Stop putting cheese on everything. No soda. Fried or sweet "treat" foods once aa week. Light on creamy sauces and mayo. Better yet, learn to love lemon, skim milk, low calorie flavorings. Stop making excuses!!
5
portion control.
may take work at first, but becomes a good habit pretty quickly.
studies show a habit can become a habit :) in 30 days...
may take work at first, but becomes a good habit pretty quickly.
studies show a habit can become a habit :) in 30 days...
5
It's expensive to buy fresh produce and unprocessed food. The outer aisles of the grocery store are beyond the means of many people.
3
It's not always denial with parents, it may be that we just don't have effective resources. Researchers and other experts provide too much information on the problem and too little on effective methods to solve it! Talk is cheap, but these experts make money from it. And I love Mrs. Obama, but all she has brought is awareness of the issue. The reality is there are very few programs for overweight children. I am the slim mom of a beautiful but heavy adoptive daughter. She was a chubby baby and is a heavy almost 10-year old. She has always loved food too much and seems to gain weight by just looking at it. Genetics clearly play a role here. I've done the right things, focused on healthy eating instead of putting her on a diet, have tried to keep her self-esteem in mind, but she can't seem to get motivated to lose weight.
4
Healthy eating is fine, but a child should never be forced to restrict calories. Diets don't work and lead to weight gain over the long run. The earlier one starts, the worse it can be -- for a lifetime. Even if the child is obese now, it's less likely that he or she will be AS obese if forced into dieting, food restriction, etc.
4
It's infuriating to read, and re-read, those first two paragraphs. Your 16-year-old son is 60 pounds overweight and may have fatty liver disease. And you're upset because you may need to cut Chips Ahoy! cookies from his diet. I'd have a few choice words for this person...
11
How sad. For all those screaming racism and inequality -- the biggest genocide will take place within minority homes. These kids will not last past their thirties at this rate.
I have doubts, a lot of them, that the so-called obesity has only to do with eating habits. I mostly think that obesity is a consequence not a cause. Reminds me type 1 diabetes that are considered to be an inherited disease. I think it is an infectious one. However the contagion must happen before the 24 months of live when the immune system is not fully developed. Probably, childhood obesity has to do with liver disease, a chronic hepatitis. Let's see my own case. I was born and grew in a rural environment. The two important meals, lunch and dinner, were, almost every day, made of vegetables and potatoes and a piece of pig bacon. I must assure you that I had never been overweight, far from that. So the cause of chronic obesity must be a viral chronic infection. It's enough to see that obesity occurs, generally, after middle age.
Not enough attention is given to the complicity clothing manufacturers have played in increasing the acceptability of obesity--for all ages. The one-size-fits-all, shapeless, loose-fitting clothing styles that became trendy the last couple of decades have definitely enabled more and more people to ignore increasing pounds. The plasticity of women's clothing sizes also contributes heavily to the skewed mindset, soothing wearers with false indicators as they happily ease their bodies into the 6s that would have been labeled 14s and 16s as late as the 1970s or 1980s. Worse is the fact that mainstream stores have nearly eliminated their men's "smalls" (and sharply reduced "mediums") from their clothing racks at the same time they no longer offer many women's "XS" (which are the "S" of the past). It's frustrating for adults who work hard to stay trim and healthy when they can find nothing but larges and extra-larges in the stores, leaving them with virtually nothing to wear but inappropriately-styled juniors' or young men's items. Garment manufacturers have wholesale killed off all of the old rewards that used to help people keep off excess weight! That's why if doctors and nutritionists want any success in fighting obesity, they must cast their net wider beyond diet and exercise, and engage the clothing industry in helping them win their battle.
9
It's as simple as lazy and selfish thinking on the part of the parents, and if close friends and relatives say nothing, they are colluding and enabling the problem. 10-15 lbs overweight should be a warning bell that something is seriously amiss. If parents wait until a child is obese and develops life long and life shortening health problems and diseases, sorry, I feel it is akin to child abuse and should be reported to Children's Services. While parents dilly dally and people wring their hands, that child's life is being permanently ruined.
4
Issue of childhood obesity is complex.
We have come long way from our ancestors who probably burned between 800 and 1,200 calories per day just hunting buffalo and dodging tigers – many times more than the modern city dweller inhabiting his "computer cave." as Professor Jimmy Bell, says. Genetically, human beings haven't changed, but our environment, our access to cheap food has.
To "train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22: 6) the environment should be conducive. If parents ought to be mentor for their children to guide them on healthy diet they should first set an example. They need to turn away from factory produced food stuff filled with salt, HFC etc and start on cooking from basic ingredients. This is asking for the moon.
Americana are paying dearly for letting their nation run by crony capitalists, who are out to make killing, devil take the public health, after reading " Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American Academy of Family Physicians, ASN has many problematic ties with the food and beverage industry-Nutrition Scientists on the Take from Big Food- Has the American Society for Nutrition lost all credibility?" by Michele Simon in http://www.eatdrinkpolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/ASNReportFinal.pdf.
Child obesity required radical re look the way food industries are allowed to run a muck in Western society, It is nearly impossible to cross swords with big food agglomerates.
We have come long way from our ancestors who probably burned between 800 and 1,200 calories per day just hunting buffalo and dodging tigers – many times more than the modern city dweller inhabiting his "computer cave." as Professor Jimmy Bell, says. Genetically, human beings haven't changed, but our environment, our access to cheap food has.
To "train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22: 6) the environment should be conducive. If parents ought to be mentor for their children to guide them on healthy diet they should first set an example. They need to turn away from factory produced food stuff filled with salt, HFC etc and start on cooking from basic ingredients. This is asking for the moon.
Americana are paying dearly for letting their nation run by crony capitalists, who are out to make killing, devil take the public health, after reading " Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American Academy of Family Physicians, ASN has many problematic ties with the food and beverage industry-Nutrition Scientists on the Take from Big Food- Has the American Society for Nutrition lost all credibility?" by Michele Simon in http://www.eatdrinkpolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/ASNReportFinal.pdf.
Child obesity required radical re look the way food industries are allowed to run a muck in Western society, It is nearly impossible to cross swords with big food agglomerates.
6
Oh please. There's plenty of healthy choices out there. Then there's moderation. Parents need to take responsibility.
3
At my house, you'll find cookies, candies, chocolates, popcorn, chips, ice cream, popsicles, soda and juice. At my house, you'll also find more than 7 different kinds of fresh fruit in the summer, vegetable bins filled with leafy greens, and a variety of meats, fish and seafood.
I don't believe it's possible to teach children to make good eating choices when you ban certain foods from the home or label them as 'special occasion indulgences'. All it does is make children crave the forbidden or restricted. Instead, my 9 y.o. and 6 y.o. grew up knowing they should eat when they're hungry, stop when they're full and that they should choose delicious and nutritious foods. But, if they want to eat delicious and non-nutritious foods, that's okay too. I also refuse to infantilize them by feeding them 'kid food'. They eat at meals what my husband and I eat.
The result is that my children are much more likely to reach for fruits or nuts for snacks or dessert than cookies or ice cream. They have a few pieces of candies from parties, school or trick or treating and let the vast majority of it languish forgotten. If they drink juice, they know it tastes better and is more refreshing diluted with water. They also relish a wide variety of 'grown up food' like sushi, smoked salmon, bone-in-meats, tofu, artichokes, broccoli, mustard greens, etc.
More importantly, I know they will make the same good food choices when they are old enough to leave home. And, they are both slim.
I don't believe it's possible to teach children to make good eating choices when you ban certain foods from the home or label them as 'special occasion indulgences'. All it does is make children crave the forbidden or restricted. Instead, my 9 y.o. and 6 y.o. grew up knowing they should eat when they're hungry, stop when they're full and that they should choose delicious and nutritious foods. But, if they want to eat delicious and non-nutritious foods, that's okay too. I also refuse to infantilize them by feeding them 'kid food'. They eat at meals what my husband and I eat.
The result is that my children are much more likely to reach for fruits or nuts for snacks or dessert than cookies or ice cream. They have a few pieces of candies from parties, school or trick or treating and let the vast majority of it languish forgotten. If they drink juice, they know it tastes better and is more refreshing diluted with water. They also relish a wide variety of 'grown up food' like sushi, smoked salmon, bone-in-meats, tofu, artichokes, broccoli, mustard greens, etc.
More importantly, I know they will make the same good food choices when they are old enough to leave home. And, they are both slim.
6
Parents are in denial about their child's weight because they are often in denial about or have issues with their own weight. Grocery shopping once I was struck by the obese mother with her obese son contemplating which donuts to by while just a few feet away a slender girl in her soccer outfit was selecting apples with her equally slim dad. The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree.
Having had my own weight issues as a teen though I was not obese, I would suggest parents emphasize/ model healthy behaviors -- eating well, getting enough physical activity -- over achieving a number on the scale or a clothing size. i had a mother who was overly weight-concious and transferred some of her feelings to me. I was sent to a dietician as a 14-yr. old; she was astute and her first words were "Did your mother send you?" Fortunately, I was a pretty independent teen and did not let my mother's ideas/nagging influence me too much. Once I reached college, I ate well and exercised because *I* wanted to run a 5-10K decently and once I did that, the weight came off without problems. No freshman 15 for me.
Having had my own weight issues as a teen though I was not obese, I would suggest parents emphasize/ model healthy behaviors -- eating well, getting enough physical activity -- over achieving a number on the scale or a clothing size. i had a mother who was overly weight-concious and transferred some of her feelings to me. I was sent to a dietician as a 14-yr. old; she was astute and her first words were "Did your mother send you?" Fortunately, I was a pretty independent teen and did not let my mother's ideas/nagging influence me too much. Once I reached college, I ate well and exercised because *I* wanted to run a 5-10K decently and once I did that, the weight came off without problems. No freshman 15 for me.
10
Today's higher stress levels for kids isn't mentioned but also a proven as a factor.
The majority of kids in our public schools come from a 1-parent home, if that.
And the stressers are greater - unlike generations ago.
Also, earlier maturity in kids today, go hand-in-hand with heavier weights:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/05/opinion/what-causes-girls-to-enter-pub...
The majority of kids in our public schools come from a 1-parent home, if that.
And the stressers are greater - unlike generations ago.
Also, earlier maturity in kids today, go hand-in-hand with heavier weights:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/05/opinion/what-causes-girls-to-enter-pub...
6
My children are not obese but I do think they are slightly overweight, however I don't understand how they are not grossly overweight considering their diet. We have always had our children eat healthy balanced diet and limited the amount of junk food in our house, but once my older children reached the age of being able to drive they started living off of fast food and just junk, it's seems as if they are rebelling against my cooking and I'm not exactly sure how to address it with them. I don't really want to mention to my girls in particular that they may have a weight problem and are certainly heading in that direction as I guess I would rather have them overweight than develop an eating disorder. I'm almost to the point where I'm thinking it's their body and health, until they themselves come to the realization that what they are doing is not in their best interests health wise there is not much I can do, though I'm not exactly convinced that is the responsible thing to do on my part.
5
There must be a middle ground between being allowed to become overweight and being coerced into developing an eating disorder. Where are they getting the money to spend on junk food? Healthy people with normal-sized bodies are most attractive; surely they can see that. Involve them in meal planning, shopping (farmer's markets are great) and meal preparation and ask them to decide what's more palatable: greasy, sickening junk or delicious, nourishing meals they make with you. When people are asked to pay attention to how they feel after eating - something we rarely seem to do - the results can be astounding. Get your kids to notice the after effects of eating garbage and eventually, they'll realize that their bodies are sophisticated machines that require respect and real nutrition in order to function at their peak. Once a person has chosen to eat well and feels the effects, they're not likely to return to the trough for their meals.
3
you should sit all of them down and tell them. offer to keep salads in the house for when theyre hungry
2
Has anyone considered charging parents of morbidly obese children with child abuse?
4
Great stuff here. My parents have always cared about health and wellness and as a result I grew up knowing how to make healthy choices, not having to diet but rather have a well-rounded lifestyle, and having a positive body image and healthy self confidence. However--there were times when guidance was needed. Hiding candy in my nightstand as a teenager, gaining weight my first year of marriage, etc. were times that I'm thankful my mom kindly encouraged me to get back on track. Not all conversations that involve constructive criticism need to be labeled "shaming". I am SO sick of this exaggeration. Obviously you should always speak to and about your children with love. But if your child needs to make a change, telling them so in a factual, straightforward manner is not shaming.
There is a difference between having a healthy body image while still being focused on making positive changes and being fat and happy. You can be content without being complacent. There is a difference between healthy evaluation and shaming.
I'm all for healthy body image, but if my kids are in danger of the negative effects of obesity and poor nutrition, I'm going to love them enough to have the hard conversations with them, just as I would with any other issue.
There is a difference between having a healthy body image while still being focused on making positive changes and being fat and happy. You can be content without being complacent. There is a difference between healthy evaluation and shaming.
I'm all for healthy body image, but if my kids are in danger of the negative effects of obesity and poor nutrition, I'm going to love them enough to have the hard conversations with them, just as I would with any other issue.
8
I feel that this article was very interesting because of parental blindness to pediatric obesity. As obesity is a growing problem, I agree with the article that it is only natural for a parent to compare their child with the rest of society and see that they are "about the right weight" and assume that their weight is a healthy one because it looks approximate to everyone else's. A doctor gave this situation a term called “oblivobesity”. Dr. David L. Katz, the director of Yale’s Prevention Research Center, had described parents as “denial”. He also stated that for most people, problems like obesity are easier to ignore than to fix. This is often what causes parents to be oblivious to health problems in their children. My opinion is that if healthier, fresher stores such as Whole Foods were to lower their prices, nutritional food would be easier to access for low-income families, and the level of national obesity would decrease greatly. As a child, I was not obese, but had been oblivious to such a topic. I believe that while children should not be pushed to be stick-thin, more programs that encourage a healthy lifestyle should be created. This would help children learn about being active, to eat foods that are good for them, and to lead a healthy lifestyle. Not only could such a program prevent diabetes and other related problems, but it could prepare the children for a healthful life of independence.
3
As Doctor Scubert would respond when a mom denied the obvious "look at the parent"
3
Someone should go through the comments for this article. There are some excellent ideas and suggestions.
I worked at an academic medical center. Nurses are often much better at communicating effectively with families than are many doctors (although some doctors are great at it--seems to be the ones who have empathy and can take the perspective of another person).
I worked at an academic medical center. Nurses are often much better at communicating effectively with families than are many doctors (although some doctors are great at it--seems to be the ones who have empathy and can take the perspective of another person).
4
I completely agree with this article and situation. I feel that parents have a reason not to tell their children that they need to loose weight, but should at least make a silent effort to get to a healthier check point. When parents encourage healthier eating, a child can remain, or get to, a natural lifestyle. Another reason why parents may not tell or encourage a healthier lifestyle is because of the cost. As stated by "Parents' Denial Fuels Childhood Obesity Epidemic" by Jan Hoffman states, "“Eating healthy costs more,” said Dr. Kaufman, the author of “Diabesity.” “It’s harder for someone with a fixed income who relies on school lunches than someone who can get the kid a personal trainer and buy their groceries at Whole Foods.”" This shows that because natural and farm-grown food can very well be more expensive. This results on parents buying more affordable food which may be the unhealthy choice. I do agree with the author, Jan Hoffman, because this obesity epidemic needs to be recognized. If parents do not begin to realize the obesity in their children, the problem will begin to expand until it is out of control. Before we know it, children (and now full grown adults) will have diabetes and other health issues. This article is important for parents, and future parents, to read and view because people need to be aware of this ongoing problem and epidemic.
2
Please do this science experiments with your kids.
Take a plain saltine cracker or a matza cracker and chew on it for ten minutes. Make them keep it in their mouth. (If they can't do it for ten mintutes, take a bite, put it on a plate, spit on it a bunch of times. Then let it sit for a while then chew on it for five minutes.
Ask them what happens. They should say it turns sweet. Starches are broken down into sugars-- glucose, maltotriose and maltose-- by amylase found in your saliva and small intestine.
So when kids eat refined cereal for breakfast, white bread for lunch, and pasta for dinner, it's just about dessert three times a day. If they finish their plate, they then get real dessert!
Of course, it is a bit more complicated than that. But a second grader can understand some basic science here and deduce something, can't they? What happened to that girl in the Willy Wonka movie?
Take a plain saltine cracker or a matza cracker and chew on it for ten minutes. Make them keep it in their mouth. (If they can't do it for ten mintutes, take a bite, put it on a plate, spit on it a bunch of times. Then let it sit for a while then chew on it for five minutes.
Ask them what happens. They should say it turns sweet. Starches are broken down into sugars-- glucose, maltotriose and maltose-- by amylase found in your saliva and small intestine.
So when kids eat refined cereal for breakfast, white bread for lunch, and pasta for dinner, it's just about dessert three times a day. If they finish their plate, they then get real dessert!
Of course, it is a bit more complicated than that. But a second grader can understand some basic science here and deduce something, can't they? What happened to that girl in the Willy Wonka movie?
11
good science
1
I grew up in the 70s and 80s and can only recall one or two kids that would have been labeled "fat." Why? We played outside all the time. We jumped double dutch, ran, played softball, played basketball, swam and were generally active all the time. We couldn't wait until recess so we could play rope or run around. I look at kids today and all they want to do is sit in the house, watch TV, play video games and hang out on their phones. Getting our kids back active would be a great starting point in this obesity epidemic.
32
professor! Absolutely!
2
I was a little pudgy as a child until I was teen. My parents gave me a talk about my weight. Back then all of my siblings were skinny, but me. Now as adults, 3 of my 5 siblings are overweight, with at least 2 of them obese. I think back on that conversation I had with my parents back when I pudgy child and though I was offended at the time, that conversation is part of what still motivates me to be healthy now. I wonder sometimes if my obese siblings had also been pudgy and my parents had talked to them about the importance maintaining a healthy weight, if they would care more about it now.
5
I have never been so incensed by just reading the title of an article. I have a teenager who has had trouble with weight since before kindergarten. We keep our kids active, are prolific gardeners, make most meals at home, and eat virtually every meal as a family. Over the years we have hired nutritionists and dietitians to tell us what we already know (don't drink soda, don't eat in front of the TV, blah blah blah).
The constant, from the time we parents suspected a problem, is denial on the part of the PEDIATRICIAN! There is a large part of the medical community that's terrified of labeling children as overweight because of concerns about eating disorders.
The constant, from the time we parents suspected a problem, is denial on the part of the PEDIATRICIAN! There is a large part of the medical community that's terrified of labeling children as overweight because of concerns about eating disorders.
7
I have no suggestions, other than quantity and portions. Plus, find another pediatrician poset haste. If others in your family are overweight by more than 10 pounds or so, take another look at portions and carbs and fat.
3
Unfortunately most parents are ignorant about HOW liver damage occurs in obesity and the detrimental impact it can have on innumerable life sustaining body functions.
Liver cells serve as the body's micro-chips, convert food into hundreds of essential body functions including producing energy, immune factors, digestive juices (bile), clotting factors, excretion of toxins (alcohol, drugs, pollutants), control of cholesterol and hundreds more. Liver cells are the employees in your personal chemical refinery.
