Question Specifically to Mums who are overweight/obese - how much do you worry about your children's’ weight?
I’ve been overweight/obese since I was a child. I remember always craving food as a child, and food being constantly on my mind. ‘Food noise’ is something I recognise well. My parents weren’t overweight and neither are my siblings. My weight has been up and down as an adult but I’ve never had a BMI of less than 30. People talk about fat people as lacking willpower but I’ve never quite understood this - I seem to have plenty of willpower in lots of other aspects of my life, just not when it comes to food.
I now have a 3.5 year old. He’s of very average weight as things stand but I find myself constantly questioning whether I’m over feeding him and when he tells me he’s hungry I question it. He eats a healthy and balanced diet (or so I think) but I worry that he’s going to end up just like me. My husband is of average weight and thinks I’m overthinking things.
I appreciate I can’t influence his genetics but then again I’ve always been told genetics don’t play a role in my being obese. But what does? And other than education and role modelling what else can or should I be doing?