brown bananas and then lots and lots of cakes & biscs etc I would have struggled to create a balanced mean.

If they teach home ec, and it's on the telly you can't do any more. At some point you have to say its personal responsibility, like smoking, drinking and drugs.

perhaps we should teach personal responsibility in schools

Many schools run a breakfast club....we have started to do this as part of the Healthy Schools Initiative. It has been a great improvement to some kids, but it still doesn't reach them all.

I agree that the information is better coming from the home. But what do you do for the parents who simply don't know? Or who live too far from shops that sell affordable healthy food?

At least if the kids are given info and school and shown how to prepare healthy food, there is a chance that this will improve by the time that they are the parents.

I think some areas need more investment than just messages. Some areas are so deprived there really isn't a place to buy decent food. I remember reading about a dcotor who took to selling fruit and veg at the surgery. His practice was on an estate where it was a bus ride to buy an apple.

But how can it be personal responsibility if you cannot - without huge upheaval - actually buy lentils and cabbage? For some the choice is just not there.

So perhaps for every out of town hyper market Tesco builds they should be made to open up a shop in a deprived inner city - like social housing?

Breakfast clubs have to be paid for by the parents though don't they? That will affect take up

They don't teach home ec any more!!!!!!

They teach food technology and that is only compulsory up to the end of year 9.

And in that time there is no point when the qca apporved curriculum teaches them how to put together a meat (or vegitarian substiture) and two veg meal!

They spend the time designing pizza, snack products (and the wrapper) and cakes for childrens parties.

Old style Home Economics Has long gone. And that is the problem!

Noodlestroodle - that would be a brilliant initiative.

So perhaps breakfast clubs should be subsidised - esp as bkfst is most imp meal of day

Txs NFK

Old style home economics wasn't much cop as I recall.

agree that they should.

TBH, you can get a drink (milk or Orange Juice) and wholemeal toast for 50p. A bacon roll (wholemeal) for 40p.

Which is better thanthe kids buying a mars bar (which loads of them used to do)

Not perfect, but an improvement

How can they drop home ec and introduce hairdressing into the curriculum?

It wasn't brilliant, but it was so much better than what they get now.

hairdressing isn't compulsory and AFAIK, isn't taught at KS3

I think I only learnt to make a quiche, pizza and cheesecake at school.

We made pastry and swiss rolls.

When I was in school, back in the olden times of the 70s I did the following.

All 4 methods of cake baking (rubbing in, sponges, fatless sponges,and 'boiled'), pastry baking, including puff pasty and choux, bread making, stews and soups, salads. By the time I finished form 3 I dropped the subject(end of year9 nowerdays) I could follow just about any recipe and plan a meal. I know what constituted a healty diet and I could cook a christmas cake from scratch, make the marzipan and icing and decorate it!

They actually taught you to cook!

Breakfast clubs are IMO a major intervention.

I didn't do home ec. Hated the very idea. Felt like being pushed into Domestic Womanly Arts. Am good cook as adult. My recommendation is to spend several years being a stoned lefty, you learn to cook fabulously then.

Neglect does seem such a strong word .. whilst there's certainly an issue with obesity, I think a more appropriate term should be used for the phenomena.

I can't sit in judgment. My ds (and most of my family) are not big eaters. We eat when we're hungry. I don't have a sweet tooth, and nor does he.

Consequently, when I'm battling to keep him quiet/amused/diverted during his toddler stage, I don't give him junky snacks because he doesn't want them.

So that's a kind of genetic luck-of-the-draw thing.

But chucking junk food at kids to get them off your back for five minutes is a scenario most of us can at least envisage - and that's where the problems all begin.

the teacher had a funny speach impediment and used to spit when she spoke into the mixing bowl.

MB - I wouldn't say that was useful though I'm sure your Christmas cake is fantastic.