Excess fats, sugary drinks and alcohol ingested can kill liver cells turning them into scar tissue called cirrhosis. Continued assault over months and years resulting in too many dead cells and too few healthy liver cells causes the liver to slow down and eventually shut down. When your liver shuts down-- so do you.
For more information visit: liverlady.com
Liver cells serve as the body's micro-chips, convert food into hundreds of essential body functions including producing energy, immune factors, digestive juices (bile), clotting factors, excretion of toxins (alcohol, drugs, pollutants), control of cholesterol and hundreds more. Liver cells are the employees in your personal chemical refinery.
Excess fats, sugary drinks and alcohol ingested can kill liver cells turning them into scar tissue called cirrhosis. Continued assault over months and years resulting in too many dead cells and too few healthy liver cells causes the liver to slow down and eventually shut down. When your liver shuts down-- so do you.
For more information visit: liverlady.com
3
Fat kids? Same thing holds for the dog population. In both cases, someone other than the being in question controls the amount of calories and exercise they get (dogs more than children, who can often decide on their own for another twinkie or to skip playing outside).
Is it not a form of animal abuse to allow a dog to get morbidly obese? It should also be considered a form of child abuse.
Parenting and dog ownership come with responsibilities. But we live in an infantile society that encourages people to behave throughout life as if everyone else is to blame but themselves. That works fine for fat people who don't want to take the blame for their own obesity. It only directly affects them. It doesn't work so well when another creature suffers from their shirking of responsibility.
Is it not a form of animal abuse to allow a dog to get morbidly obese? It should also be considered a form of child abuse.
Parenting and dog ownership come with responsibilities. But we live in an infantile society that encourages people to behave throughout life as if everyone else is to blame but themselves. That works fine for fat people who don't want to take the blame for their own obesity. It only directly affects them. It doesn't work so well when another creature suffers from their shirking of responsibility.
2
I disagree a bit. I think it's not so much that people are in denial, but that most Americans haven't a clue what is considered a healthy weight or a healthy diet.
When you are surrounded by obese people, it's easy for that to become normal. Having lived abroad for years, where it was an anomaly to see a fat person, and where junk food was expensive and difficult to find, it was completely normal to be a healthy weight (that is to say, thin). My extended family (all of whom are obese) constantly accuse me of being "too skinny," when in fact I am a normal, healthy weight and BMI. They honestly have no idea what true healthfulness looks like.
When you are surrounded by obese people, it's easy for that to become normal. Having lived abroad for years, where it was an anomaly to see a fat person, and where junk food was expensive and difficult to find, it was completely normal to be a healthy weight (that is to say, thin). My extended family (all of whom are obese) constantly accuse me of being "too skinny," when in fact I am a normal, healthy weight and BMI. They honestly have no idea what true healthfulness looks like.
14
For all those of you that say that healthy or real food is not feasible due to the cost and time it takes to prepare, I disagree. While it is true that quality meat and farmers market produce is more costly, there are alternatives if one is creative and puts a bit of effort. Also note, that large portions of meat are not necessary. If there is lack of time, one can prepare larger quantities, divide and refrigerate or freeze for later. Planning out a menu before shopping will also substantially decrease grocery bills as well waste. There is no reason why someone should buy artificially flavored products unless you want to ruin a palate.
9
3 ounces or less of meat, same with fish, is adequate. And not every day. Carbs and fat are usually the issue, plus unconscious eating
1
Why are 3 ounces of meat or fish, and not every day, considered "adequate?" It is perfectly reasonable to consume more than that daily with no adverse effect. In fact, the argument could be made that increasing quality protein foods decreases the need to consume refined carbohydrate that is too easily over-eaten.
When my daughter was in 2nd grade, we moved, and she started a new school. Thursdays were “Pizza Thursdays”. Ok, that was fine. Parents had the option of choosing one, two, or three slices for their child. Three certainly seemed like a lot for a 7 year old. So I thought I would pay for one or two. I asked the school admin, and she told me that that slices were from a large pizza. She said that there was a lot of waste. As a result, I opted for one slice for my 2nd grade daughter. Oh boy ... fast forward 10 years, and here we are. She has a pretty serious eating disorder. It’s complicated, and there are many factors that contributed. But believe it or not -- she brings up this issue with “restricting” her to one piece of pizza. She says -- All the other kids had multiple pieces (which ended-up half eaten and thrown away), and I only had one!!! So there I was, back then, trying to follow doctor’s orders by not over-feeding, but more importantly it was about reducing waste. Good God. We cannot win this one. Too much food, they’re obese. But try to moderate them, and they may become eating disordered. Our society is brutal. Kids are bombarded with junk food marketing. Then, the girls are provided images of wafer thin models. No wonder these kids are struggling. In order to be thin, these girls are losing their minds trying not to give into temptation from the non-stop female body images from Hollywood, etc. Our society is so messed-up.
15
Eating disorders, particularly anorexia, are about control. Don't beat yourself up about the one slice. She is trying to exert control over something else, which you may want to go to therapy together about. Hope she gets better.
5
I seriously hope you are not taking blame for your child's eating disorder because of the one slice of pizza alone. Perhaps there were other messages she received from you about food, but one incident didn't do it. And she needs to come to terms and make her best effort to deal with her problem, not use you as an excuse.
1
Interesting how this entire article didn't mention any of the factors that contribute to obesity outside of food, like genetics, sleep deprivation, or inactivity. After all, it's completely IMPOSSIBLE to allow kids to walk to school, or to change school hours so kids can get enough sleep, or allow kids out of their testing chairs long enough to climb on a play structure.
And, of course, none of this changes the long-term results of most diets, which is to return to starting weight or more. http://mann.bol.ucla.edu/files/Diets_don%27t_work.pdf
And, of course, none of this changes the long-term results of most diets, which is to return to starting weight or more. http://mann.bol.ucla.edu/files/Diets_don%27t_work.pdf
9
In 1985 I was an 8th grader whose parents' view of healthy eating consisted of adding mushrooms to our thrice weekly sausage pizza. By pure chance, however, I found myself assigned to Ms. Webb's third period home economics class.
By that time, Ms. Webb, and home economics in general, were already considered dinosaurs, and the butt of many a joke. But, that didn't matter to me and my "table" of three other slightly pudgy adolescent boys. We learned how to cook simple, fresh food. We learned recipes that I use to this day when cooking for my family. We learned to shun the "inner aisles" at the grocery store. And, being working class kids from Brooklyn, we focused on the "economics" component of the class - learning ways to be creative with small amounts of fresh produce and meat. In sum, JHS 239 stepped up and did its job - teaching my skills that for various reasons, my parents could not.
So, while they may not be glamorous and may , let's bring back home-economics courses. School sports are fine. And, so are the First Lady's proposals regarding school lunches. But, as the old aphorism goes, "teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." Healthy cooking and eating are important for a myriad of reasons. Schools should teach our boys and girls how to eat, shop, and cook, for themselves and their future families. Their health and that of society as a whole will be better for it.
By that time, Ms. Webb, and home economics in general, were already considered dinosaurs, and the butt of many a joke. But, that didn't matter to me and my "table" of three other slightly pudgy adolescent boys. We learned how to cook simple, fresh food. We learned recipes that I use to this day when cooking for my family. We learned to shun the "inner aisles" at the grocery store. And, being working class kids from Brooklyn, we focused on the "economics" component of the class - learning ways to be creative with small amounts of fresh produce and meat. In sum, JHS 239 stepped up and did its job - teaching my skills that for various reasons, my parents could not.
So, while they may not be glamorous and may , let's bring back home-economics courses. School sports are fine. And, so are the First Lady's proposals regarding school lunches. But, as the old aphorism goes, "teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." Healthy cooking and eating are important for a myriad of reasons. Schools should teach our boys and girls how to eat, shop, and cook, for themselves and their future families. Their health and that of society as a whole will be better for it.
49
Great idea!
There is no mention in this article about the fast-junk-food advertising children and their parents are bombarded with, not just on TV, but in video games and even in school lunches! Then there's all the "natural" ice teas, sodas and juices that are overly sweetened and pose as being healthful--and the list goes on. The article does touch on the higher cost of eating more healthy foods but offers no solution. Meanwhile, physical fitness is being cut back to virtually nothing in our schools. This is a systemic crisis of capitalism that promotes food for profit, not for health. Why did the FDA just today, June 16th, give the food industry three more years to eliminate trans fats from their products? Why have they been given the right to continue to poison people? Who's more to blame, the parents or the giant junk-food producing corporations that advertise and promote their poisons like pizza pockets and cheezits to the masses--especially to children?
8
To an extent The title to this Article IS right On Correct. It is time to For parents to acknowledge that their kids may have an over weight problem (or underweight as ED has Sky rocketed in Children since all the healthful obsessions and weight loss is now Seen as COOL) and do something about it!
Sometimes Moderate Changes are easier and More affordable then many parents believe. See lovemorefeedless.com for Help!
Sometimes Moderate Changes are easier and More affordable then many parents believe. See lovemorefeedless.com for Help!
Sadly, I think in some cases, it's not obesity as a problem, but, instead, an overweight child that needs attention.
Unlimited snacking without regular sit-down dinners with the entire family together could be part of the problem, in the cases I've noticed.
It doesn't help that watching TV and playing video games is customary in lieu of the way I grew up: playing sports almost every minute, so being overweight was never a factor.
Unlimited snacking without regular sit-down dinners with the entire family together could be part of the problem, in the cases I've noticed.
It doesn't help that watching TV and playing video games is customary in lieu of the way I grew up: playing sports almost every minute, so being overweight was never a factor.
4
I think that's an over simplification. A lot of very thin kids snack a lot, play video games and also play a lot of sports.
"Perhaps there are slender siblings, and the parents cannot figure out a diet that fits all."
A healthy diet with plenty of real food--veggies, whole grains, fruit, and lean diary and protein--is healthy for the whole family, slender or not. Not all weight problems start in childhood. A child who has a distorted image of a reasonable diet could easily grow into an adult with health issues when he is is old enough to make his own food choices.
A healthy diet with plenty of real food--veggies, whole grains, fruit, and lean diary and protein--is healthy for the whole family, slender or not. Not all weight problems start in childhood. A child who has a distorted image of a reasonable diet could easily grow into an adult with health issues when he is is old enough to make his own food choices.
7
Agreed with this: why is it wrong for a healthy active kid to be given healthy foods for dinner (the meal that the family has most control over) ?
I think the point is that even families who eat healthy like treats sometimes and when there is an overweight child, serving that kind of food once in a while isn't as clear cut.
Americans seem to be obsessed with food. Stop worrying about it. Stop eating it.
6
My recent documentary Lunch Hour discusses this issue in depth. Parents want to be the good guys and end up saddling their children with a lifetime of obesity. The food industry is making a fortune making us unhealthy. We need to take care of ourselves and our children. If we don't, who is?
3
It rather infuriates me that obese people seem to think the cause of their weight is always someone else's fault.....
REAL FOOD IS EXPENSIVE; we all know that. BUT, REAL FOOD NEEDS TO BE MADE FROM SCRATCH...... And, it takes time to cook real food.
Next time you venture into a grocery store, take a look at the choices of food many people make. It's real simple: stick to lots of fresh veggies, some fruit, no juices(!), small portions of meat for each day of the week, no junk...... You get the drift...... Treat your family to occasional "treats" like homemade sweet treats...... Get them outside for walks and the miracles will happen......
While I understand that real food prices are escalating at an enormous rate, if planned together, it can be done.... American food producers are heavily subsidized, are they not? Food costs are much cheaper than here in Canada. For me, there does not seem to be an excuse for better eating habits....
REAL FOOD IS EXPENSIVE; we all know that. BUT, REAL FOOD NEEDS TO BE MADE FROM SCRATCH...... And, it takes time to cook real food.
Next time you venture into a grocery store, take a look at the choices of food many people make. It's real simple: stick to lots of fresh veggies, some fruit, no juices(!), small portions of meat for each day of the week, no junk...... You get the drift...... Treat your family to occasional "treats" like homemade sweet treats...... Get them outside for walks and the miracles will happen......
While I understand that real food prices are escalating at an enormous rate, if planned together, it can be done.... American food producers are heavily subsidized, are they not? Food costs are much cheaper than here in Canada. For me, there does not seem to be an excuse for better eating habits....
11
Ahhh. The self-righteous skinny person. It must be the fat person's fault - it couldn't possibly be genetics. It couldn't possibly be body type. It's all the fat person's fault because they eat bad food. Such an easy answer. Obviously all overweight people are poor and lazy.
I am overweight. I cook my own meals, I calorie count, I drink water or decaf coffee (no juice, no soft drinks), no caffeine, I have done cognitive behaviour therapy. I don't eat simple carbs (pasta, bread, rice). I have begged my doctor to tell me why. Why am I still overweight? He says I am perfectly healthy - healthy heart (I run); healthy blood pressure; healthy cholesterol; healthy blood sugar. Healthy, healthy, healthy. He says this is my body, and it will not change.
I am overweight. I cook my own meals, I calorie count, I drink water or decaf coffee (no juice, no soft drinks), no caffeine, I have done cognitive behaviour therapy. I don't eat simple carbs (pasta, bread, rice). I have begged my doctor to tell me why. Why am I still overweight? He says I am perfectly healthy - healthy heart (I run); healthy blood pressure; healthy cholesterol; healthy blood sugar. Healthy, healthy, healthy. He says this is my body, and it will not change.
1
Our entire culture is to blame: we eat too much, spend too much.
Obesity epidemic and massive current and more massive future debt are the result.
Everyone like to blame something. How many of our people are actually fit and healthy? Too few!
Obesity epidemic and massive current and more massive future debt are the result.
Everyone like to blame something. How many of our people are actually fit and healthy? Too few!
5
I had the great fortune of being raised in a household with a sweet chubby father and a mother who prepared lean meats, vegetables and salads to help keep him thinner. Plus on a 1960's teacher's salary, we couldn't afford store-bought treats. Raised my children the same way. Now in their 30's with children of their own and full time jobs, they eat dinner together every night dining on meats and vegetables. And everyone has BMIs in the normal range.
4
Its an unfortunate consequence of the period we live in. Role of grandparents is often neglected. Children require patience and kindness during their early ages. A grandparent is ideally suited to interact and teach children without the pressures of working lives. In such environments children tend to behave better and grow up happier as compared to shuffling between one class to another.
Healthy cooking is also a lost art in this world of shrinking times - The amount of times we eat out and buy junk food has a direct impact on the child's health and habits. Engaging the child meaningfully during shopping healthy foods and spending time with them playing is often a neglected in favor of chauffeured trips to the grocery store. When i was a kid I often used to walk down to a grocery store, chat with people there, learn how to pick fresh veggies and carry it back. Same for milk and small purchases. As kids we used to have small chores like washing the veggies, putting them in the fridge, clean and wipe dry the wet dishes, hang out and pick up the clothes (we did not buy a 100% dryer and a dishwasher) on the terrace and water the plants. Kept us away from trouble occupied with meaningful physical activity. Today I hardly see kids helping out around the house.
Its ironic that Saturdays and Sundays are the likely days when we eat out most often instead of spending quality time with our kids cooking healthier food and engaging in meaningful physical activities.
Healthy cooking is also a lost art in this world of shrinking times - The amount of times we eat out and buy junk food has a direct impact on the child's health and habits. Engaging the child meaningfully during shopping healthy foods and spending time with them playing is often a neglected in favor of chauffeured trips to the grocery store. When i was a kid I often used to walk down to a grocery store, chat with people there, learn how to pick fresh veggies and carry it back. Same for milk and small purchases. As kids we used to have small chores like washing the veggies, putting them in the fridge, clean and wipe dry the wet dishes, hang out and pick up the clothes (we did not buy a 100% dryer and a dishwasher) on the terrace and water the plants. Kept us away from trouble occupied with meaningful physical activity. Today I hardly see kids helping out around the house.
Its ironic that Saturdays and Sundays are the likely days when we eat out most often instead of spending quality time with our kids cooking healthier food and engaging in meaningful physical activities.
5
My frugal mother only allowed what we needed in the house. No chips, no cookies, no sodas. Dessert maybe once per month, small and underwhelming. Cake on birthdays only, without icing. No eating out. We all were slim, and proud of our bodies; we never had anything to be ashamed of.
4
YES PARENTAL DENIAL IS REAL-----Yet this denial is Hurting your kids!
Raising overweight children does not imply that you are a bad parent, but it does mean that you need to make some better food decisions for your kids. Only you can ensure that your children grow up without excess weight and associated diseases afflicting their bodies.
Sure, change can initially be viewed as difficult, but please have no fear as your love will be your guide and the changes are moderate, tasty and inexpensive. Actually, all you really need to do is pay a bit more attention to what kind and how much food they are eating; while adding some physical activity into their daily routines, ensuring that their muscles develop adequately. The activity portion is easier than you think, as it could be digging a garden, mowing a neighbor’s lawn, shoveling snow or joining a YMCA or Recreation Center as a helper. Not all children are athletic, but they do make great helpers. Altering eating habits is easier than you may think too, as it doesn’t involve slaving away in the kitchen all day, or counting calories and nutrients. Instead it involves making fewer trips to fast food restaurants, ordering less take-out, serving fewer prepackaged foods, less sugar filled treats and beverages, and eliminating super- sized servings.
Raising overweight children does not imply that you are a bad parent, but it does mean that you need to make some better food decisions for your kids. Only you can ensure that your children grow up without excess weight and associated diseases afflicting their bodies.
Sure, change can initially be viewed as difficult, but please have no fear as your love will be your guide and the changes are moderate, tasty and inexpensive. Actually, all you really need to do is pay a bit more attention to what kind and how much food they are eating; while adding some physical activity into their daily routines, ensuring that their muscles develop adequately. The activity portion is easier than you think, as it could be digging a garden, mowing a neighbor’s lawn, shoveling snow or joining a YMCA or Recreation Center as a helper. Not all children are athletic, but they do make great helpers. Altering eating habits is easier than you may think too, as it doesn’t involve slaving away in the kitchen all day, or counting calories and nutrients. Instead it involves making fewer trips to fast food restaurants, ordering less take-out, serving fewer prepackaged foods, less sugar filled treats and beverages, and eliminating super- sized servings.
6
Eating just at mealtimes is important. Where in the world, other than the U.S., are people eating all day long? Even in the U.S. this constant eating is a relatively new phenomenon. If we sit down and eat three meals a day, and save sweet desserts for special occasions, we would go a long way to solving the obesity epidemic.
10
Agree. When I arrived in the US in the late seventies, eating while walking or driving was already quite common but still rather frowned upon. But at that time employees had still proper lunch hours and 9 to 5 jobs. Nowadays people are expected to be at their desks all day till late in the evening to do the work of three, constantly snacking out of frustration and stress.The general level of overwork, missguided ideas of academic achievements at the toddler stage, a surplus of screens to stare at and general cluelessness about cooking, has finally led to children with adult problems.
Portion control.
Over the course of my life, I have seen sandwiches go from one slice of meat (and occasionally a slice of cheese as well) to an inch or more of meat.
Restaurants advertise "all you can eat" pasta and shrimp in a creamy sauce.
On and on.
And I don't believe it IS more expensive to eat well. When was the last time the writer looked to see how much a bag of chips costs? You don't have to go to Whole Foods to buy actual potatoes you can microwave in 10 minutes.
