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Original poster

Do you think your children are going to be fat?

43 replies

melontum · 16/10/2007 17:11

With all the news coverage yesterday (example), bout how by 2050 half of the population is expected to be obese.
( Skips rant a bit about the way this was reported by BBC as "a few" years away, like 43 years is just around the corner! )

Still, Do you think half of your children and family will be very fat? It doesn't ring true to me...

OP posts:
DrNortherner · 16/10/2007 17:21

Well I only have 1 ds and I hope he will not be fat. Dh and I aren't as we seem to have fast metabolisms and dh is very sporty and ds seems to be following that.

So no, I don't think he will be a fat kid.

I don't really see that many fat kids come to think of it, maybe it depends on the area you live in?

MrsBadger · 16/10/2007 17:27

Consider age.
DH's family tend run to fat as they get older - I suspect PIL would both be termed obese and DH has to stay very active to avoid putting weight on.

If you think that half the population is over 50 with sedentary lifestyles and poor diets it sounds more credible.

MynamesDaveIswimlikeafish · 16/10/2007 17:31

Like MrsBadger dh's family have got larger as they got older. dh works hard to stay fit but is still weighty. I think ds2 may follow that trend whereas ds1 and dd are built more like me. Both dh and I are very active though - we both run - so are hopefully setting good examples.

TheDullWitch · 16/10/2007 17:35

My younger ds is a greedy little git. I m dreading him at secondary school with unrestricted access to snackery, even though all the choccie stuff has been banned. I think unless he keeps up sport, he could go barn-shape.

Sobernow · 16/10/2007 17:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

figroll · 17/10/2007 12:32

I told my children this. I told them how they were both going to be obese fairly soon, so they had better start worrying NOW. They have to stop eating crisps now - I can eat them of course, but not them. Additionally, they will ONLY eat fruit and vegetables from now on in a desperate bid to stay thin.

On the other hand, they are both girls. So I want to stuff them full of junk food to ensure that they don't start to suffer from anorexia. They have had lessons about anorexia at school, so they are worried about both the "size zero" obsession and obesity.

This together with global warming, the melting of the polar ice caps, etc, etc. We are all doomed . . . doomed.

sKerryMum · 17/10/2007 12:34

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

claricebeansmum · 17/10/2007 12:42

No - genetically we seem a fairly "normal" tribe. We eat a balanced diet (balanced of good vs. bad) and are quite active in our leisure pursuits.

throckenholt · 17/10/2007 12:44

I don't really see that many fat kids come to think of it, maybe it depends on the area you live in?

I have noticed that DrNortherner - the proportion of fat kids is very low where I live (maybe less than 5%) - so to get the averages you see quoted in the media there must be some areas where they all are.

My kids - if they take after my family they are more likely to be fatter, if they take after DH's family then probably not (grrr - wish I could take after Dh's family too !)

spookthief · 17/10/2007 12:45

Depending on who he takes after, ds will certainly have to be careful. Dh's family have a tendency to be overweight. Dh was overweight and miserable for most of his childhood. I was a skelf until I was 13 though so could go either way.

He's just average now so maybe he'll strike a happy medium.

spookthief · 17/10/2007 12:47

Lots and lots of overweight children round here btw. Not obsese necessarily, just chubbiness in the face and body that you didn't use to see. Almost American (massive generalisation alert) in their chunkiness.

NotQuiteCockney · 17/10/2007 12:54

The fat kids aren't generally in the park or in the streets. They're in cars, or in their houses, in front of the TV.

SSSandy2 · 17/10/2007 12:56

I think it's possible because she likes her food and if she likes something, she'll eat a lot of it. She seems constantly hungry and constantly eating. So yes, I do think once she stops growing, she could have a problem with weight.

Anna8888 · 17/10/2007 13:01

My partner's family tends to put on weight as they get older.

My family gets thinner and thinner.

My daughter is quite a solid child. Yesterday we were at the paedatrician for a vaccination and she was weighed and measured. I raised the issue of her weight-for-height with the doctor and she just laughed (here in weight-obsessed Paris) and said - it's all muscle, she just very sportive.

So, for the time being, I'm not going to worry.

SqueakyBroomstickBrushes · 17/10/2007 13:10

no i think my dd's sportiness and naturally stockiness will cancel each other out and she'll be the right weight for her height.

i think the more we obsess over weight the worse these problems get. Eat healthily, excercise for a few hours a week, no problem.

except you can't spin headlines endlessly out of common sense, can you? gotta sell papers. our kids are fat. our kids are all anorexic and want to look like size 00 models.

