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?

"I've a good idea about healthy food because my mum was always dieting".

I would say the opposite. I have a good idea about healthy food despite the fact that my mum was always dieting.

I agree that other cultures do things differently. We don't have a healthy cheap food culture as in Italy. We have a northern hemisphere warm your ribs with lard culture.

Agree MP, I found that a very odd statement tbh, constant dieting is not healthy and does not teach a healthy attitude towards food.

Haven't read the whole thread, so sorry if I am repeating what's already been discussed.

On the sidebar of the BBC article, there was a "guide" to what one year olds should be eating, the usual small amounts of meat, fruit and veg, but the thing that shocked me was the amounts of bread. They suggested one slice of bread, 4 - 6 times a day.

Does that sound like alot to anybody else?

(I've copied and pasted the relevant bit:

from here :

PORTION SIZES FOR ONE YEAR OLDS
One tablespoon of finely chopped meat or fish or one egg, 2-4 times a day
Half a small apple, pear or one small plum, 2-4 times a day
One tablespoon of vegetables, 3-5 times a day
One slice of bread or one tablespoon of potato, rice or cereal, 4-6 times a) day
Avoid foods high in fat or sugar)

haven't read the whole thread, but being under / over weight is part of a holistic assessment, and has been for many years. it would be exceptional for action to be taken by ss on a child being over weight alone, but then behaviours are rarely 'alone'. I can remember working with a child almost 20 years ago who had been removed from parents mon-fri on the strength of him being enormously overweight (and some other lesser issues). i always find the media cover these type of issues in such a predictable and overdone manner.

Yes it is neglect but neglect through ignorance rather than callousness. But everyone eats too much in England and the US. Portion sizes are ridiculous. Even schools had to have Jamie O to get them to provide decent and nutritionally balanced meals.

I am really really angry about this TBH.

When dd was about 4 months, the HV's were pressuring me to change to ff because they felt she wasn't gaining "enough" weight. From then on, her weight has been a cause for concern for them. She is 20 months now. She was born on the 98th ish % and dropped down (at the lowest) to 25%. She is now on the 40% but the HV's still seem to get their knickers in a twist about it. DD is VERY active, I have never known her to sit down even for a minute, she's constantly on the go and she eats like a horse (much like her daddy who until about 3 years ago weighed 8 stone). Now, if I had listened to the HV's then I would have been trying to fatten her up, then if she'd put on a load of weight, SS could get involved as she was too heavy.

A friend of mine, she was always getting lectured at the doctors / school / health visitors because her daughter is very heavy (probably classed as obese) but this is related to a medical condition that she has (which was not diagnosed until a year ago, so she'd been heavily overweight for a few years by then). My friend does not over feed her daughter, it is related to her syndrome, but this would have been classed as abuse.

It irritates me that in the eyes of HV's and docs, if you're not bang on that 50% average line, there is a problem. Yes, there are obese children, and something needs to be done, but classing it as abuse is not right imo. Its about education in my eyes, not labelling somebody as abusive.

After reading through these messages, there are many I agree with. Gone are the days of family meals times, mums spending hours in the kitchen making sure a decent meal is cooked for all. Now it is a case of whatever is quickest is easiest. If it can be opened and chucked in a saucepan many parents will opt for this, if it means buying the ingredients and spending time cooking many will opt out of this. McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut etc are not the blame the parents are. Yes these places exist but they are not for everyday usage. Give 80% (a guess) of 16,17,18, yr olds a packet of mince, potatoes, peas, carrots and gravy and most wouldn't know what they could do with them....Give the same ingredients to a 30+ woman and most would be able to make a healthy meal out of it. (just an example).

When I was a child it was the done thing that children learnt from their mums and in school about cooking. Now children learn that fast food joints are the better option...well so these younger mums of today seem to think.

I have an 8 yr old who frequently helps out in the kitchen while I am cooking, or even something as simple as preparing a salad, He still helps. He is so proud of himself that he can do things a lot of his school friends can't or don't do. He can make a dinner for himself, DP and I, (although assisted) whereas DP's 13 yr old has never even been shown how to open a tin of peas......BIZARRE!!! When he is here I get him in the kitchen as well lol bad me!!!.

Teaching children the habits of healthy eating doesn't take a lot and in the long run makes a better person out of the child. They remain healthier, more active not lacking in vitamins etc. Parents who use the excuse "BUT THEY WON'T EAT IT" are 8times out of 10 likely to be lazy parents who can't be bothered to cook. I heard the stupidest thing once from my ex's (DS father) mother, he doesn't eat vegetables because "as a baby he spat them out so i never gave them to him again". When i was with him I had a hell of a job getting him to eat anything with even a pea in sight...but give him beans on toast and he would scoff it down and ask for seconds....a prime example of a lazy, ignorant mother.