Maybe we need to make all teenagers take cooking class in high school to learn how to make a meal from real ingredients and to teach appropriate portion sizes.
Over the course of my life, I have seen sandwiches go from one slice of meat (and occasionally a slice of cheese as well) to an inch or more of meat.
Restaurants advertise "all you can eat" pasta and shrimp in a creamy sauce.
On and on.
And I don't believe it IS more expensive to eat well. When was the last time the writer looked to see how much a bag of chips costs? You don't have to go to Whole Foods to buy actual potatoes you can microwave in 10 minutes.
Maybe we need to make all teenagers take cooking class in high school to learn how to make a meal from real ingredients and to teach appropriate portion sizes.
10
Seriously, what is obsession with cream sauce? I see cheesy cream sauces on so many menus!
2
This begs the question, though: why don't those large portions make us feel full?
It's loaded up with salt, fat and sugar. I read Dr. Kessler's book, and it's a real eye-opener.
2
I've noticed that there are far fewer skinny children and many more that are chubby or downright obese. I think that part of the problem is that today's children are driven places rather than being allowed to walk. Schools do not have recess the way they back in the dark ages of the 60s and 70s. We were able to wander away from adult supervision, play pick up games, spend time riding our bikes on the streets (I'm afraid to do that because of the drivers nowadays.), and there weren't snacks with every activity. We were allowed to be really hungry every so often. If I was moping around the house my parents would chase me out. "Go outside and play. If you can't find anything to do..." and I'd be gone, outside playing.
But there were fewer junk foods to eat. Soda wasn't an everyday item. Nor were we as rushed to eat and get back to work as we are now. My parents had time to cook a meal for us. I got home made dinners without extra salt or butter. We drank water at the dinner table. We didn't have food available at all times of the day and night. Now the only thing I really make sure to take with me when I'm out for awhile is water and some fruit. No chips, no snacks. And I exercise because I love to. But I grew up in a different time and place.
But there were fewer junk foods to eat. Soda wasn't an everyday item. Nor were we as rushed to eat and get back to work as we are now. My parents had time to cook a meal for us. I got home made dinners without extra salt or butter. We drank water at the dinner table. We didn't have food available at all times of the day and night. Now the only thing I really make sure to take with me when I'm out for awhile is water and some fruit. No chips, no snacks. And I exercise because I love to. But I grew up in a different time and place.
9
I grew up in the 50's - 60's with a morbidly obese mother and a weak, bullied father. We had no car and my school (which I walked to) did have recess/gym time. We also drank water - along with massive portions of potatoes, bread and desserts. My mother lived her life enveloped around food with inappropriate, unhealthy, lousy tasting choices and raised me in her image as a fat child. It wasn't the time period we lived in. It was her mental/emotional incompetence/dysfunction combined with her much needed willful ignorance. It was also the great love and intelligence of close relatives that gave me courage and insight in my mid-teens to overcome her issues and mine and lose weight, exercise and live a healthy lifestyle for the next 50 years - now with zero diabetes and heart disease.
8
On the other hand, there are parents who obsess about their children's weight to the extent that they nag, criticize, judge, humiliate in public and private their child's eating, weight, and looks. This leaves the child with lifelong issues of low self esteem, feeling "less than" and eating disorders.
24
Data please. What the data does tell us is that morbidly obese children are going to die younger and be sicker than those that aren't. Who buys the groceries.
4
Yes. When I found pictures from the time period when my mom talked my pediatrician into putting me on a diet, it was clear I was normal weight. I've often wondered how much damage restricting the food of a normal, 9-year-old girl did to her growing body's overall health. Plus, Mom had very weird food rules which we had to follow. Three cookies was a serving. When we went to McDonald's they bought 2 regular hamburgers and fries and a shake for everyone. I probably didn't need that much food, but I was required to clean my plate, despite her insistence that I was too fat and needed to lose weight. The inconsistencies made it extremely difficult and stressful, which I dealt with by eating. It was my only outlet as a kid. I did end up struggling with my weight, and succumbing to our family's tendency to develop Type 2 diabetes in late middle age or as seniors. I've often wondered if I'd been allowed to choose the amounts and types of food I ate, and to continue with the types of exercise I enjoyed, whether I'd have maintained normal weight into adulthood.
2
Exactly.
Thirty years ago I threw out my bathroom scale and vowed never to have one again. I was never obese but my mother and other relatives were so obsessed with weight that they would ask me again and again how much I weighed, asked hadn't I gained a few pounds since they last saw me, instructed me that I should weigh myself each time I stepped out of the shower, was I positive that I hadn't gained a pound or so since they saw me last week, etc. etc. etc. The anxiety level was very very high and subject seemed to trump all other subjects.
When my cousin was being treated for a terminal disease with steroids, the family said "Oh look at how much weight she's gained. That's why she's waring those drapey clothes" and then they'd discuss, soto voce, whether she had gained 15 or 20--no, no, its got to be at least 30--pounds. That was their focus, not love and support, when she was less than a year away from death.
Those are the reasons I threw away my scale. Thereafter, I had the satisfaction of saying "I don't know--I don't have a scale."
In my family this subject is a sickness. What we need is compassionate balance, it seems to me.
I am slender, by the way.
Mary
Thirty years ago I threw out my bathroom scale and vowed never to have one again. I was never obese but my mother and other relatives were so obsessed with weight that they would ask me again and again how much I weighed, asked hadn't I gained a few pounds since they last saw me, instructed me that I should weigh myself each time I stepped out of the shower, was I positive that I hadn't gained a pound or so since they saw me last week, etc. etc. etc. The anxiety level was very very high and subject seemed to trump all other subjects.
When my cousin was being treated for a terminal disease with steroids, the family said "Oh look at how much weight she's gained. That's why she's waring those drapey clothes" and then they'd discuss, soto voce, whether she had gained 15 or 20--no, no, its got to be at least 30--pounds. That was their focus, not love and support, when she was less than a year away from death.
Those are the reasons I threw away my scale. Thereafter, I had the satisfaction of saying "I don't know--I don't have a scale."
In my family this subject is a sickness. What we need is compassionate balance, it seems to me.
I am slender, by the way.
Mary
7
Tricky issue--for kids and adults.
While I don't recommend giving a child lots of junk food, and am concerned about the growing sizes of many of our young people, I also feel strongly that children should not be shamed for their bodies--size, fat, condition, "attractiveness", etc--and that families that do engage in shaming (which can be very subtle) and which do tightly control what and what not a kid "can" eat can also produce fat kids.
I took the approach with my family--and still do--that food is food. Some food is healthier than other food, and all foods--healthy or not--if eaten in large quantity can result in weight gain. I didn't attach moral or holier-than-thou attributes to certain foods or thinness or fatness. I fed my family reasonably healthy foods--while relaxing with the fact that they were living in the real world (I refused to "ban" white sugar, for example)--and let go.
I wanted, above all, to create a home where it was unlikely that a kid would either engage in large amounts of mindless snacking, as well as get mired in turning to food for solace.
They did fine, and grew into active, cute kids, and later, beautiful adults.
While I don't recommend giving a child lots of junk food, and am concerned about the growing sizes of many of our young people, I also feel strongly that children should not be shamed for their bodies--size, fat, condition, "attractiveness", etc--and that families that do engage in shaming (which can be very subtle) and which do tightly control what and what not a kid "can" eat can also produce fat kids.
I took the approach with my family--and still do--that food is food. Some food is healthier than other food, and all foods--healthy or not--if eaten in large quantity can result in weight gain. I didn't attach moral or holier-than-thou attributes to certain foods or thinness or fatness. I fed my family reasonably healthy foods--while relaxing with the fact that they were living in the real world (I refused to "ban" white sugar, for example)--and let go.
I wanted, above all, to create a home where it was unlikely that a kid would either engage in large amounts of mindless snacking, as well as get mired in turning to food for solace.
They did fine, and grew into active, cute kids, and later, beautiful adults.
8
Dr Kaufman repeats the frequent error that good food is expensive. Junk food. Processed food is expensive! Whole foods stores are good for suburbanites looking for specialities. Vegetables and raw ingredients are generally available but it takes a little motivation etc.
8
Fresh food is cheaper than junk food! It's myth that it costs more money. They have organic food in every grocery now, you don't have to shop at whole foods.
9
YES HE DOES!
BTW: I find it interesting that Neither He or Dr. Katz ever mention the negative impact of GMO food! Isn't it interesting that Child Obesity rates began to grow higher with the inception of GMO foods! YES THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION!
Could it be that the HGH hybrid into these foods can induce bigger bones and thicker skin in Children; hence raising their BMI ratings. Is it possible that when fed GMO formula and then GMO food can Induce Obesity in Children---absolutely! Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is what makes us all grow as children Yet when fed excess HGH daily then such would naturally institute excess growth of bones and skin and potentially bellies and Butts!
Yet I find it interesting that not one medical professional has ever tested studied the Correlation Between GMO food and Childhood Obesity!
BTW: I find it interesting that Neither He or Dr. Katz ever mention the negative impact of GMO food! Isn't it interesting that Child Obesity rates began to grow higher with the inception of GMO foods! YES THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION!
Could it be that the HGH hybrid into these foods can induce bigger bones and thicker skin in Children; hence raising their BMI ratings. Is it possible that when fed GMO formula and then GMO food can Induce Obesity in Children---absolutely! Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is what makes us all grow as children Yet when fed excess HGH daily then such would naturally institute excess growth of bones and skin and potentially bellies and Butts!
Yet I find it interesting that not one medical professional has ever tested studied the Correlation Between GMO food and Childhood Obesity!
3
'...Nourishing and nurturing children is often the same...'
Only if you are actually nourishing the child.
'...“Eating healthy costs more,” said Dr. Kaufman...“It’s harder for someone with a fixed income who relies on school lunches than someone who can get the kid a personal trainer and buy their groceries at Whole Foods.”...
There is a huge range between these two extremes, no matter how many people want to pretend it is either/or.
Only if you are actually nourishing the child.
'...“Eating healthy costs more,” said Dr. Kaufman...“It’s harder for someone with a fixed income who relies on school lunches than someone who can get the kid a personal trainer and buy their groceries at Whole Foods.”...
There is a huge range between these two extremes, no matter how many people want to pretend it is either/or.
7
It is hardly news that having bad parents is the primary cause of children having difficult and miserable lives.
Feeding your children so much food that they become obese has nothing to do with love and everything to do with the parents pushing their disturbed behavior on to their children.
Despicable.
Feeding your children so much food that they become obese has nothing to do with love and everything to do with the parents pushing their disturbed behavior on to their children.
Despicable.
9
Oh Lord. Bravo to most of the contributors. Childhood obesity is an epidemic, or maybe a pandemic. Who profits from that? It's everyone's responsibility: parents, schools, medical people, us as a nation, Big Sugar, Big Supermarket, Big Pharma, etc.
If I use my own history as an example, I'd vote for family dysfunction as the root cause of early emotional eating. I can't remember a time when I didn't sneak food, eat in secret, ignore my body's 'I'm full' signals. I got conflicting messages from my parents about whether or not I was fat. Consequently I never knew when I was or wasn't. Family dysfunction results in kids' feeling bad about themselves. Who wants to feel bad? So you look for ways to comfort yourself. They don't call it 'comfort food' for nothing!
I remain awed that, although I still struggle with weight issues, my adult children do not. None of them is overweight--ok, my developmentally disabled 35-year-old son is growing a pot belly. But he, like his brother and sister, does not use food as a drug. They all eat like normal people. They stop eating when they have had enough. They don't eat in secret. They don't eat at night. I don't know how that happened, except that I tried hard not to make food a battlefield, controlling their decisions. I think that may have helped. Wish I could do it for myself.
If I use my own history as an example, I'd vote for family dysfunction as the root cause of early emotional eating. I can't remember a time when I didn't sneak food, eat in secret, ignore my body's 'I'm full' signals. I got conflicting messages from my parents about whether or not I was fat. Consequently I never knew when I was or wasn't. Family dysfunction results in kids' feeling bad about themselves. Who wants to feel bad? So you look for ways to comfort yourself. They don't call it 'comfort food' for nothing!
I remain awed that, although I still struggle with weight issues, my adult children do not. None of them is overweight--ok, my developmentally disabled 35-year-old son is growing a pot belly. But he, like his brother and sister, does not use food as a drug. They all eat like normal people. They stop eating when they have had enough. They don't eat in secret. They don't eat at night. I don't know how that happened, except that I tried hard not to make food a battlefield, controlling their decisions. I think that may have helped. Wish I could do it for myself.
35
A good part of this is a result of the unhealthy industrial diet that Americans are convinced to eat by relentless advertising. The net result is that mult-nationals are killing our children to maximize profits and enhance shareholder value. Another part is the screen based sedentary lifestyle that many kids follow, again encouraged by relentless advertising.
4
why single out hispanics, with the abuela comment? latin americans are not the only immigrants who come from places where starvation is a reality. i was really shocked to read that.
4
In my family, on both sides, we got lots of pressure to eat. If you were skinny it was not seen as healthy. This is all central european/eastern european, but a long time ago. Let's face it, before modern medicine it was likely that you would die if you got sick and being on the point of starvation didn't help much! I think it's common to all ethnic groups, isn't it?
4
I agree! It's not just immigrants either - I know white Midwesterners, whose families have been in the states for at least 4 generations, with the same attitudes.
This is such a sensitive subject. I had a close friend who has a daughter the same age as mine. This friend has struggled with her weight for most of her life, but finally bought into the 'Fat Acceptance' movement, and seems to be happy with herself as a 'BBW' (big beautiful woman). I think that many in our society now don't see a problem with being large, and embrace the 'big (or 'thick' is beautiful) mantra. However, this friend's daughter has also grown up to be chunky, and it's heartbreaking to watch. Although some of her build is genetic, the mom does not seem to have taught her daughter about healthy eating at all. They seem to have gone to far in the name of 'acceptance'. I struggled with whether I had any right to point out the obvious, and finally decided that it wasn't my place to do so. What I did do was to encourage healthy eating and plenty of activity during play dates. I don't think 'shaming' works, and I agree with the idea of accepting others in a loving way, but this had a negative impact on a longtime friendship.
10
and this "acceptance" will lead to bewilderment and then belligerance when faced with the obesity related killers, as in not my fault and I will not change my lifestyle
1
So many of the comments here recommend more exercise for kids, but the big article published in the NY Times "Upshot" column the other day explained how research shows our excessive food intake is responsible for obesity, not our lack of exercise. this has been my experience, too - both for myself and my kids. My kids don't drink anything except water (humans don't need cow milk!) except for a rare treat of juice. We keep no sweets in the house, but have a small treat a couple times a week out of the house. I serve plenty of fruit and vegetables, but my kids still eat a lot of the "kid food" that they prefer -pizza, mac n cheese, chicken nuggets --- but they are thin, because they don't drink caloric beverages and we have set snack times, not constant snacking all day.
As for the comment saying kids need to walk to school - where I live, kids are not allowed to go anywhere by themselves until age 12.
As for the comment saying kids need to walk to school - where I live, kids are not allowed to go anywhere by themselves until age 12.
2
Whole milk is not a problem for kids, sugar is.
6
Drinking whole milk all day adds a lot of calories to the daily intake of a small child. It's not necessary.
2
"It’s harder for someone with a fixed income who relies on school lunches than someone who can get the kid a personal trainer and buy their groceries at Whole Foods.”
Way to achieve buy-in, Dr. Katz. It's entirely possible to eat healthfully on a budget, shopping at plain ol' grocery stores and supermarkets, as long as they have decent produce sections and offer a reasonable selection of whole grains. It's also entirely possible to shop exclusively at Whole Foods and be morbidly obese. My nearest Whole Foods is the "mothership" in Austin -- the one with the chocolate fountain, house-made gelato, and the food court with a BBQ stand and a pizza counter.
Way to achieve buy-in, Dr. Katz. It's entirely possible to eat healthfully on a budget, shopping at plain ol' grocery stores and supermarkets, as long as they have decent produce sections and offer a reasonable selection of whole grains. It's also entirely possible to shop exclusively at Whole Foods and be morbidly obese. My nearest Whole Foods is the "mothership" in Austin -- the one with the chocolate fountain, house-made gelato, and the food court with a BBQ stand and a pizza counter.
46
Kaufman
I too took issue with that statement. Indeed, Whole Foods is not interested in health any more than McDonald's is. Why no one notes that a vegan diet would work (and save a lot of money) in most of these children's cases is also, sadly, telling.
One factor is that Docs get no points these days by antagonizing mothers with fat kids pointing out the truth.
Another is the cult of breakfast that has developed in Western countries. There is NO physiologic reason for a morning meal, and it reinforces the false belief that the stomach is like a gas tank on a car- it should always be filled.
Overeating in the vast majority of people- kids included- is learned behavior.
I suggest reading Dewey's "The No Breakfast Plan" and Hagan's "Breakfast: The Least Important Meal of the Day."
Another is the cult of breakfast that has developed in Western countries. There is NO physiologic reason for a morning meal, and it reinforces the false belief that the stomach is like a gas tank on a car- it should always be filled.
Overeating in the vast majority of people- kids included- is learned behavior.
I suggest reading Dewey's "The No Breakfast Plan" and Hagan's "Breakfast: The Least Important Meal of the Day."
3
For many years, the message published repeatedly by media was that obesity is a genetic condition; the subtext clearly was "it's not your fault". Fat Acceptance has been urged as a social justice issue. Never mind the solid evidence to the contrary, such as school class photos from one generation ago, without a single over weight child. Genetics doesn't change in a single generation. But personal responsibility seemed anathema to the world view of a liberal thinker. I guess they preferred the 'not your fault' narrative enough to ignore a stealth genocide.
11
I am absolutely appalled at this statement: “Eating healthy costs more,” said Dr. Kaufman, the author of “Diabesity.” “It’s harder for someone with a fixed income who relies on school lunches than someone who can get the kid a personal trainer and buy their groceries at Whole Foods.”
There is absolutely no reason to believe that to eat well, one has to shop at a very high-priced market. Granted, one can't be adequate fresh foods at a convenience store, and this can be the most available food source for some populations. But most people can shop at a reasonably priced grocery store. They do have to do the work of learning how to cook and eat differently. But with smart shopping, there is no reason that healthy cooking has to cost more. In fact, it can COST LESS than all the processed, prepared foods that pack on the weight and cause metabolic problems because of too much salt and sugar. Shame on Kaufman for perpetuating this dangerous myth.
There is absolutely no reason to believe that to eat well, one has to shop at a very high-priced market. Granted, one can't be adequate fresh foods at a convenience store, and this can be the most available food source for some populations. But most people can shop at a reasonably priced grocery store. They do have to do the work of learning how to cook and eat differently. But with smart shopping, there is no reason that healthy cooking has to cost more. In fact, it can COST LESS than all the processed, prepared foods that pack on the weight and cause metabolic problems because of too much salt and sugar. Shame on Kaufman for perpetuating this dangerous myth.
7
Exactly! One does not have to shop at Whole foods toe at Healthfully Such is a matter of choice.
