Do obese parents have obese children?

[happyhols]

I have just read a letter in response to a story about someone not being allowed to adopt as they were obese. The writer of the letter was initially outraged but than commented that obese parents have unhealthy diets etc and therefore have obese children.
I was outraged by this as I am very obese but working on it and dh is obese too. Yet our dc eat healithy and are the right weight for their age etc.

What do people think?

I am obese and DH is overweight. All three of my children are in the correct weight range for their height. DD is on the low side of average. DS is slightly above the average and DS2 is average weight.

I encourage them to be very active and they do a lot of sport.

We have a healthy diet. I just have issues with my portion size

I was underweight as a child and teenager, now over weight.

I am 48 and 4 stone overweight.

56lbs overweight and it takes 3500 calories per lb

means I have consumed 196000 calories too many.

I have lived for 17520 days.

So I consumed less than 12 calories a day too much.

No binge eating required

I am obese now and have always been overweight (my parents have always been thin). DD has a healthy diet and is the correct weight for her height. I dont want her to suffer school as the fat kid like I did, so I am very careful with the amount of treats etc I give her.

I am obese, my parents have always been slim. DH is now overweight but wasn't until about 24. When we got married he had a 28" waist!

DCs are: dd1 - perfect weight, dd2 - so underweight she doesn't feature on charts, ds1 - perfect weight.

Go figure...

This study is interesting. It demonstrates that the closer you are in proximity to an obese person within your social networks, the more likely you are to become obese. As our closest social ties are with our families, it follows that our parents will have the strongest influence.

The same applies to other 'choices' such as smoking, breast-feeding and exercising.

Just as most smokers would not wish their children to smoke, most obese people do not wish obesity on their children. But this is a case of do as I say, not as I do and it is only enforceable while they are young enough for you to control their lifestyle choices.

My mother was obese for many years. I am slightly overweight but it is a contant battle. My children are on the small side of average.

There's definately a connection. As another poster said, you don't see obese kids with skinny parents.

I think it's partly genetic; different metabolism rate etc. But there's no excuse for obesity and I should know, because I am humungously obese! Everyone in my extended family is 'a bit fat' which I think is a combination of bad eating habits being passed down, but also the genetic build. I'm not for one minute blaming genetics on me being obese, but I do think it means I have to work harder than some others to lose weight. We all know someone who is stick thin yet eats a tonne of junk food on a regualar basis!!!

I'm terrified my kids are going to be fat. I don't let them have junk except on the rare occasion and try and give them as much fruit and veg as they can eat! But because I didn't really get fat until puberty, i worry that they'll be the same and will start piling it on at an age when I can't control what they eat, or how much exercise they get.

I was slim until I was 21, I split with my 1st boyfriend (of 5yrs) after seeing his father die of a heart attack.

I discovered alcohol and food were my friends, always there when I needed them and never left!

I am now, age 38, finally, addressing the shit relationship I have with food and am slowly winning the battle.

I have 2 beautiful DD's, neither of them are overweight (they're only 11 and almost 3), my 3yr old is a little underweight but that's because she is a whirlwind!

Both children eat healthily with treats. The word diet is banned from my house and I never let the girls see that my weight upsets me, it never stops me doing things with them (even though I HATE swimming with a passion!).

I have no intention of being fat this time next year.