Sorry for rambling...i shall go and sit quietly in the corner now lol

Yes, those lazy mums who go out to work in order to keep a roof over the kids' head!

What slatterns!

They should be home for hours cooking decent meals!

we need another recipe/meal idea thread...

Expatinscotland, Many years ago mums used to work, keep a home, shop, care for children etc and still cook a meal. There is no excuse for parents not making sure their children have decent meals. Unless of course the job is more important than a childs well being and health.

I dont believe that 100% of obese children can be classed as "abuse".

Yes, there are parents who give in and let their children eat crap, there are parents who do not cook their dinner from scratch, there are parents who go for ease and speed rather than nutrition.

However, there are also parents who really do not have a clue on what they should be feeding their child, and health visitors who give conflicting messages. At our HV's we were told to wean early (they said 17 weeks at the earliest). I went to the HV's once because I was concerned DD had stopped drinking her milk, their advice was to start her on solids and "give her rice crispies or something".

To become a parent, you dont have to know anything - there is no exam to sit before you get pregnant, there are no tests to do before you can leave the hospital with your child. But for some parents that I know, they don't know much about food and nutrition, and unless they are properly educated and HV's are all singing from the same songsheet, their child will be heavier. It is not "abuse".

And FWIW, I work full time, I am studying to be an accountant and I still cook meals (mostly) from fresh each night.

I have friends who are SAHM and their kids eat crap, so I dont think whether a mother is working leads to obese children.

I was watching the report on the news yesterday. It was focussing on an - objectively speaking - large young child. The voice over from the mother was saying "Well, she was always hungry as a baby and you are always told to feed them if they were hungry and it was really good if they would eat everything and weren't fussy eaters..." and I was nodding because DS was an absolute whopper aged about 1 and even today eats anything and everything (although now, aged 5, is like a whippet).

Then they pulled back and showed the mother who had been speaking...and she was huge herself. She seemed very nice, and clearly a bit defensive/embarassed (as you would be with your child being held up on national tv as a whopper) but there was clearly a crying need for re education about portion sizes, and food groups and just about everything really.

Elf, I agree there, there are no exams but surely common sense should tell any parent that if the child eats crap all the time they will face problems relating to health in someway or another???

Oh bring back the days of yester year when families were families, meal times were a family things and a family holiday meant just that the whole family going away together ahhhhhhh sigh

Elf, thats because you make time and care enough to make sure you have a healthy meal for yourself and family.

BS, Lady.

Many years ago those kids were sent outside to amuse themselves so Mum could get on with cooking tea.

Nowadays Mum and Dad have to work 12 hours a day to eat at all so that Gordon can have his cut and BTL landlord has his.

Kiddies can't go out to play because there's no garden in the cramped tenement where they live, and outside is a busy road.

NEWSFLASH: THINGS HAVE ACTUALLY CHANGED FROM MANY YEARS AGO! THEY ARE NOT THE SAME AS 30 YEARS AGO.

But some people do not have that common sense regarding food / portion sizes.
You can get fat from eating too much of "good" foods as well as bad so I dont think it is just about kids eating shite food.
We live in a society where everything is "super size" and I'm not just talking about fast food chains - if you go to a restaurant, the average meal will be a large size. You go for something to eat and the food is shovelled on.
You get fat from eating more food than you burn off. Simple as. Whether it is eating too much fast food, or just too much food in general.
I agree, I felt for that woman - HVs do say "let them eat if they're hungry". DD eats when she is hungry and eats far more than other kids her age, but she just burns it off and is naturally skinny.

ELF, I agree that portion sizes has a huge amount to do with it. But its also reducation re snacking and eating actual meals, so you recognise that you have eaten and then it is not time for more food for another x hours or whatever.

I agree.
I honestly refuse to believe that you can whitewash all childhood obesity under the umbrealla of "abuse".

'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.'

I rest my case.

Expat - are you calling me ignorant?

I mentioned this before but the children referred in the study were seriously obese. Not a bit tubby or stocky or even fat. One child of 10 was so heavy she needed a walking stick. That is a level of overeating that has effectively disabled a child. I think you could argue that to be neglectful, easily as neglectful as starving a child.

Gimme a BREAK!

Nowadays you can't write anything without someone thinking it's a personal affront.

It's a SAYING, hence the quote.

From a car bumper sticker.

LOL - just making sure!! A bit tired this morning!

clinical obesity, yes.