For Instance: A bag of chicken nuggets runs what $6-$7 yet you are not paying for the food but for the packaging the chemicals within and the ADS but the food within is the last thing you pay for and it only costs Pennies to the manufacturer. Yet if you were to buy some plain old chicken breasts and then toast some whole wheat or whole grain bread and then smash or grind it up into crumbs and use maybe an egg or 2 and some milk or buttermilk----you ultimately get more nuggets then are in that prepackaged luring pretty bag. And Hey you won't be buying their adds or chemicals and WOW you can freeze your own and Hence heat them up for a quick meal.
Some parents say that they don't have time to Cook meals and snacks----but hey you had time to have your KIDS, so Make the Time to raise them healthfully. BTW: homemade gets made and remembered for generation, Prepackaged and FF just goes tot he Gut!
For Instance: A bag of chicken nuggets runs what $6-$7 yet you are not paying for the food but for the packaging the chemicals within and the ADS but the food within is the last thing you pay for and it only costs Pennies to the manufacturer. Yet if you were to buy some plain old chicken breasts and then toast some whole wheat or whole grain bread and then smash or grind it up into crumbs and use maybe an egg or 2 and some milk or buttermilk----you ultimately get more nuggets then are in that prepackaged luring pretty bag. And Hey you won't be buying their adds or chemicals and WOW you can freeze your own and Hence heat them up for a quick meal.
Some parents say that they don't have time to Cook meals and snacks----but hey you had time to have your KIDS, so Make the Time to raise them healthfully. BTW: homemade gets made and remembered for generation, Prepackaged and FF just goes tot he Gut!
2
So an article about parental denial producing a torrent of responders denying the problem is their fault and people should stop judging. If it wasn't so sad it would be a Monte Python routine. Combine this with recent studies showing at least 30% of obese children will have fatty liver disease by the time they reach their 20's. Denial is a disease, and co-morbid with obesity.
5
The study concerns only 2-5 year old children and their parents. It asks about overweight-ness of children -- it lumps all "overweight" children into one basket (as if there really were medically determined "proper" weights for children at those ages).
How many readers here have access to pictures of themselves at that age? How many you were plump to chubby, with round little faces and big big smiles? How have you turned out as an adult? Skinny? Medium? Heavy? Now looking markedly middle-aged?
How many you were skinny little string beans, with skinny little faces and big big smiles? How have you turned out as an adult? Skinny? Medium? Heavy? Now looking markedly middle-aged?
How many of you have childhood friends who were string-beans then and are overweight to obese now? How many of you have childhood friends who were overweight to obese ("chubby" they were called in my neighborhood) then and are slim to middle-aged shaped now?
The study mentioned did not actually study what the article says it studied -- and the conclusions drawn, I do not believe are valid.
Parenting is a complex and extremely important job -- and body weight of 2-5 year-olds is probably the least important of all the things a parent needs to consider. Happiness, health, learning to speak, to read, to get along with others, learning right and wrong, social and religious values to be instilled -- worrying about body shape and weight -- not so much.
How many readers here have access to pictures of themselves at that age? How many you were plump to chubby, with round little faces and big big smiles? How have you turned out as an adult? Skinny? Medium? Heavy? Now looking markedly middle-aged?
How many you were skinny little string beans, with skinny little faces and big big smiles? How have you turned out as an adult? Skinny? Medium? Heavy? Now looking markedly middle-aged?
How many of you have childhood friends who were string-beans then and are overweight to obese now? How many of you have childhood friends who were overweight to obese ("chubby" they were called in my neighborhood) then and are slim to middle-aged shaped now?
The study mentioned did not actually study what the article says it studied -- and the conclusions drawn, I do not believe are valid.
Parenting is a complex and extremely important job -- and body weight of 2-5 year-olds is probably the least important of all the things a parent needs to consider. Happiness, health, learning to speak, to read, to get along with others, learning right and wrong, social and religious values to be instilled -- worrying about body shape and weight -- not so much.
3
So wrong!! It concerns the child's HEALTH, how you can justify ignoring this component of raising your child is beyond me.
Eating better is cheaper than eating expensive,processed junk food.How about charging parents a fee,that drop off and pick up their lazy kids at school every day.I got myself to school,by walking or riding a bike,from the age of kindergarten.I didn't live next door to the school,either.All this unnecessary chaufering creates a lot more road traffic,making riding my bike,near these schools, more dangerous.Makes the kids lazy and overweight.
3
Many schools do not allow children to walk or ride their bikes. I had to ride my bike with my son in the 5th grade everyday and pick him up for 'safety' reasons. The following year in middle school they were allowed to walk or ride by themselves. It was literally a 20 minute walk to the elementary school.
"“Eating healthy costs more...“It’s harder for someone with a fixed income who relies on school lunches than someone who can get the kid a personal trainer and buy their groceries at Whole Foods.”
Nonsense. You can buy all the beans, fruits and vegetables for a healthy diet cheaper at any Safeway. And unhealthy prepared foods, soda and cookies cost a lot, too. But to eat well, you do have to work more by actually cooking.
Nonsense. You can buy all the beans, fruits and vegetables for a healthy diet cheaper at any Safeway. And unhealthy prepared foods, soda and cookies cost a lot, too. But to eat well, you do have to work more by actually cooking.
12
It isn't just the oblivious to their children's weight that is a mark of today's parents and their overweight children. They are oblivious to their children's behaviors as well. Many times it is due to the nature of our busy lives but I suspect that Ms. Savoye has hit the nail on the head when she remarks that it is just easier (in the short run) to ignore the difficult things and hope that they resolve themselves. I can understand that once the weight is on, and someone is obese, it is remarkably difficult to fix those metabolic changes and become slimmer again. But it really makes me angry when I see overweight children. Don't these parents realize that they have now allowed an alteration to their child's metabolism such that it will present their children with a life-long struggle? It is akin to smoking around a baby, letting them eat lead paint chips and playing tag on a highway.
8
Certainly much of the blame can be laid at the feet of the parents, and the doctors who fail to advise them bluntly about what needs to be done. But there is also another part of the story that is not mentioned here - Big Ag and High Fructose Corn Syrup. HFCS is a sweetener made from corn. It is not inherently any worse nutritionally than cane sugar; the problem is that it is CHEAP. Because of the level of government subsidization of large-scale corn production (thanks to corporate agriculture, or Big Ag), HFCS can be made at a small fraction of the cost of cane sugar. This makes it possible for food processors to add it to literally EVERYTHING, without adding to the cost of the product. As a result, almost everything you eat (and more importantly, everything your child eats - starting with his very first taste of baby food) has been sweetened. Which turns into a constant craving for more sweetness. And because it is hidden (unless you read all ingredient labeling), most people don't even realize it. Sure, you expect candy or cake to be sweet. And most people would realize that cereals like Frosted Flakes or Count Choc-u-la contain sugar. But how many expect a hamburger and fries to be loaded with sugar? Guess what - they are. Ordering a diet soda with your Big Mac is futile - you are still getting your sugar high from the burger itself.
Bottom line - the obesity epidemic is being fueled by our tax dollars. That's where the fix needs to start.
Bottom line - the obesity epidemic is being fueled by our tax dollars. That's where the fix needs to start.
14
Only if you buy processed food. It's not in the fruits and vegetables you eat, or the meat.
Make a hamburger from scratch, skip the fries!
It's not very hard at all to avoid HFCS.
Make a hamburger from scratch, skip the fries!
It's not very hard at all to avoid HFCS.
6
No, the fiX needs to start in the home. If people don't buy it, companies won't make it. Also, you forgot to mention one reason why companies went to HFCS, the artificial price support for sugar. No one is forced to eat processed food and there is no basis to go after the food companies instead of the people who eat themselves. I don't need the government to help me eat right.
2
And the majority of ALL Our Corn IS GMO/Hybrid with Poisons and HGH!
Schools complain about the cost of football and the other team sports or worse eliminate them. I keep thinking how far a few soccer balls, a cross country team or even aerobics in the winter for ALL the students would go toward addressing the weight issue. You need to teach kids how to incorporate exercise into a sitting lifestyle.
What to do with the kids who are so overweight they cannot easily exercise I don't know. Fallen arches, knees damaged, thighs to heavy to lift, zero muscle tone at 14.
What to do with the kids who are so overweight they cannot easily exercise I don't know. Fallen arches, knees damaged, thighs to heavy to lift, zero muscle tone at 14.
2
Schools usually like football because it is a revenue sport.
The data and research tells us that exercise isn't going to do it. One coke and a cookie wipes out recess and PE calories burned.
This has to start with food at home and should include food at school.
The data and research tells us that exercise isn't going to do it. One coke and a cookie wipes out recess and PE calories burned.
This has to start with food at home and should include food at school.
3
Swimming and water aerobics are excellent for anyone of any age who has knee or back problems. These are used regularly to help elderly or disabled people exercise.
1
If you have a child who is overweight, PLEASE do NOT put him/her on a diet! It will only backfire. Make lentil burgers instead of hamburgers, make fries with olive oil, have eggs for breakfast instead of cereal. Look for recipes with beans, brown rice, veggies, quinoa, tofu etc...My son was overweight for a long time. He had been on Depakote for a seizure disorder and his appetite was out of control. I didn't want food to become something I controlled so I did my best to let it go. I made simple changes like making him eggs for breakfast (in the microwave). That ALONE made a HUGE difference! I'm not an egg lover but it really worked. I make Indian dishes, like yellow lentil dal (using olive oil) and make veggie burgers out of them by adding more brown rice, an egg and some Italian bread crumbs. I cook them in olive oil. They freeze well so it's easy to pull out a "burger" when you need one. My son loves anything I make into a burger. It works with sweet potatoes and black beans and may other things. He even asks if he can have them for breakfast sometimes! The key is not to make food the enemy and not to be overly restrictive. Don't leave out bags of chips or candy. Put a portion in a small bowl. He's learned the "everything in moderation" mantra and I think it will help him throughout his life. It's easy to lose weight on a diet and it's even easier to put it (and more) back on! It's a slippery slope, so don't be a control freak. Lead by example.
83
WHY LENTIL BURGERS---But I do agree do not Put them On a Diet Make better more healthful choices at Home!
This is such crap. Allowing a healthy child to become obese is - and should be classified as child abuse, period. Parents who fail that responsibility are sentencing their kids to a life of exclusion and debilitating health problems that will most likely lead to an early and painful death. If that doesn't qualify as child abuse, I don't know what does. Parents should be held liable by the state for it, if for no other reason than the fact that the burden of the social and medical costs will in most cases, be borne by the state and its taxpayers.
And don't forget that in the cascading fallout, there's big business too. The AMA, against the recommendation of its own panel, declared Obesity a "Disease." That not only gives parents little reason to take control, it arms the medical profession, in bed with big pharma, to start prescribing pills, and bariatric surgery for children; another step in America's cleansing of the word, "responsibility" from our language and our culture.
And don't forget that in the cascading fallout, there's big business too. The AMA, against the recommendation of its own panel, declared Obesity a "Disease." That not only gives parents little reason to take control, it arms the medical profession, in bed with big pharma, to start prescribing pills, and bariatric surgery for children; another step in America's cleansing of the word, "responsibility" from our language and our culture.
8
I seen kids that had all their teeth full of cavities and that's not even considered child abuse.
1
I wonder if you have kids with this problem. Your take no prisoners approach sounds good and may make you feel good, but this is a complex, not simple, problem to us who are intimately engaged with it on the ground. It is not only about personal responsibility but includes genetics and the importance of maintaining healthy family relationships.
1
On the one hand there are articles like this one, blaming the parents for not policing what their kids eat, even when they cook healthy meals. On the other hand there are studies showing how parental and societal pressure on vulnerable tweens and teens contributes to disordered eating. I have fraternal twin sons who are tweens. One is 50 pounds heavier than the other. One eats like a sparrow, the other like a full-grown football player. Harping the latter's weight brings him to tears. I rather he be a bit heavy but happy with his body and not fall into depression or anorexia/bulemia.
6
People are all different. I have two siblings; the three of us grew up in the same home only a few years apart. We were fed identically (and for what it matters, we were all breast fed babies). Yet I am normal weight -- and one sibling is very slender, even skinny -- and the other is morbidly obese.
Why? who knows? Genes play a role -- our mother was morbidly obese -- but our father was normal weight. People have different appetites and metabolize food differently.
In any large population, some people will fall into the bell curve at the low point, the high point and the midpoint. If being thin is normal, so is being fat for some people.
Concentrate on loving your son, and helping him optimize his life -- being the happiest and most productive person he can be. His weight is not the most important thing in his life.
Why? who knows? Genes play a role -- our mother was morbidly obese -- but our father was normal weight. People have different appetites and metabolize food differently.
In any large population, some people will fall into the bell curve at the low point, the high point and the midpoint. If being thin is normal, so is being fat for some people.
Concentrate on loving your son, and helping him optimize his life -- being the happiest and most productive person he can be. His weight is not the most important thing in his life.
We buy and eat way too much food. Most it of prepackaged.
To feed four children my Mom had a very minimal budget. There were no store bought chips, cookies or hot pockets. That stuff was too expensive. We had homemade everything, not because we didn't beg for Chips A'hoy but they were too expensive. She could make cookies a lot cheaper.
Oh, we had to play out side. Not because we didn't want to play inside, but we drove our Mom crazy and she made us play out side.
To feed four children my Mom had a very minimal budget. There were no store bought chips, cookies or hot pockets. That stuff was too expensive. We had homemade everything, not because we didn't beg for Chips A'hoy but they were too expensive. She could make cookies a lot cheaper.
Oh, we had to play out side. Not because we didn't want to play inside, but we drove our Mom crazy and she made us play out side.
11
Except that now its cheaper to eat chips ahoy, the HCFS is so highly subsidized, unless one is buying in extreme bulk the store bought cheap goods are cheaper than making them from scratch. And who has the time to make their own bread?
it is one of the most dongereus problems we face. as a father or mother of a innocent children we must guide and protect them. to protect them we shouldn't allow unhealthy foods to go in our home. to walk and let them play outside are 2 easy ways
4
Research has shown that breast-fed infants are introduced to flavors through breast milk, and are less likely to be obese at age 3, and more likely to eat fruits and vegetables and drink water, than infants fed the same-tasting formula day after day.
6
Breastfeeding is now a mark of social class in the US. Educated women breastfeed and then go on to feed their children healthy meals.
My mom told me that, in the 60s, only poor women breastfed.
My mom told me that, in the 60s, only poor women breastfed.
2
I breast fed both of my kids for a year. My son is adventurous and will try anything. My daughter is picky in the extreme and refuses not only vegetables but also fruit, although she is not overweight. I fully support breastfeeding and educating expecting moms about the benefits and challenges that accompany breastfeeding, but it's certainly no guarantee of future food habits.
4
Breastfeeding is not a panacea. It is the family practice that counts. Since most people who breastfeed are upper middle class then you would eXpect to find those outcomes. I did not like breast feeding and went to formula quickly. I have 3 kids, all of whom eat differently. The one that was breastfed the longest is the worst eater, picky her whole life and also some food allergies. People need to eat right their whole lives, not just in the beginning.
1
Processed foods loaded with corn syrup sugar, advertised on television non-stop, depicting joyous, middle class lifestyles of parents and children. One must eat processed foods to save time and ultimately participate in the, "Great American Dream."
Video games requiring little physical activity, often accompanied by snack foods and high sugar content processed drinks.
Processed snack foods given to children as rewards for good behavior.
Neighborhoods wherein there are no areas for children to play due to parental concerns of crimes against children, traffic, and absence of areas where open greenery exist for children to play together.
Parents who eat excessively as distraction from personal worries and emotional uncertainties, thereby teaching their children to eat excessively. How many children have you heard relate, when they make fun of me, I want to eat more.
Parents working two and three part-time jobs, unable to provide what professionals recommend as time and environment necessary for good child development.
School lunch programs offering processed foods as dictated by low-end governmental finance and poor health standards for children.
Supermarkets stocking unhealthy, professionally marketed food products at children's and parent's quick grab and go shelving levels.
Social gatherings of traditional foods heavy in fats and sugars when we no longer need calories historically required to achieve routine and heavy physical labor in our day to day work activities.
Video games requiring little physical activity, often accompanied by snack foods and high sugar content processed drinks.
Processed snack foods given to children as rewards for good behavior.
Neighborhoods wherein there are no areas for children to play due to parental concerns of crimes against children, traffic, and absence of areas where open greenery exist for children to play together.
Parents who eat excessively as distraction from personal worries and emotional uncertainties, thereby teaching their children to eat excessively. How many children have you heard relate, when they make fun of me, I want to eat more.
Parents working two and three part-time jobs, unable to provide what professionals recommend as time and environment necessary for good child development.
School lunch programs offering processed foods as dictated by low-end governmental finance and poor health standards for children.
Supermarkets stocking unhealthy, professionally marketed food products at children's and parent's quick grab and go shelving levels.
Social gatherings of traditional foods heavy in fats and sugars when we no longer need calories historically required to achieve routine and heavy physical labor in our day to day work activities.
5
A few years ago, my 6 year old was hospitalised. Whilst he was in hospital, my son-in law heard the doctors discussing him. They were concerned that he was malnourished, as he was so skinny! However, they weighed and measured him and discovered that he was exactly the right weight for his age and height. They remarked that they saw so many heavier children that it had distorted their perception. This is in the UK, so it is not solely a US problem!
16
It's interesting how perception changes over time. When I was a kid in the 1980s watching reruns of the sitcom WKRP, I thought one of the characters, Mr. Carlson, was very fat. I saw an episode a couple of years ago and thought he just had a bit of a belly.
2
Spot an obese person in the grocery store. Look in their cart to see what they are buying.
Solution found.
The obese, I've observed, buy lots of "products." "Foods" from factories, load with cheap commodity grains and fats. Lots of soda, amazingly, often not even diet types. Very little "real" foods, whether meats or vegetables. Buy most of your foods from the perimeter of the store, keep purchases to a minimum from the aisles in the center.
There, problem solved. (Of course it doesn't help that "food stamps" will pay for crackers, sugary cereal, chips and soda. The very demographic that is often obese, poor, and not well informed.)
Solution found.
The obese, I've observed, buy lots of "products." "Foods" from factories, load with cheap commodity grains and fats. Lots of soda, amazingly, often not even diet types. Very little "real" foods, whether meats or vegetables. Buy most of your foods from the perimeter of the store, keep purchases to a minimum from the aisles in the center.
There, problem solved. (Of course it doesn't help that "food stamps" will pay for crackers, sugary cereal, chips and soda. The very demographic that is often obese, poor, and not well informed.)
5
I seem to remember a family physician was disciplined by his state medical board because a patient complained when, after repeated efforts to motivate this woman to address her weight issue, he described her as "too fat". She reported him.
Despite this I once felt I had to address this. An already obese child below ten years of age had gained 15 lbs in 3 months! When I brought this up with mom and grandmom, I heard "We can't fix it, it is in her genes.". Yes, both obese. Denial as well as obesity is a familial trait.
Despite this I once felt I had to address this. An already obese child below ten years of age had gained 15 lbs in 3 months! When I brought this up with mom and grandmom, I heard "We can't fix it, it is in her genes.". Yes, both obese. Denial as well as obesity is a familial trait.