Panic..spend...consume...panic.. (and so on)

suedonim · 17/10/2007 13:46

To the OP, no. Only my mum is really overweight in our family, though I wouldn't mind dropping half a stone myself. My dc are all like racing snakes.

Gobbledispook · 17/10/2007 13:53

Highly unlikely. We are all slim in our families - both sides. I'm not saying it's impossible - but nobody in either of our families has a weight issue and we are pretty active. Ds3 would be the one to watch simply because he has a sweet tooth whereas the older two always ask for fruit as a snack. The play lots of football and swim and basically never sit still. They are not the type of children to be glued to the TV.

Like DrNortherner - don't really see any overweight children around. All the kids are in teh playground before school and I've only ever seen one or two fat ones (late juniors) and it's always quite shocking - probably because I hardly ever see it.

chipmonkeyPumpkinNorks · 17/10/2007 14:49

Ds1 and ds3, definitely not, not a pick on them.
Ds2 is more solid, less sporty, and likes his food! I remember lecturing ds1 once as yet again he came home from school, intact sandwich in lunchbox. I was holding up the sandwich explaining how bad it was to skip meals, when ds2 piped up, "Can I have it?"
It illustrated perfectly the difference between ds1 and ds2.

incogneato · 17/10/2007 14:51

not a chance.

though dh and I were both skinny children and now we are overweight BUT I think my children have really good attitudes to food.

rainbowbadger · 17/10/2007 14:59

It has got to do a lot with the body you are born with - genetics etc - as DD1 is a beanpole and DD2 is a little dumpling yet I feed them the same diet of good fresh stuff with the odd fishfinger McDees along the way plus they both are diabolically active all day long. Don't think DD2 will ever be a fat child though because I wouldn't allow it and I guess it is down to parents really - I would really be ashamed of myself if I let one of my children become obese (unless it was a medical problem of course).

tortoiseSHELL · 17/10/2007 15:03

Interesting question, don't know is the answer!

Ds1 - skinny as can be, very underweight, bony, but strong. Hates most fruit and veg, would reach for something carbohydrate based, or chocolate. 9th centile for weight, 25th for height.

Dd - solid, loves her food, can be a bit chubby if she's due a growth spurt (though has slimmed off considerably since starting school). Eats everything and anything, would reach for fruit. 75th centile for height, 75th-91st for weight.

So I don't know - they're both active, and I wonder if in later life whether dd's diet will win out in terms of staying slim and healthy. Her genes are to be solid unfortunately for her. I think ds1's (and possibly ds2's, though too soon to say) are to be lean, but if he doesn't learn healthy eating, that won't necessarily rescue him!

Jojay · 17/10/2007 15:05

I don't think so. No-one in my family is any where near obese, though some are a little 'rounded', esp the older ones.

Dh's family are all beanpoles except his Dad who has MS and therefore is less mobile.

Ds is only 10 months so it's hard to tell what his attitude to food will be - currently he will eat well when he's hungry, but isn't interested in snacking, so long may that continue!

BuckBuckMcFate · 17/10/2007 15:06

For my boys I don't really worry about it as they are both so active. I think boys carry on with sports, not organised activities, but playing football in the park with their mates, riding bikes etc., well into their teens and I just don't think girls are as physically active in their teens as boys are (until they are old enough to get into nightclubs and spend the weekend dancing!).

Bit of a generalisation I know but I'm thinking of my own experience and the view of the park from my house. It's always the older boys running around while the older girls sit in groups.

StIncognita · 17/10/2007 15:22

No, I don't, for all sorts of reasons. But I'm just thinkging what a load of twonk much of the recent news is - specially the 'it's not the individuals fault' the BBC are running with.

Yes, that's right, the government come into our houses and force-feed us lard.

Earlybird · 17/10/2007 18:49

I suspect that most of the responses to this thread will be from parents with slender children. I don't imagine mums with fat/obese children will hurry to post about it, as it is perceived as a 'problem'.

I remember a show on Oprah from a few years back that featured mums and their very overweight children. The premise of the show was that these mums didn't see the weight as a problem, and associated giving their children whatever they wanted to eat (often in massive quantities) with showing them love. On the other side of the fence were the 'fat-police' who accused these Mums of a misguided love that equated to a form of child abuse in extreme examples. I remember one 2 year old who was wearing adult incontinence diapers because he didn't fit any child-sized nappies.