11
I don't believe that parents don't know that their overweight kids are obese. I don't care what studies say. Common sense says that's not true. Parents may not want to confide in the person directing the study or they may be asked in the presence of their kids, or they may be afraid that, if their kid is obese, they won't get paid for their participation in the study. But they know. How could they not?
19
I have a friend who is very well educated and her husband is a doctor. Their child is overweight and they don't seem to notice it. They say things like "all little kids have round bellies" -- which is true at age two but not anymore at age 5. The parents are healthy weights, yet they feed the child lots of carbs, treats, juice, and they allow the child to get their own snacks at any time of the day, so lots of overeating.
They are in denial.
They are in denial.
2
YOU may not believe it, but perception is everything. This is just a very mild form of what some of my eating disorder patients would display when, at 5'9" and 110lbs, they would look in the mirror and still see overweight. Common sense says that know one would engage in an activity that they know is killing them, but many people continue to smoke for years even though they acknowledge the deleterious effects of smoking.
Who wants to tell their best friend he or she is obese? The new parent/ child dynamic makes it so much harder these days.
Parental supervision in the eating habits of their children is a must. At least until they are self-aware enough, and understand sufficiently, to know what they want (to eat). Now this doesn't mean the parents should be "helicoptering" over every single morsel the kid puts in his/her mouth. No, far from it.
It's more just to recognize that he/she (as a parent) leads best by way of example. I recognize that therein lies "the rub," as this entails the parents being cognizant of themselves sufficiently to know how (and what) to eat as well. It takes discipline to inculcate proper eating habits in yourself and your children. If you do not have it as a parent it will be hands down tough doing it with children. But it IS possible.
And to my mind this doesn't involve denying the possibility of eating one thing over another. It's more about moderation in all things, with an emphasis on the healthy. Why nibble a cookie when an apple will do? Or a handful of nuts? Why drink liquid candy (my term to my children regarding soda) when water will suffice to quench thirst? Inculcating proper respect, food-wise, in the small things goes far in insuring healthy (food) lifestyles overall.
Just some thoughts.
John~
American Net'Zen
It's more just to recognize that he/she (as a parent) leads best by way of example. I recognize that therein lies "the rub," as this entails the parents being cognizant of themselves sufficiently to know how (and what) to eat as well. It takes discipline to inculcate proper eating habits in yourself and your children. If you do not have it as a parent it will be hands down tough doing it with children. But it IS possible.
And to my mind this doesn't involve denying the possibility of eating one thing over another. It's more about moderation in all things, with an emphasis on the healthy. Why nibble a cookie when an apple will do? Or a handful of nuts? Why drink liquid candy (my term to my children regarding soda) when water will suffice to quench thirst? Inculcating proper respect, food-wise, in the small things goes far in insuring healthy (food) lifestyles overall.
Just some thoughts.
John~
American Net'Zen
3
We do everything right: parents are healthy weight (even skinny), no TV in house, limited screen time, activity every day, regular snack and mealtimes, no junk (pop or juice or chips, etc) in house, limited treats / appropriate kid-sized dessert portions. I don't restrict treats at parties. We shop at Whole Foods or similar. We drink only water and organic milk. Yet one of my children is medically obese. It pains me greatly as the teasing has started. No underlying medical condition was found. I'm at a loss. Are there others in our situation? Yes, some parents may be in denial. I am not. But even having full knowledge of the situation does not make it easy to solve.
71
A lot of the fatty haters here -- and god knows, any article like this brings them out in DROVES -- simply do not understand this. They want to believe it's all "bad fat people" shoveling cookies or soda pop in their face.
Virtually every bigotry today is socially unacceptable and condemned EXCEPT hating on fat people. That is still A-OK.
Like you, I know fat people who are vegans. I know fat people who have been on carefully managed diets FOR YEARS and who do NOT cheat, but cannot lose the weight. I know people who have tried diet after diet, even had gastric surgery or had their jaws wired shut -- and they are still fat.
Humans are a very varied group. Some of us are naturally thin. Some are average. Some are naturally fat. There is NO scientific, medical way to make a fat person thin (excepting gastric surgery and even that does not work 100% of the time). DIETS DO NOT WORK.
Once someone IS fat, there is no practical way to make them thin. SO you either accept them as a fellow human being -- with feelings and emotions, hopes & dreams -- or you denigrate and humiliate them, because they don't look attractive to you.
Virtually every bigotry today is socially unacceptable and condemned EXCEPT hating on fat people. That is still A-OK.
Like you, I know fat people who are vegans. I know fat people who have been on carefully managed diets FOR YEARS and who do NOT cheat, but cannot lose the weight. I know people who have tried diet after diet, even had gastric surgery or had their jaws wired shut -- and they are still fat.
Humans are a very varied group. Some of us are naturally thin. Some are average. Some are naturally fat. There is NO scientific, medical way to make a fat person thin (excepting gastric surgery and even that does not work 100% of the time). DIETS DO NOT WORK.
Once someone IS fat, there is no practical way to make them thin. SO you either accept them as a fellow human being -- with feelings and emotions, hopes & dreams -- or you denigrate and humiliate them, because they don't look attractive to you.
2
Janet, I have no solution for you, but I hear you and wish you the best. Obviously your son's problem is not of the low hanging fruit variety, and there is a likely inborn metabolic component we cannot currently appreciate. Try to do your best, and resolve to be kind to yourself above all. Best wishes.
1
This is what works for kids and adults:
Cut out the milk and juice - it's just extra calories. Let them drink calorie free seltzer for a treat, but otherwise just water.
At every meal, serve vegetables (crudites or a healthy salad, watch out for dressing) or a healthy (not cream based) soup first before the meal. That way you fill up on low calorie things first, and eat less of the higher calorie foods. Make dinner a protein plus 1 or 2 veg - drop the carbs.
Only fruit and vegetables and protein for snacks - no crackers or other carbs.
Pack the lunch so you can be sure it's healthy.
Cut out the milk and juice - it's just extra calories. Let them drink calorie free seltzer for a treat, but otherwise just water.
At every meal, serve vegetables (crudites or a healthy salad, watch out for dressing) or a healthy (not cream based) soup first before the meal. That way you fill up on low calorie things first, and eat less of the higher calorie foods. Make dinner a protein plus 1 or 2 veg - drop the carbs.
Only fruit and vegetables and protein for snacks - no crackers or other carbs.
Pack the lunch so you can be sure it's healthy.
2
In my family growing up, my mom and younger brother eternally with their weight, while my dad and I rarely did. This caused a huge source of pain within the family that still lingers today. My brother was very sick as a baby (persistent vomiting due to malfunctioning sphincter muscles for years), and eating, from the beginning for him, was a traumatic experience. When I was a baby, I ate solid foods very early and would try anything and everything, with gusto. My parents were at a loss with my brother since he was so different from me. They couldn't understand why he absolutely refused to try new foods, and had such a limited palette. We used to try everything to get him to eat vegetables or try a new food. We all felt his pain of being overweight. Of course now looking back it is very clear. My brother still struggles with his weight today, something he rarely talks about. It triggers my mom's memories of being an overweight child in the 1960s and all the bullying that went along with (that my brother also suffered through - although now he is a brilliant young doctor). I don't know what the solution is but what I can say after my experience and having 20+ yrs hindsight, is that eating/weight are hugely emotional topics that need to be dealt with holistically because it can unearth many painful memories for an entire family. This is not easy. Everyone has to commit. It can never be just about one person. That is something looking back I wish we had done for my brother.
6
Perhaps it is just another symptom of family dysfunction. Weight, appearance, habits, personality are all part of one's persona that may be hot buttons to push in families. In my family I was either too fat or too thin according to my critical mother. Too fat was 5'9" 135 pounds and too thin was 5'9" and 122 pounds. I caught on fast that it was never my weight, it was my mother. Yes, kids today look like they have been fattened for slaughter - but it is their family dysfunction combined with the fact that most of them exercise by playing video games.
7
Bottom line- Americans now consume over 150+ pounds of sugar annually (NIH\CDC), an unreal number! If anyone tracks the consumption of sugar over the past 50 years (including High Fructose Corn Syrup) it directly correlates with our obesity rate. People in America feel they MUST have their desserts, their cookies, cakes, pies & sugar filled junk. They are addicted to it and as long as you refuse to give it up this will be a constant struggle. Food companies now pump sugar into over 70% of grocery items, it is OUR responsibility to eat healthy because the food lobbyists WANT to continue keeping us addicted to sugar. -MS in Health
1
No one is addicted to sugar. They may want it, like it, etc. But, no one is addicted to it.
It is so sad to see overweight and obese children. As a parent of 3, I know it is not easy to say "NO" to the over marketed sugar-laden, chemical crap that is constantly in the children's faces. But I say no. Typically overweight and obese children have similar looking parents.
I'm a pharmacist who now helps people with their diet and lifestyle changes to prevent these things that will lead to chronic medications. Most of the adults I see say they knowingly have unhealthful snacks in the house because "their kids" want them. They say their children "don't like vegetables" and thus don't bother. All of this hype about "accepting" the "dad bod" or larger sizes is a bandaid that will fall off. These children can end up with terrible diseases, padding the pharmaceutical industry, which is both a crises from a health perspective as well as an economic perspective.
Parenting is hard, being healthy and cooking is hard, but I feel one of the most important things I can give my children is nutritious meals. Do my kids have birthday treats, pizza or occasional ice cream? Of course. But they know, these are not the healthy foods they need to grow and thrive. Habits develop young, and will be lifelong.
I'm a pharmacist who now helps people with their diet and lifestyle changes to prevent these things that will lead to chronic medications. Most of the adults I see say they knowingly have unhealthful snacks in the house because "their kids" want them. They say their children "don't like vegetables" and thus don't bother. All of this hype about "accepting" the "dad bod" or larger sizes is a bandaid that will fall off. These children can end up with terrible diseases, padding the pharmaceutical industry, which is both a crises from a health perspective as well as an economic perspective.
Parenting is hard, being healthy and cooking is hard, but I feel one of the most important things I can give my children is nutritious meals. Do my kids have birthday treats, pizza or occasional ice cream? Of course. But they know, these are not the healthy foods they need to grow and thrive. Habits develop young, and will be lifelong.
7
Of course parents do not think their child is overweight. When the majority of people are overweight, being overweight looks normal. It's about perspective. travel abroad frequently, and have noticed that the description of my size, and the sizing of clothes myself varies from country to country.
In the US, people inevitably, remark that I'm tiny, need to gain weight, etc. Over the years, my clothing size has went from 6 to even 0, without a change in my weight. I'm even at risk of being sized out on the low end. In Italy/France/Asia sales clerks have looked me up and down and smugly informed me that I'm a size Medium and I've had to wiggle my way into size 4s and 6s.
FYI: I'm 5 ft 5 inches tall, 122 pounds. A normal healthy weight.
In the US, people inevitably, remark that I'm tiny, need to gain weight, etc. Over the years, my clothing size has went from 6 to even 0, without a change in my weight. I'm even at risk of being sized out on the low end. In Italy/France/Asia sales clerks have looked me up and down and smugly informed me that I'm a size Medium and I've had to wiggle my way into size 4s and 6s.
FYI: I'm 5 ft 5 inches tall, 122 pounds. A normal healthy weight.
6
Yes, I've noticed that too. Vanity sizing.
I truly do not understand the grandparents I see at Costco buying their obese grandchildren Costco's giant sized ice cream treat. It really is child abuse. The resultant giant sized grandchildren sit there wallowing in sugar nirvana while the grandparent looks around unconcerned. Are they actively TRYING to kill their offspring? It is a complete mystery to me.
14
We need to do better as a nation. We need to stop buying tons of cookies and chips, going out to fast food everyday and sitting in front of the TV 24x7. We need to cook real meals with fruits and veggies and do family exercising. We must teach our children that food is a source of nutrition and not some sort of coping mechanism for our problems. My heart aches every time I see an obese child. Being obese is not fun. It literally hurts. You have issues breathing; your back, knees and feet are constantly hurting. You have to take medications for your diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol. Of course this is not everyone but it happens to too many people.
8
I think we have moved too far away from the very real dynamics and the covert roles/rules in a dependent or addicted family.
The obese child is not the addict (in childhood) They’re behavior may lead to addiction later in life but the problem is secondary to the emotional pain they endured as a result of an adult addict/narcissist/active avoider, the depressed and anxious parent, etc… within the family system. It’s the role each unknowingly takes on to cope with and get by while no adult deals with the alcoholic, drug addict, food addict, sex addict and…. the guilt ridden, that needs addressing.
No doubt the child who sees and feels more deeply is being over indulged in some way(s) to allay the caregiver’s guilt … and what schnookers most of us is the fact that the martyr is often the one with the most power to either change or keep the status quo of the system.
I’m not certain that I speak it hear but truth and reality are never outdated.
The Addict.
The Hero.
The Mascot.
The Lost Child.
The Scapegoat.
The Caretaker (Enabler).
The obese child is not the addict (in childhood) They’re behavior may lead to addiction later in life but the problem is secondary to the emotional pain they endured as a result of an adult addict/narcissist/active avoider, the depressed and anxious parent, etc… within the family system. It’s the role each unknowingly takes on to cope with and get by while no adult deals with the alcoholic, drug addict, food addict, sex addict and…. the guilt ridden, that needs addressing.
No doubt the child who sees and feels more deeply is being over indulged in some way(s) to allay the caregiver’s guilt … and what schnookers most of us is the fact that the martyr is often the one with the most power to either change or keep the status quo of the system.
I’m not certain that I speak it hear but truth and reality are never outdated.
The Addict.
The Hero.
The Mascot.
The Lost Child.
The Scapegoat.
The Caretaker (Enabler).
1
Citizens who are clinically obese should not be eligible for publicly funded health care if they continue to be obese over a period of two years. I watch fat people shopping at the local Hannaford, and am astounded that we don't see more lethal consequences. Meanwhile, Hannaford and other foreign-owned chain supermarkets contribute to the obesity crisis by incorporating more and more fats and sugars in their store brands.
2
No food store contributes to anyone's obesity. They are not forcing anyone to buy any product. It is the person's responsibility for their own health.
1
I notice that people use food as entertainment now. No longer do we eat three meals and two small snacks a day. Constant snacking all day seems to be the rule. Keeping a child busy and out of trouble by feeding them constantly is not a good idea.
7
I'm shocked, I tell you, shocked. Or not.
I find the element of surprise in some comments beyond strange, and the confusion about "who to blame", or what might be the cause. Everything is the cause. The accelerating wave of weight gain, diabetes, and associated "diseases of modernity" is entirely logical and even inevitable.
We sit. We were not made to sit. We sit to move (cars). We sit to have social time. We sit to find distraction. We sit to work. What don't we sit to do? Sitting is the new orange. It has come to feel "natural" to us to be sitting. How should I go to the grocery store, well, naturally, I "jump" in my car and "go" (although frankly, it's the car that does the going, and I just watch the going with my eyes).
We have designed the infrastructure of our lives and our basic cultural expectations around sitting and eating. And, to no great surprise, the error of our ways is now writing itself on our bodies and our minds.
In the early 20th century we sold the country to the cars (freeways, mall parking lots, suburban homes in which the human-occupied parts look like an afterthought) and 100 years later, the cars are doing GREAT, and we're not.
Our eating has been outsourced to industrial agribusiness and soulless marketers. Profit margins are up (along with many other "related indicators").
Overall good health, body, mind, and other, are not complicated. It will fit on a 3 x 5 card. It's just unlikely in this manmade environment.
I find the element of surprise in some comments beyond strange, and the confusion about "who to blame", or what might be the cause. Everything is the cause. The accelerating wave of weight gain, diabetes, and associated "diseases of modernity" is entirely logical and even inevitable.
We sit. We were not made to sit. We sit to move (cars). We sit to have social time. We sit to find distraction. We sit to work. What don't we sit to do? Sitting is the new orange. It has come to feel "natural" to us to be sitting. How should I go to the grocery store, well, naturally, I "jump" in my car and "go" (although frankly, it's the car that does the going, and I just watch the going with my eyes).
We have designed the infrastructure of our lives and our basic cultural expectations around sitting and eating. And, to no great surprise, the error of our ways is now writing itself on our bodies and our minds.
In the early 20th century we sold the country to the cars (freeways, mall parking lots, suburban homes in which the human-occupied parts look like an afterthought) and 100 years later, the cars are doing GREAT, and we're not.
Our eating has been outsourced to industrial agribusiness and soulless marketers. Profit margins are up (along with many other "related indicators").
Overall good health, body, mind, and other, are not complicated. It will fit on a 3 x 5 card. It's just unlikely in this manmade environment.
6
One crucial factor that seems overlooked in the article and commentaries is that we are constantly bombarded by advertising in every media to eat all kinds of fanciful "food". The more unhealthy, meaningless or harmful the edible stuff is, the more intense and voluminous is the propaganda urging us to fill our stomachs with it.
Be it that we have responsibility for our own health, and that businesses are free to do whatever they want, but since we are looking for explanations - this is one important part of them. There was no lack of food 40 years ago, when almost everyone was normally shaped. What has "developed" is the gigantic propaganda apparatus for ever more unsuitable "foodstuff".
Be it that we have responsibility for our own health, and that businesses are free to do whatever they want, but since we are looking for explanations - this is one important part of them. There was no lack of food 40 years ago, when almost everyone was normally shaped. What has "developed" is the gigantic propaganda apparatus for ever more unsuitable "foodstuff".
5
Looking at the comments, I am both dismayed and hopeful. Many are refreshingly outspoken about individual and parental responsibility, and avoidance of denial. Stigma and shaming may have a place for those who would prefer to avoid and deny. Overfeeding children is a form of abuse or at least neglect. Just because it is endemic does not make it right or acceptable. There are far too many venues - where fat people abound. What are the consequences today for this problem? Money being made by drug companies treating diabetes, higher health premiums paid by all, comfort by the fat that they are in good company and are therefore normal?
Like tobacco a few decades ago, obesity is now front and center in the public health debate. Naming the problem and getting past denial is the first step in resolution on both individual and collective levels.
Like tobacco a few decades ago, obesity is now front and center in the public health debate. Naming the problem and getting past denial is the first step in resolution on both individual and collective levels.
3
The concluding line:
“I wish my parents had done something about my weight earlier,” the girl said.
In addition to nutrition and a measure of self discipline, at some point the kids need to learn to take responsibility for what goes in their mouth.
Personal responsibility and self control are the gatekeepers to a successful weight loss program.
“I wish my parents had done something about my weight earlier,” the girl said.
In addition to nutrition and a measure of self discipline, at some point the kids need to learn to take responsibility for what goes in their mouth.
Personal responsibility and self control are the gatekeepers to a successful weight loss program.
2
The child quoted was 15. At some point, yes, a person must take responsibility for their own health. But expecting that behavior before age 15 is unrealistic.
5
Personal example is important. Children are very sensitive to hypocrisy: you cannot ask them to shed pounds when you are overweight yourself. If you want your children to eat healthy and look good, start with improving your own diet and your own looks. I am shocked by the normalization of obesity in this country. When my children were small, I occasionally allowed sweets at home because I was too young to know better. When they became teenagers I decided to shed the pounds I accumulated after their births. I did and I have never put them on again. Now that my sons are adults they both eat healthy and are of normal weight. The bond between parent and child persists throughout life and is important at any age.
42
Telling a child they have to "look good" is a form of abuse.
"Nourishing and nurturing children is often the same.”
This needs much more attention. It's not just immigrant abuela's from 3rd world countries who think this way. My daughter has friends who are obese. Their parents are working-class Midwesterners who are struggling to make ends meet.
All those little girls need to say is "Mommy I'm hungry" to throw their mothers into a panic. One mother demanded that I go through a drive through and get her daughter a meal -- even though it was 10 am in the morning, and the girls had a huge breakfast of waffles, sausage and fried potatoes at 8:30, and they would be home at 11.
I realized for these women, "putting food on the table" was a sign that you were meeting your child's needs. "No matter how bad things got, Dad always made sure there was food on the table." For them, not immediately feeding a child who says "Mommy I'm hungry" conjures up visions of failed, irresponsible parents and neglected, starving children -- and not a kid who had a huge breakfast, is bored riding in the car, and just saw a McDonalds out the window.
This needs much more attention. It's not just immigrant abuela's from 3rd world countries who think this way. My daughter has friends who are obese. Their parents are working-class Midwesterners who are struggling to make ends meet.
All those little girls need to say is "Mommy I'm hungry" to throw their mothers into a panic. One mother demanded that I go through a drive through and get her daughter a meal -- even though it was 10 am in the morning, and the girls had a huge breakfast of waffles, sausage and fried potatoes at 8:30, and they would be home at 11.
I realized for these women, "putting food on the table" was a sign that you were meeting your child's needs. "No matter how bad things got, Dad always made sure there was food on the table." For them, not immediately feeding a child who says "Mommy I'm hungry" conjures up visions of failed, irresponsible parents and neglected, starving children -- and not a kid who had a huge breakfast, is bored riding in the car, and just saw a McDonalds out the window.
83
That child was hungry because of the waffles, presumably with (probably fake maple) syrup, and the potatoes. Her blood sugar skyrocketed, her pancreas pumped out insulin, then went into low blood sugar and hunger as it overdid its obligatory work.
I'd bet that Mom thought the breakfast was exemplary.....because adverts for the waffles, etc. (did she even make them? Probably not.) told her it was. She wasn't uninformed, she was misinformed, thanks to our corporate economy.
I'd bet that Mom thought the breakfast was exemplary.....because adverts for the waffles, etc. (did she even make them? Probably not.) told her it was. She wasn't uninformed, she was misinformed, thanks to our corporate economy.
3
Which is better that drive through Meal or a Banana!
Which is cheaper a bowl of Whole grain cereal or that Drive thru Lane!
Which is cheaper a bowl of Whole grain cereal or that Drive thru Lane!
'...I realized for these women, "putting food on the table" was a sign that you were meeting your child's needs...'
It is also a sign they are thinking about what is best for themselves, not their children, as being a good parent means saying 'No' the majority of the time.
It is also a sign they are thinking about what is best for themselves, not their children, as being a good parent means saying 'No' the majority of the time.
Weight is an important health issue and diet is the key...easy.
That said, everyone, fat or thin, who reads this article would be well-served by pondering the nature of the denial mechanism and its implications.
Given how rare human perfection seems to be, I can almost guarantee that there is some profound and obvious issue in your own life that you do not want to acknowledge.
Others may have mentioned it to you, but you cannot hear them because you're emotionally unable to cope with the truth, for whatever reason. Eventually, perhaps, you will achieve realization, look back and wonder how you lived the way you did.
Meanwhile, you remain in denial, only about something else.
Do not judge...
That said, everyone, fat or thin, who reads this article would be well-served by pondering the nature of the denial mechanism and its implications.
Given how rare human perfection seems to be, I can almost guarantee that there is some profound and obvious issue in your own life that you do not want to acknowledge.
Others may have mentioned it to you, but you cannot hear them because you're emotionally unable to cope with the truth, for whatever reason. Eventually, perhaps, you will achieve realization, look back and wonder how you lived the way you did.
Meanwhile, you remain in denial, only about something else.
Do not judge...
12
I am saddened by some of the comments I read here. Being skinny is not some kind of moral superiority. I was overweight as a preteen. My father, sister and peers bullied me mercilessly. I outgrew my overweight and have kept it off ever since. Show some compassion. Yes, being overweight or obese is terrible for children's health but somehow fat-shaming has become a favorite sport of the NYT readership and I don't think it helps.
76
You say you "outgrew" your overweight. That makes it sound so easy, as if you didn't have to do anything but wait for time to pass. Was it really that simple? And are you saying that all or most children who are overweight can do the same? Do you think being"bullied mercilessly" had any effect on your eating behavior or attitude toward 'fattening' foods? I agree that shaming isn't a kind thing to do to someone, but why is there a common belief that shaming can cause the shamed person to do something positive?
1
You are correct. However, Japan has an obesity rate of less than 5% while the U.S. is at 34%. The key reason- in the Japanese culture not only is being obese unhealthy it is a cultural negative and they do tell people, "You're overweight, you NEED to lose weight." Their approach works while America sinks deeper and deeper into a healthcare economic crisis. -MS in Health
This has nothing to do with fat-shaming. If you have read any of the articles outside of the NYT, you will know that the danger of obesity is well-known. The main problem is indeed denial. I had one very obese friend in California who alwys maintained, "My mother was like this, and I am just like my mother." Her idea of a perfect evening was to sit down in front of the TV with a super-size bag of light potato chips and eat her way through the lot. Any kind of workout sh called "gross" because "it makes you sweat."
I think that there are quite a few issues: lack of discipline, giving in to children's demands, uncritical love (You are lovely just as you are), and above all, political correctness. Show me the doctor in the USA who dares tell a patient that he or she is obese.... My own one, years ago, joked with me, telling me to keep on the way I was doing, and he'd have two patients for the price of one. I began working out and have kept a normal weight for over 20 years now.
I think that there are quite a few issues: lack of discipline, giving in to children's demands, uncritical love (You are lovely just as you are), and above all, political correctness. Show me the doctor in the USA who dares tell a patient that he or she is obese.... My own one, years ago, joked with me, telling me to keep on the way I was doing, and he'd have two patients for the price of one. I began working out and have kept a normal weight for over 20 years now.
3
Call it what you want. Invent all the euphemisms you can. Label it a disease. Blame doctors. Castigate the food industry. Become a geneticist. Ignore the effects on your health and the burden to society. Pretend you don't have the tools to maintain a healthy weight.
In the end, how you manage your weight and take responsibility are all that matters.
In the end, how you manage your weight and take responsibility are all that matters.
12
You are what you think (in this case what you eat and drink.)
Yes, but if you don't know what to do or how to do it or don't have a social support network that encourages you on a daily basis, is it reasonable to expect most people to be able to do it?
not sure of a study that exist, but it would be interesting to see if fat kids genaerally have fat parents ... from my observation, this seems to be a pattern
9
Hmm, do criminals have criminal parents? Do mean nasty people have mean nasty parents? Do smart people have smart parents? Are children simply extensions of parents, reflecting everything the parents are? If not, why is weight somehow handed down more reliably?
An interesting thing that my Vet (a friend) told me, "It's pretty consistent here, we now see over 60% of pets either overweight or obese and most always, most every single time the owners are significantly overweight. They over-feed and under-exercise their pets because they do the same to themselves."
1
Possibly because the parents actually set the child's expectations about food by feeding them in a certain way. If that way happens to be one that causes the parents to be obese, there's every expectation that it will have the same effect on the child. Just look around you the next time you're at the supermarket: obese parents are frequently pushing carts piled high with highly processed and addictive foods.
My family falls into the category where there is a lot of uncertainty pertaining to body type. I have four younger brothers, we range in age from 20 to 6 years old.
Two of us have a different father than the other three which creates an issue because my parents are not sure what to expect as my brothers start to grow. The little boys might be a bit on the heavy side now, but end up growing to 6'3" like my step-dad. On the other hand, they might be heavy now and end up plateauing at 5'8" and being overweight for their height.
One of my younger brothers was a little bit on the heavier side a few years ago. He had watched videos of skateboarders and some kids made fun of him at school for being bigger than they are. The result was that a healthy 9 year old boy started starving himself so as to try to lose weight so that he could be "cool" like the rail thin skateboarders and be the same size as his classmates.
My parents didn't notice because he normally wears clothes a bit on the big size, so to most anyone he looked the same.
Obesity is an epidemic in the United States, but so is focusing so much on body weight. My little brother, a normally happy 9 year old kid, was starting to develop a damn eating disorder because everything he saw and everything everyone else was saying told him that he had to be thin to be cool. People focus so much on telling teenage girls to feel comfortable in their bodies, but what about boys like my brother?
Two of us have a different father than the other three which creates an issue because my parents are not sure what to expect as my brothers start to grow. The little boys might be a bit on the heavy side now, but end up growing to 6'3" like my step-dad. On the other hand, they might be heavy now and end up plateauing at 5'8" and being overweight for their height.
One of my younger brothers was a little bit on the heavier side a few years ago. He had watched videos of skateboarders and some kids made fun of him at school for being bigger than they are. The result was that a healthy 9 year old boy started starving himself so as to try to lose weight so that he could be "cool" like the rail thin skateboarders and be the same size as his classmates.
My parents didn't notice because he normally wears clothes a bit on the big size, so to most anyone he looked the same.
Obesity is an epidemic in the United States, but so is focusing so much on body weight. My little brother, a normally happy 9 year old kid, was starting to develop a damn eating disorder because everything he saw and everything everyone else was saying told him that he had to be thin to be cool. People focus so much on telling teenage girls to feel comfortable in their bodies, but what about boys like my brother?
24
Did a class project back in college -- we all had to purchased a fattening snack that our roommates did not eat. The goal was to have it in the room to snack on ... and see how long it took for the roommate to get hooked an purchase themselves.
The prof was trying to show us how "group think" takes over. We were really trying to understand why people start to smoke.
We were all surprised -- it does not take long.
Kids eat what is around -- my mother did not buy soda or junk .. Had very little of it growing up .... she minimized sweet desserts.
The prof was trying to show us how "group think" takes over. We were really trying to understand why people start to smoke.
We were all surprised -- it does not take long.
Kids eat what is around -- my mother did not buy soda or junk .. Had very little of it growing up .... she minimized sweet desserts.
20
Interesting idea--how others around us behave is contagious, so to speak. What strikes me is the number of children raised in non-intact families, meaning both parents aren't raising them in the home the children live in. That number is huge. The stress of this affects children on every level. The denial of this is an even bigger problem. Does anyone really deny that who you live with, spend time with, you model?
1
Modern parents are spoiled by liberal information, they get from television and the Internet. They believe that limiting the child's freedom, will certainly cause him psychological trauma. I believe that everything that happens to a child under sixteen years of age must be supervised by parents.
4
There is a lot of maligning the 'clean plate clubs' here. I was raised that way, too. However, in contrast to what most other commenters are referring to, it can be a good thing, because it forced me to eat my veggies and all the bulky, filling but low-calorie salads and other good stuff, while preventing from pursuing second servings of the high-calorie pastas etc.
Discipline is key.
Discipline is key.
11
Whats key is for parents to put the right amount of the right kinds of food on the plate. Eating all the food on a plate isn't about weight management, its about respecting that food is something of value and shouldn't be wasted.
1
Why is all the blame here focused on parents? At my child's otherwise wonderful after-school program, around half the afternoon snacks per week are sweets, and they are constantly baking and making candy-art. In preschool parents would bring in candy for all the children for every holiday, even the teachers would give it out. The teachers and aides at her elementary school give her gum and candy for being good; every Friday they buy ice cream. Why does the school even offer chocolate milk? My kid is the only one in her class who drinks white milk. Recess is almost non-existent in winter and its a privilege; kids who are over-active in class are punished with no recess, even though they are obviously the ones who need it the most. At her summer camp, which was supposed to be healthy, they had pie-eating contests and watermelon-eating contests. As far as I can tell, the problem is institutional and deeply woven into our daily culture. I dread the onslaught of candy that comes with each holiday and birthday.
227
I the local Schools nearby, homemade baked goods and purchases sweets have been banned.It seemed like an extreme measure, until you consider the consequences for many children. It's an example of how traditional behavior - probably from a time when many families only ate sweet desserts on special occasions -- not longer fits a modern lifestyle.
1
Because Obesity starts ARE HOME Through Poor Parental Food Choices Lack of Structure at Home and Lack of Activity at HOME!
Sure school food is awful better today then way back when ---yet such depends on the school district's Wealth.
PARENTS and their lack of Healthful choices rules and Structure is the primary Problem even though most have good intentions!
Sure school food is awful better today then way back when ---yet such depends on the school district's Wealth.
PARENTS and their lack of Healthful choices rules and Structure is the primary Problem even though most have good intentions!
1
Watermelon is one of the healthiest foods. A huge 3 pound serving contains less than 500 calories. No sodium, negligible unhealthy fats. Lots of potassium, vitamins A and C. Any weight gained from all the water would be quickly peed out as watermelon has a diuretic effect. The hint is in the name, far less calorically loaded than any other melon.
Comparing watermelons to pies is misguided. Furthermore pie-eating contests were commonplace long before the obesity epidemic, and most of the folks winning the outrageous eating competitions like the annual 4th of July's hot dog eating one sponsored by Nathan's are actually not obese. You're pointing the finger at the wrong culprit.
Comparing watermelons to pies is misguided. Furthermore pie-eating contests were commonplace long before the obesity epidemic, and most of the folks winning the outrageous eating competitions like the annual 4th of July's hot dog eating one sponsored by Nathan's are actually not obese. You're pointing the finger at the wrong culprit.
1
'A 2011 study in Pediatrics found that parents preferred that physicians use terms like “weight problem” and “unhealthy weight,” rather than “fat,” “obese,” and “extremely obese.”'
All the easier to deny reality with, my dear.
With all the emphasis on sensitivity rather than reality, doctors have been forced to toe the line of political correctness, even when doing so results in patients not doing what's necessary to get better. Perhaps a reintroduction of bluntness would save some lives in the long run, even if parents are forced to acknowledge that little Johnny isn't that little anymore.
If someone wants to ignore their doctor's advice, fine. It's their life. But when they ignore their pediatrician's advice, that's a whole new ball game. Kids are completely dependent on their parents for food, shelter, and health, and as such parents not doing what's objectively best for their children should be dealt with more harshly than they usually are. They don't like what the doc has to say? Too bad. My medical education trumps your hopeful denial.
All the easier to deny reality with, my dear.
With all the emphasis on sensitivity rather than reality, doctors have been forced to toe the line of political correctness, even when doing so results in patients not doing what's necessary to get better. Perhaps a reintroduction of bluntness would save some lives in the long run, even if parents are forced to acknowledge that little Johnny isn't that little anymore.
If someone wants to ignore their doctor's advice, fine. It's their life. But when they ignore their pediatrician's advice, that's a whole new ball game. Kids are completely dependent on their parents for food, shelter, and health, and as such parents not doing what's objectively best for their children should be dealt with more harshly than they usually are. They don't like what the doc has to say? Too bad. My medical education trumps your hopeful denial.
10
How many times have you heard this statement?
Don't tell me how to raise my child!
That's a big part of the problem. Children don't come into this world with an instruction manual. Parenting is an on the job training program of the most difficult kind. No two kids are alike. Parenting is a journey of discovery, hardship and joy. Far too many parents don't want to listen to any advice. They don't know how to use the dreaded "N" word, No. Give the kid what he or she wants to keep them from complaining. They want sugar and they get it. They want crunchy snacks and they get them. They want video toys and they get them.
I have had parents tell me things like, "My Johnny played in the yard for an hour. He got exercise." Kids can keep moving their entire waking hours. They can run and play and jump and climb all day long. One hour is nothing. We played constantly, only stopping for food and mother's call to come in for the evening.
Parents do not want to consider, let alone accept that they may be doing something wrong. Our politically correct society prevents other correcting them. My mother would yell at any parent she thought was doing wrong. They thanked her later.
Parents have become enablers of childhood obesity. Tough love seems to be a forgotten concept. There are other way to show a child you love them besides feeding them all the junk they want.
I'm not too thrilled with modern parents. They aren't like my mom.
Don't tell me how to raise my child!
That's a big part of the problem. Children don't come into this world with an instruction manual. Parenting is an on the job training program of the most difficult kind. No two kids are alike. Parenting is a journey of discovery, hardship and joy. Far too many parents don't want to listen to any advice. They don't know how to use the dreaded "N" word, No. Give the kid what he or she wants to keep them from complaining. They want sugar and they get it. They want crunchy snacks and they get them. They want video toys and they get them.
I have had parents tell me things like, "My Johnny played in the yard for an hour. He got exercise." Kids can keep moving their entire waking hours. They can run and play and jump and climb all day long. One hour is nothing. We played constantly, only stopping for food and mother's call to come in for the evening.
Parents do not want to consider, let alone accept that they may be doing something wrong. Our politically correct society prevents other correcting them. My mother would yell at any parent she thought was doing wrong. They thanked her later.
Parents have become enablers of childhood obesity. Tough love seems to be a forgotten concept. There are other way to show a child you love them besides feeding them all the junk they want.
I'm not too thrilled with modern parents. They aren't like my mom.
90
It seems to me that a big part of parents' self deception and inability to help their children is that the parents themselves are still children in many respects. Some won't teach their children self-control because they can't exercise it themselves. Some just want to be their childrens' friends and any control that does not literally and immediately protect the child's life (e.g. do not play in the street, get in car's with strangers, etc.) will make their little friends unhappy and thus make the parent unhappy. The great example in this story is the mother who is unhappy that she can't give her obese child cookies.
'“Eating healthy costs more,” said Dr. Kaufman, the author of “Diabesity.” “It’s harder for someone with a fixed income who relies on school lunches than someone who can get the kid a personal trainer and buy their groceries at Whole Foods.”'
Oh come on. There's that old liberal shibboleth again. I shop at a supermarket near the projects and I see what moms with food stamps are buying for their kids - ice cream, candy, frozen pizzas, potato chips and big bottles of soda.
No, Dr Kaufman, you do NOT have to shop at Whole Foods to eat healthy food.
Oh come on. There's that old liberal shibboleth again. I shop at a supermarket near the projects and I see what moms with food stamps are buying for their kids - ice cream, candy, frozen pizzas, potato chips and big bottles of soda.
No, Dr Kaufman, you do NOT have to shop at Whole Foods to eat healthy food.
38
This should not be a liberal or conservative issue; it is an American problem.
1
Thank you.
I absolutely agree. It takes more time, not necessary more money, to prepare good food.
I think the reaction of parents not acknowledging the children's weight problems is pathetic. And instead of coming up with excuses for parents there should be a discussion of why the recognition of a problem is part of the problem. Are we really at a point that neither parents nor kids can stand the simple truth of calling someone 'fat' or 'obese' if he or she is obese? Naming the problem clearly and without evasion seems to me in any walk of life the very first and critical step in fixing it. After all I can't correct a mistake that cannot be named. When I look at my parents, who went through a world war and had real problems, these issues of precious self esteem for willfully ignorant parents and youngsters seem somewhere between laughable and contemptible.
11
In the neighborhood I live in, which is in the Brightwood section of DC, a "normal" weight for adult women is approximately 60 pounds overweight. That's an average female body. An adult woman who is 5'4" and 250 pounds is considered "a little heavy".
Is it any wonder these same women would think their obese children look "about the right weight"? How can this be surprising?
Is it any wonder these same women would think their obese children look "about the right weight"? How can this be surprising?
74
Your numbers got away with you. You cannot be 5'4" and 250 points without being very very obese -- not overweight. These can't possibly be normal numbers for the women in your community.
I am 5'4" myself, and at 140 pounds I am borderline between normal and overweight. I cannot *imagine* being 250 pounds at my height -- that would be disablingly fat.
I am 5'4" myself, and at 140 pounds I am borderline between normal and overweight. I cannot *imagine* being 250 pounds at my height -- that would be disablingly fat.
I'm a teacher and I see parents and kids all of the time.
I can't remember the last time I saw an overweight child whose parent wasn't also overweight.
The fault lies at the feet of the parent. Period. It has nothing to do with cost; Wal-mart sells plenty of fruit, vegetables and non-processed food. You can't get much cheaper than Wal-Mart.
And, yes, the problem is a lack of self-discipline. We all struggle with self-discipline, but if food is your particular area, you will be overweight and unhealthy if you can't master it.
I can't remember the last time I saw an overweight child whose parent wasn't also overweight.
The fault lies at the feet of the parent. Period. It has nothing to do with cost; Wal-mart sells plenty of fruit, vegetables and non-processed food. You can't get much cheaper than Wal-Mart.
And, yes, the problem is a lack of self-discipline. We all struggle with self-discipline, but if food is your particular area, you will be overweight and unhealthy if you can't master it.
59
And in your opinion just where does 'self discipline' come from and how is it increased or decreased?
1
@Lives_Lightly: Seems to me the word "self-discipline" itself contains a clue to where it comes from.
I had a friend during childhood who was very overweight, as was his sister. His mother would take us to McDonalds so frequently that her car was nicknamed "the french fry mobile". His sister eventually made her own diet decisions and is now normal weight. He never did. Years of therapy, eating disorder clinics, and other efforts have failed.
His therapists have told him that his mother is to blame. I reluctantly agree with them.
His therapists have told him that his mother is to blame. I reluctantly agree with them.
8
What about his father?
1
Well no. Not when the other sib chose to overcome that whole it's Mom's fault and do something about it.
eating healthy costs me time--in money, if I can't make it to the store with the low prices (Aldi's) and have to go to the grocery store 5 minutes away. How much money? A 99 cent head of cauliflower is $4 at the local grocery--supposedly the family store! It costs time, in that I have to buy fruit and veg and make sure it gets prepped and cooked and eaten before it spoils. And you can shop once a month for economy size packages of chips, but not for fruit and vegetables. Who has time to go to the grocery store multiple times a week when you're trying to watch a budget and still get everyone everywhere after school? It would be a lot easier to feed my kids the junk all the time. And cheaper, and would use less gas (the close grocery is 3 miles away).
4
I frequently buy frozen vegetables which have been shown to have at least the nutritional value of fresh vegetables that get cooked. Frozen vegetables are overlooked as a means of adding on to salads as well.
3
We do fine with one grocery run a week. Many fresh veggies are just fine in the fridge for much longer than that. Root vegetables, hard-shelled squashes, cabbage, etc. keep for months. Same with frozen vegetables.
10
A mentality like yours is precisely the reason why there are 11 year olds that are 200lbs and are pre-diabetic.
It is perfectly understandable that eating healthier is more costly than eating junk food, there is no denying that. It's something that really needs to be corrected by whichever government agency controls food prices.
Believing that feeding your family jumbo sized bags of potato chips is better than vegetables or fruit because "it's cheaper" is a truly terrible mindset.
And there is no one saying that it absolutely has to be fresh. Many frozen vegetables actually retain nutrients better than fresh due to the fact that they are flash frozen soon after being harvested. And canned fruit and vegetables are certainly cheap enough so as to be a better alternative to a jumbo sized bag of Doritos or whatever your family's chip of choice is.
And even if you do want to buy fresh, why do you need to get that $4 head of cauliflower? Carrots, celery, onions, and potatos are all cheaper than that and you get a lot more of them per pound. Studies have actually shown that between a normal potato and whole milk, a person receives nearly all of the necessary vitamins and minerals necessary to fulfill their dietary requirements.
Rather than blaming life for giving you the short end of the stick and not making it easy, why not educate yourself and figure out how to work with what you've got. Clearly you have a computer, why not search for cheap, healthy recipes online?
It is perfectly understandable that eating healthier is more costly than eating junk food, there is no denying that. It's something that really needs to be corrected by whichever government agency controls food prices.
Believing that feeding your family jumbo sized bags of potato chips is better than vegetables or fruit because "it's cheaper" is a truly terrible mindset.
And there is no one saying that it absolutely has to be fresh. Many frozen vegetables actually retain nutrients better than fresh due to the fact that they are flash frozen soon after being harvested. And canned fruit and vegetables are certainly cheap enough so as to be a better alternative to a jumbo sized bag of Doritos or whatever your family's chip of choice is.
And even if you do want to buy fresh, why do you need to get that $4 head of cauliflower? Carrots, celery, onions, and potatos are all cheaper than that and you get a lot more of them per pound. Studies have actually shown that between a normal potato and whole milk, a person receives nearly all of the necessary vitamins and minerals necessary to fulfill their dietary requirements.
Rather than blaming life for giving you the short end of the stick and not making it easy, why not educate yourself and figure out how to work with what you've got. Clearly you have a computer, why not search for cheap, healthy recipes online?
18
The notion that kids are overweight because their parents feed them too much food is unconvincing. Anorexics aren't starved by their parents. Inactive kids aren't forced to stay in the house. And dyslexic kids aren't forced to read backwards. Eating too much, like eating too little, and like many other childhood excesses is not as straightforward a matter as this article suggests. Obese kids need support and compassion more than they need potato chip lectures.
18
What rubbish. Are kids planning their own diets? Who do you think is in charge of their food? Anorexia is a mental disorder, Dyslexia is a learning and cognitive disorder. Obesity is a function of eating too much food, period! Yes, yes, some people have glandular disorders, few and far between my friend. Few and far between. Your comment is illogical and disingenuous.
15
Just to clarify: are you blaming the kids for their weight issues or are you saying that it's more complex than just saying the parents over feed?
If it's blaming the kids, I am going to tell you what I tell most everyone else that blames children for their behaviors: Kids learn it from somewhere. All childhood behaviors are the cumulative result of observing their surroundings.
If it's that it is a more complex issue, then you are right. People need to be better educated regarding dietary issues. The idea that healthy eating is too expensive for everybody is a total myth. Between frozen foods and canned foods, there is no excuse for claiming that vegetable and fruit are too expensive when you can get an 89 cent can of green beans at Wal-Mart. People need to learn that a healthy lifestyle is affordable for everybody, as long as they are willing to put in the effort to learn where to look and what to cook. Instead people are too lazy and opt to buy $8 microwaveable dinners and $4 bags of potato chips because they are easier than putting in the effort to cook something healthier.
If it's blaming the kids, I am going to tell you what I tell most everyone else that blames children for their behaviors: Kids learn it from somewhere. All childhood behaviors are the cumulative result of observing their surroundings.
If it's that it is a more complex issue, then you are right. People need to be better educated regarding dietary issues. The idea that healthy eating is too expensive for everybody is a total myth. Between frozen foods and canned foods, there is no excuse for claiming that vegetable and fruit are too expensive when you can get an 89 cent can of green beans at Wal-Mart. People need to learn that a healthy lifestyle is affordable for everybody, as long as they are willing to put in the effort to learn where to look and what to cook. Instead people are too lazy and opt to buy $8 microwaveable dinners and $4 bags of potato chips because they are easier than putting in the effort to cook something healthier.
4
@whylord:
To say that overeating leads to weight gain is true in an obvious sense, but it is like saying a restaurant is full because more people came in than left. It does nothing to explain _why_ a person is eating too much food, or why some people are overeating and not others.
In other words, why would a person be hungry for more calories than his/her body is using?
To say that overeating leads to weight gain is true in an obvious sense, but it is like saying a restaurant is full because more people came in than left. It does nothing to explain _why_ a person is eating too much food, or why some people are overeating and not others.
In other words, why would a person be hungry for more calories than his/her body is using?
Despite the obesity epidemic, there are still lots of parents who force their children to finish what is on their plates. Parents don't understand that eating food you neither need nor want is wasting it. By teaching children to finish what is in front of them, parents are inflicting a curse on their children, who will continue to clean their plates all their lives, even after they learn they are too fat.
89
To attain true weight loss, the one tried and true thing is portion control. It works for anyone regardless of age. It is critically important for young children because good or bad eating habits can become ingrained at an early age.
1
Why not just give them smaller portions?
When we were young, my mother served us real food. We ate what my parents ate in smaller portions. KIds now subsist on mac and cheese, chicken nuggets and fries. Most kids don't or won't eat normal food. School cafeterias serve junk food disguised as lunch.
Parents are being told not to criticize their kids weight, but sometimes it is necessary to take control. It can be something a family does as a whole. There is no reason that everyone can't eat the same healthy food; it's the portion size that counts. That goes for everyone.
It doesn't surprise me that a nurse would complain about having to cut out cookies. I see far too many obese nurses. They also snack at the nurses' station which is just so gross. Eating shouldn't be something we do anywhere and everywhere. People in the US think nothing of eating while walking down the street, waiting in a waiting room or even in church. Children should learn that eating is not something we do all day long. It is next to impossible to keep track of what we eat that way. Eating in control is a skill children and adults in the US need to learn. We can't afford all those people having diabetes. It would bankrupt the health care system.
Parents are being told not to criticize their kids weight, but sometimes it is necessary to take control. It can be something a family does as a whole. There is no reason that everyone can't eat the same healthy food; it's the portion size that counts. That goes for everyone.
It doesn't surprise me that a nurse would complain about having to cut out cookies. I see far too many obese nurses. They also snack at the nurses' station which is just so gross. Eating shouldn't be something we do anywhere and everywhere. People in the US think nothing of eating while walking down the street, waiting in a waiting room or even in church. Children should learn that eating is not something we do all day long. It is next to impossible to keep track of what we eat that way. Eating in control is a skill children and adults in the US need to learn. We can't afford all those people having diabetes. It would bankrupt the health care system.
71
I too am grossed out at how people will eat anywhere in the US. My parents were immigrants and taught me to eat ONLY at the table. And at work I refuse to eat at my desk. It's disgusting and unhealthy.
1
I agree. At my favorite Indian restaurant, which has beautiful and delicious food, there is a 'kid's menu' that has chicken nuggets and hot dogs. Junk like that shouldn't be 'kid's food'
3
My son has shared custody of his 9 year old daughter. He and his current wife emphasize no processed foods and plenty of family activity, while his daughter's mother likes fast food and watching TV. My granddaughter refers to her father's home as "the healthy house." Although he can't do anything about what takes place in the other house, it is clear his daughter "gets it" and hopefully will make life choices based on the healthier life style of her father.
18
At age eleven my son went for his annual physical, and the doctor found he had gained twelve pounds in one year. She told him, "You gained twelve pounds since I saw you last and that's fine. You look great. But don't gain twelve pounds again next year."
I was thrilled by the doctor's fusion of compliment and candor. Yet when I relayed this conversation to other mothers, they were very critical of the pediatrician. They thought she was too blunt and would hurt my son's self-esteem.
Now, five years later, my son is slender and fit. More importantly, he knows that a good doctor doesn't always need to sugarcoat things. We are lucky to have her.
I was thrilled by the doctor's fusion of compliment and candor. Yet when I relayed this conversation to other mothers, they were very critical of the pediatrician. They thought she was too blunt and would hurt my son's self-esteem.
Now, five years later, my son is slender and fit. More importantly, he knows that a good doctor doesn't always need to sugarcoat things. We are lucky to have her.
106
Guarantee you the pathetic mother in the article was a fat RN herself. The majority of physicians and nurses in America are themselves fat and won't stop the snarfing of too much sugar and simple carbs.
10
Actually, the majority of physicians are not fat. They are below the national average in obesity rate. Only 1/3 of male physicians and 1/4 of female physicians are over weight, and only 5 percent are obese. 70 percent of both genders say exercise is their favorite activity and engage in cardiovascular exercise at least once a week, despite their busy schedules. Less than 2 percent smoke. Studies show that overweight physicians are less likely to speak frankly and counsel their obese patients about weight loss.
9
The majority of physicians are actually clinically overweight, it HAS been studied. My physician, a friend as well, said it is "indisputably true today in America." -MS in Health
it may have more to do with where you live - although my observations aren't scientific I see far more overweight healthcare workers in the South than in other areas . . . so maybe not go so overboard with the generalizations?
1
Great article, except the fact that Dr. Kaufman perpetuates the myth that "eating healthy costs more." True, a semirecent Harvard School of Public Health paper did show that one definition of a healthy diet costs more--but that difference in cost was mostly because of fish and nuts. But one doesn't have to buy Whole Foods' organic almonds and fish counter wild-caught salmon to eat a heck of a lot healthier than a frozen pizza and soda for dinner.
I live in a working-class neighborhood with an average grocery store. Now that I'm diet-conscious, I load up my cart with a higher proportion of fresh produce it seems every time I go. It took a while, but eventually my palette reset and the fresh stuff is what tastes good to me, and oily, salty, sugary restaurant and prepackaged food has become almost repulsive, too heavy. But best of all, my grocery bills have gotten cheaper, not more expensive. Because Kale and frozen chicken are not expensive. The cheez-its and oreos and granola bars and soda and processed meat that Big Food has America addicted to are expensive.
I live in a working-class neighborhood with an average grocery store. Now that I'm diet-conscious, I load up my cart with a higher proportion of fresh produce it seems every time I go. It took a while, but eventually my palette reset and the fresh stuff is what tastes good to me, and oily, salty, sugary restaurant and prepackaged food has become almost repulsive, too heavy. But best of all, my grocery bills have gotten cheaper, not more expensive. Because Kale and frozen chicken are not expensive. The cheez-its and oreos and granola bars and soda and processed meat that Big Food has America addicted to are expensive.
107
I am so happy to hear people acknowledge that healthy food doesn't have to be expensive. Saying that one cannot afford to shop at Whole Foods is an absolute fallacy. Kale is the least expensive vegetable offered in any supermarket and can be prepared many different ways, from roasted to sautéed as well as in its natural state - raw in a salad. The only expensive kale these days is the type sold in salads or appetizers in restaurants! The same goes for fast food. All is healthier and less expensive when prepared and cooked at home.
15
Having grown up with a Depression era mother who put together nourishing regular meals using basic supplies plus what was in season, I really think that not only many people with small budgets but many experts need guided experience with food buying and prep on a limited budget. And I thought Home Ec was a dead subject! A big part of this is eliminating junk -- all junk - and that has a psychological side - feelings of deprivation that are tied to our ad driven culture.
Let's stop pretending only the overweight eat poorly. TOFI's (thin on the outside and fat on the inside) teach us that every one of us is vulnerable to poor metabolic health and disease. Obesity is not a disease of energy imbalance as much as it is a disease of fat accumulation. It is mostly likely that whatever is driving fat accumulation is also driving the metabolic mess that increases risk of metabolic disease. The judgment, shaming, and blaming that occurs in our society doesn't do a thing to help. Mostly the pontification seems only to stroke the egos of every person who thinks they know the solution. We'd be better off focusing on health at every size @HAES
12
The problem is eveyone gets to pay for the word games to hid the fact that obesity is here, its a problem and it kills.
I appreciate your thoughts, but I know of a few folks who use HAES as an excuse. Being obese and 'healthy' is not really a sustainable condition. Eventually there will be consequences. One colleague who is very large was into the Fat Acceptance movement big time and used to be very proud of his normal blood pressure numbers and bloodwork. Eventually, he had to have both knees replaced. While I agree that we should not idealize a shape and form that is unattainable for many, I am concerned that HAES just keeps people from making the major lifestyle changes they need.
Childhood obesity. A tough subject. We have those who were genetically nominated (me)!
And, we have a host of others whose parents have at least a full time job apiece, a meager budget, and little access to the foods that may prevent that leap to type two diabetes. If we're honest, a trip to the supermarket is over-the-top expensive if one is buying foods that help a family eat healthy, nutritious, and tasty food. First, someone needs to know HOW to cook and cook WELL to spend the least money to produce healthy meals (much thought and time involved). That person should not have a full time, perhaps mind-numbing job. Children should not be enamored of fast food. And on it goes. Not an easy task by any stretch. My point: it is again, a matter of money and class issues. Take a walk through a suburban neighborhood and you rarely see a chubby kid. It's unacceptable. Families have the money (and perhaps the time) to cook healthful meals (or have someone do that for them), to buy organic, to even be interested in the subject! Children are scheduled for sports, (and driven)to those and other activities. Shift to your inner-city where many careful parents do not even allow their children out at all once they're home from school. You get the idea. These articles are preaching to the choir. No understanding, whatever, of other folks' reality.
And, we have a host of others whose parents have at least a full time job apiece, a meager budget, and little access to the foods that may prevent that leap to type two diabetes. If we're honest, a trip to the supermarket is over-the-top expensive if one is buying foods that help a family eat healthy, nutritious, and tasty food. First, someone needs to know HOW to cook and cook WELL to spend the least money to produce healthy meals (much thought and time involved). That person should not have a full time, perhaps mind-numbing job. Children should not be enamored of fast food. And on it goes. Not an easy task by any stretch. My point: it is again, a matter of money and class issues. Take a walk through a suburban neighborhood and you rarely see a chubby kid. It's unacceptable. Families have the money (and perhaps the time) to cook healthful meals (or have someone do that for them), to buy organic, to even be interested in the subject! Children are scheduled for sports, (and driven)to those and other activities. Shift to your inner-city where many careful parents do not even allow their children out at all once they're home from school. You get the idea. These articles are preaching to the choir. No understanding, whatever, of other folks' reality.
4
I couldn't agree more that there is a genetic component to obesity which requires far more than a calorie count organic diet. While organic is a preferable health choice ( and not necessarily a total environmentally wise choice: organic tomatoes from Mexico when regional ones are available ), calories seem to be the major culprit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/upshot/to-lose-weight-eating-less-is-f...®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well
Calories in/ calories out, but as you point out, many people don't have the metabolism that makes that equation a no brainer.
For those who are reasonably well balanced, have time to cook, buying a cut of beef in a supermarket that's not hormone and antibiotic free, cooking it at home as good source of protein ( bad use of grains ), is a good thing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/upshot/to-lose-weight-eating-less-is-f...®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well
Calories in/ calories out, but as you point out, many people don't have the metabolism that makes that equation a no brainer.
For those who are reasonably well balanced, have time to cook, buying a cut of beef in a supermarket that's not hormone and antibiotic free, cooking it at home as good source of protein ( bad use of grains ), is a good thing.
actaully no, I see lots and lots of fat middle class kids, upper class kids and their parents too. That they refuse to see it, is the problem
This misses a major factor - being fat is seen as lazy, shameful and bad. So parents who have fat kids are considered failures as parents. Of course they aren't going to admit it, not on surveys and not to doctors.
The kid often gets the brunt of it. When you're told you're not healthy, not loveable and an embarrassment to your parents, chances are, you're going to eat more out of shame, not less.
It's time to figure out a way to separate the disease from the person. Treat the disease, don't humiliate the person for being sick.
The kid often gets the brunt of it. When you're told you're not healthy, not loveable and an embarrassment to your parents, chances are, you're going to eat more out of shame, not less.
It's time to figure out a way to separate the disease from the person. Treat the disease, don't humiliate the person for being sick.
25
Do you want to see this problem in a nutshell? Then read all the posts here that insist we shame and embarrass children & their parents -- one woman wants all fat children forcibly taken from their families and put into foster homes (where presumably harsh foster parents will systematically starve them into slimness!). Someone basically is inferring that all fat people are "stupid". Other imply laziness -- greed -- selfishness -- ignorance -- gluttony.
Imagine how a fat person feels in this culture, when every article and diet book and media piece is aimed straight against them? They are alleged to cause every cost in the health care system (just them!). They are considered hideously ugly and undesirable.
Meanwhile, a million different "experts" (most without the slightest training or science to back them up) have a million different theories -- eat only vegetables. Eat only low carb. Eat only what you cook yourself. Give up all sweets. Give up all carbohydrates. Give up all gluten. Give up all soda pop, etc. Except that NONE OF THESE is proven to cause permanent weight loss -- many times (most times) diets BACKFIRE and end up causing MORE and not less obesity -- by making people (especially kids!) feel deprived and miserable.
A child who feels singled out and shamed -- a child who is made to hate their own body and image -- a child who is told he can't eat the ordinary things that all children love -- is a child who is almost certainly going to grow into a fat adult.
Imagine how a fat person feels in this culture, when every article and diet book and media piece is aimed straight against them? They are alleged to cause every cost in the health care system (just them!). They are considered hideously ugly and undesirable.
Meanwhile, a million different "experts" (most without the slightest training or science to back them up) have a million different theories -- eat only vegetables. Eat only low carb. Eat only what you cook yourself. Give up all sweets. Give up all carbohydrates. Give up all gluten. Give up all soda pop, etc. Except that NONE OF THESE is proven to cause permanent weight loss -- many times (most times) diets BACKFIRE and end up causing MORE and not less obesity -- by making people (especially kids!) feel deprived and miserable.
A child who feels singled out and shamed -- a child who is made to hate their own body and image -- a child who is told he can't eat the ordinary things that all children love -- is a child who is almost certainly going to grow into a fat adult.
5
The article makes the case that having fat kids and being fat is seen as "normal." Then when people are confronted with the objective health problems of weight, they reject the diagnosis and the lifestyle management required to regain good health.
1
Re Dr. Kaufman's comment regarding poor people's inabilty to Afford Whole Foods:
What can you buy at Whole Foods that you can't get at C-Town or any other popular supermarket? C-Town -- and Shop Rite -- have oerfectly good vegetables. I buy kale and collards at either, depending on where I am.
Kids are obese because they eat too much of the wrong food, and their parents let them, not because they don't have organic vegetables and personal trainers.
In fact, an article in today's Times put the blame for obesity not on lack of exercise but squarely on overeating.
Birdseye frozen vegetables are also healthy. Most Brooklynites I know who are my age didn't have fresh vegetables growing up, but we sure had the frozen variety.
We weren't given spending money to buy garbage. And no one drank a large-sized soda all by himself.
What can you buy at Whole Foods that you can't get at C-Town or any other popular supermarket? C-Town -- and Shop Rite -- have oerfectly good vegetables. I buy kale and collards at either, depending on where I am.
Kids are obese because they eat too much of the wrong food, and their parents let them, not because they don't have organic vegetables and personal trainers.
In fact, an article in today's Times put the blame for obesity not on lack of exercise but squarely on overeating.
Birdseye frozen vegetables are also healthy. Most Brooklynites I know who are my age didn't have fresh vegetables growing up, but we sure had the frozen variety.
We weren't given spending money to buy garbage. And no one drank a large-sized soda all by himself.
45
Moreover, when anyone over the age of 40 was a kid, for most of the winter months you couldn't even get a lot of fresh vegetables anywhere, no matter how much money you had. You ate frozen and canned vegetables. And it wasn't a subject of debate or consternation.
5
Just one point that I want to make here--although there are many I could make as an obese youngster who has finally turned my eating habits around at the age of fifty-plus:
I so appreciate that there was a no shaming undertone by healthcare professionals in this piece. Of the comments that I have read, many people think that it is so simple to "just say no" to a piece of cake or chocolate milk instead of water. There are many, many factors and emotions that go into the act of overeating.
How about a little empathy from those who have never experienced being overweight or been unable to feed themselves on Whole Foods' staples? So many, so quick to judge....
I so appreciate that there was a no shaming undertone by healthcare professionals in this piece. Of the comments that I have read, many people think that it is so simple to "just say no" to a piece of cake or chocolate milk instead of water. There are many, many factors and emotions that go into the act of overeating.
How about a little empathy from those who have never experienced being overweight or been unable to feed themselves on Whole Foods' staples? So many, so quick to judge....
29
I find most of the comments to this entire article to be abhorrent and judgmental. Rather, let's start by assuming that every adult is doing the best job (s)he can, and proceed accordingly. My mom grew up in the Great Depression, and majored in Home Economics in college - she served a whole chicken, cut-up, to 7 of us (2 breasts, 2 legs, 2 wings...one of us ate the back). Absent this, we were unaware of a better way to divide a chicken...so we added a salad, some potatoes, some green beans to the mix, and called it dinner. This could still work, if perhaps the salad were called kale...but even without same, a healthy meal could be served.
1
I hate to say that I agree with someone like Jeb Bush, but we need shame back in our culture. It is a motivator to do the right things. If one is obese, one should be ashamed. I certainly know that I was, when I've been.
The comment about needing compassion, what horse puckey. Compassion, fine, but if not connected to changes is just so much verbal masturbation.
I was a bean pole growing up. But over the decades I became FAT. Not "overweight," to be compassionate. FAT. I've taken it off, I've regained some of it a couple of times. I eat real foods, I exercise somewhat, but I mostly indulge in "eatertainment," my word.
Anyway being ashamed when I'm fat is a great motivator, as is remembering how I felt when thinner. Or when people ask, "Have you lost weight?"
The comment about needing compassion, what horse puckey. Compassion, fine, but if not connected to changes is just so much verbal masturbation.
I was a bean pole growing up. But over the decades I became FAT. Not "overweight," to be compassionate. FAT. I've taken it off, I've regained some of it a couple of times. I eat real foods, I exercise somewhat, but I mostly indulge in "eatertainment," my word.
Anyway being ashamed when I'm fat is a great motivator, as is remembering how I felt when thinner. Or when people ask, "Have you lost weight?"
I have sympathy, because I know what diabetes and hypertension does to the chronically obese, and the cost to everyone else. Blaming it somehow on Whole foods is a new one.
Isn't it odd that you see really fat children most often with really fat parents? It's almost as if the person (mom?) has a weight problem (or junk food addiction) and is happy to perpetuate it with poor food choices for the whole family. I've seen the cupboards of these families and I can tell you there is a fortune spent on junk food.
Meals are full of fat, sugar, processed foods. They have the recipes "pinned" for the most high-caloric foods imaginable. Especially for the daughters, is there some sabotage going on here? It's all sort of creepy.
Meals are full of fat, sugar, processed foods. They have the recipes "pinned" for the most high-caloric foods imaginable. Especially for the daughters, is there some sabotage going on here? It's all sort of creepy.
9
In my own family, two of my children were chronically over weight during the teen and young adult years; their parents are not obese.
The gymnastic classes, the outdoors activities seemed not to make a difference.
What made a difference was education; not from parents but from nutrition classes in college as well as a growing confidence in their own self and their maturity as individuals. One of my sons lost over one hundred pounds by the time he launched his professional career. He has become such an advocate for health that I too take his advice.
What I have learned from my family and friends is that perhaps more effort needs to be spent on teaching nutrition in school from elementary right thru high school.
The gymnastic classes, the outdoors activities seemed not to make a difference.
What made a difference was education; not from parents but from nutrition classes in college as well as a growing confidence in their own self and their maturity as individuals. One of my sons lost over one hundred pounds by the time he launched his professional career. He has become such an advocate for health that I too take his advice.
What I have learned from my family and friends is that perhaps more effort needs to be spent on teaching nutrition in school from elementary right thru high school.
14
The documentary film "Fed Up" explores the tragedy of childhood obesity and the causes. It's a must-see for anyone who seeks to understand what causes it, the terrible dangers to individuals and to this country, and what might be done about it. We already know how to fight obesity, which is to totally refuse to eat processed food in any form. But not many people have what it takes to do that.
6
The availability of cheap, sugar-laden edible "food" has caused this nightmare of obesity. Once a child - or teenager or adult - has become obese there are no fixes. The dye is cast, a lifetime of struggle lies ahead. Subsidized quality food, tax breaks for small farmers growing anything but corn and grain, coupled with heavy taxes placed on the sugar-laden items might be a start in reversing this tragedy. It would take at least that much.
11
It is not just parents in denial, it is all of us. Look at a film from the 40's or 50's and check out the crowd scenes, The average man or woman was 20 lbs. lighter. I was chunky kid, who had been raised in the era of what has since been revealed as a politically inspired food pyramid by the USDA, way to heavy on dairy and meat. I reduced my intake and lost weight, though I continue to monitor it carefully and wish my parents had not overfed me as a young man and contributed to hungry fat cells being formed. Yes, high caloric food is heavily marketed and available. Just like guns. We live in a free society. We don't absolve killers because they had access to a gun and we ought not absolve the obese, unless they can prove that a gun was put to their head and they were forced to consume. A parent who lets their kid run in traffic is not given a pass. But we routinely accept those who overfeed and by so doing destroy the health and spirits of their kids.
In the end, weight is controlled by the amount of calories in vs calories out. Exercise is overrated and is often an excuse to consume more. Whether the food is processed, or organic it is the calories that matter. Some people burn more calories than others to be sure, but I guarantee you that if one restricts calories, they will lose weight. It is basic physics.
Stigmatizing and shame may be in order. Whatever it takes to break thru the excuses and projection of blame to anything but one's open mouth.
In the end, weight is controlled by the amount of calories in vs calories out. Exercise is overrated and is often an excuse to consume more. Whether the food is processed, or organic it is the calories that matter. Some people burn more calories than others to be sure, but I guarantee you that if one restricts calories, they will lose weight. It is basic physics.
Stigmatizing and shame may be in order. Whatever it takes to break thru the excuses and projection of blame to anything but one's open mouth.
15
You don't even have to go back that far. Watch an episode of The Family Feud from the late 70s. Compare the profile of those typical American Families with those of later iterations of the show. The difference is appalling.
So what controls calories in and calories out? Is hunger or satiety a conscious choice? How about metabolic rate? Both calories in and calories out can be downstream _effects_ of unconscious physiological processes.
FYI - stigmatizing and shame already exist. More of them is not the answer.
I had the opposite experience. When I expressed concern years ago, my son's physician told me he'd outgrow it. Now that he has not, the same doctor has become harsh about it, rather than trying to work with my son's fragile but existent desire to take at least some some steps to change his eating habits, etc. This seems to have a led to an unnecessary impasse. I tried to explain to the doctor what approaches tend to be successful with my son, and while he listened with surprise, I didn't get any particular indication that he will try them. My attitude is that starting small would be better than not starting at all.
32
Perhaps it is time to find a more understanding and progressive doctor.
3
I wonder why you have not thought of changing doctors? It could be that you are on managed care. Maybe it would be a good idea to find a doctor whose ideas more closely mirror your own.
1
I've seen only one kid outgrow his overweight. But he had lots of help from his parents. He didn't go on a drastic diet, just reduced eating some of the snacks he liked and joined a gym. His high school also taught him about exercise for life, not for sports. Maybe that made the difference.
There is one thing that helped me lose weight. Because of a job loss I stopped buying some yeast based pastries I liked. That and the stress led to my losing quite a bit of weight. I mention the pastries because I found that I could not start eating them again without feeling bloated. It's just an idea and something I wanted to share.
There is one thing that helped me lose weight. Because of a job loss I stopped buying some yeast based pastries I liked. That and the stress led to my losing quite a bit of weight. I mention the pastries because I found that I could not start eating them again without feeling bloated. It's just an idea and something I wanted to share.
For low-income families, no one has mentioned one important obstacle for healthy meals. Fresh fruits and vegetables may not cost that much, but the supermarket may be too far to walk to. For a family that doesn't have a car, and relies on inadequate public transportation, an extra trip to the store can cost a lot in both time and money. So families buy as much as they can in one trip, and make the food last the whole month. Fresh produce, and fresh milk, just don't justify the cost and time of another bus or taxi ride. Soda may be unhealthy but it doesn't go bad. Processed foods will last in the cupboard, and there's no time pressure to cook something before it spoils. Families need access to transportation to a good supermarket to eat fresh foods.
29
Assuming the family has access to a freezer, frozen fruits and vegetables (no sauces, salt, or sugar added) are a viable option. Frozen vegetables are likely to have higher nutritional value than their produce-section counterparts. Canned beans and vegetables (again, without added sugars and sauces) are also an excellent option, as are (brown) rice, whole grains, dried beans, and (whole-grain) pasta. All of the above-mentioned foods will keep for a month or more. Squashes such as butternut, acorn, and spaghetti from the produce section will keep a while, too.
I think an equally large issue is preparation time. It takes a while to become an efficient cook.
I think an equally large issue is preparation time. It takes a while to become an efficient cook.
I remember telling my mother that I wanted to lose some weight when I was in junior high and she agreed. The next day I went home for lunch and found a banana shortcake with lots of whipped cream. I realized then that I would be fighting a lifelong battle.
5
Shocking and appalling. One strategy that I know has been used is to weigh children at school, and classify them by weight category on their report card. It is hard for a parent to ignore an official designation of "obese."
6
I do not want my child's weight to be listed on an academic report card. I also don't want the academic report card to be re-named the whole child report card or some such nonsense and used as a means to interfere in the private health issues of students and their families. If any school did that I would tell the administration to back off and would probably organize parents against such a practice. Don't weigh my child at school; don't dispense birth control to my children at school; don't do anything other than teach my child academic subjects at school because even that is not going so well. My child's weight is not the school's business. Pediatricians have to tread carefully on the subject of their patients' weight but schools? Uh no.
7
Karieati. I couldn't care less about what you want: what I care about is what is good for the children, and parents in denial over their child's obesity are not good for children. This program appears to have been effective and to the extent that is true, there is no valid argument against it. None.
1
One aspect of obesity and excessive weigh not addressed in the article is the fact that some parents have a body-image of themselves that equates the body ideal as being 'big.' A child with parents who equate hefty with healthy is likely to foster eating habits in their kids that replicate their own body image.
Additionally, many of these parents equate food with love, caring and affection. This association also promotes overeating.
Additionally, many of these parents equate food with love, caring and affection. This association also promotes overeating.
3
My child is a rule-follower, so this won't work for every kid, but we (and her school) told her about healthy eating and that too much sugar is bad for her. We said that she could have one treat--usually small, but sometimes something like an ice cream cone--a day and when I forget she's already had something, she'll remind me and ask if it's okay!
Again, not going to work for all kids, but children should understand what portions are "normal" and the effects of sugar so they can make educated choices. When we have ice cream at home, we have a small scoop. (The ice cream parlors are another story, because portions are huge!)
Again, not going to work for all kids, but children should understand what portions are "normal" and the effects of sugar so they can make educated choices. When we have ice cream at home, we have a small scoop. (The ice cream parlors are another story, because portions are huge!)
27
An ice cream cone every DAY? No wonder kids are so fat, a prime example of parents not watching out for their own child's health.
An ice cream cone every day is not what she wrote.
1
She said usually a small treat and SOMETIMES an ice cream.
Just as large portion meals are normal, overweight people appear normal to many in this country. Chairs, seats of cars, and even children's car seats are being built wider. Supermarkets are filled with junk, and ads feature sugar- or fat-laden foods. Maybe parents are not so much in denial, but just lack the energy to swim against the tide.
9
While strolling through a local supermarket I casually noticed every single child and parent were extremely overweight. Every single isle I walked in was the same visual horror. Every single shopping cart was filled with processed poison. I thought I was in an episode of the twilight zone.
72
Had the same experience going to an all-you-can-eat buffet in a small town. Grossly obese people everywhere.
11
And be careful when get near the candy aisle, best to carry a taser when entering there! People will trample you over sugar today.
2
People don't have the responsibility to save you from your perception of "visual horror."
“Eating healthy costs more,”
I disagree. You don't have to shop Whole Foods in order to eat healthy. But you do need to be educated about costs and benefits of particular food items. Non-organic vegetables, beans, and some nuts, are relatively inexpensive. A diet based on vegetables, with modest amounts protein and carb is not very expensive. And there is always something that is healthy and on sale.
I think the real problem that many families need to solve is that once taste buds get used to junk and highly processed food, they get "corrupted". This means that good food will taste unpleasant to the palate of someone used to junk food. On the other hand, the tastebuds of a long-term healthy eater find junk food to taste wrong.
I disagree. You don't have to shop Whole Foods in order to eat healthy. But you do need to be educated about costs and benefits of particular food items. Non-organic vegetables, beans, and some nuts, are relatively inexpensive. A diet based on vegetables, with modest amounts protein and carb is not very expensive. And there is always something that is healthy and on sale.
I think the real problem that many families need to solve is that once taste buds get used to junk and highly processed food, they get "corrupted". This means that good food will taste unpleasant to the palate of someone used to junk food. On the other hand, the tastebuds of a long-term healthy eater find junk food to taste wrong.
81
The taste-bud issue is joined by psychological issues in the parents. It is their relationship with food and with the kid that will determine the outcomes and psychological counseling, including family therapy, might be needed to get things going in the right direction.
1
People are all different, and taste is highly individual -- you might as well say that "everyone should prefer blue as their favorite color".
I know people who adore vegan or health foods, and people who simply do not like sweets at all. But in general, there are popular foods and unpopular ones, and children have a natural tendency to like sweet foods and dislike bitter foods (things like broccoli or cauliflower).
It's really not so strange that a child (or their parent!) would like chocolate chip cookies over diet foods. Most "diet" foods are very unpalatable, that's why they are for dieting and weight loss.
I know people who adore vegan or health foods, and people who simply do not like sweets at all. But in general, there are popular foods and unpopular ones, and children have a natural tendency to like sweet foods and dislike bitter foods (things like broccoli or cauliflower).
It's really not so strange that a child (or their parent!) would like chocolate chip cookies over diet foods. Most "diet" foods are very unpalatable, that's why they are for dieting and weight loss.
1
I cringed when I read that line. "Eating healthy" is not about money, its about being educated about what you put in your body. I know people who drive miles out of their way to put that "special" gas in their high performance car, but suck down Coca-Cola like its water.
Marketing junk food to the masses will continue until the public starts voting with their wallets.
Marketing junk food to the masses will continue until the public starts voting with their wallets.
Thirty years ago, I had childhood and teenaged female friends whose mothers gave them complexes for being slightly overweight. Today parents who aren't as hypercritical of their children's weight are being blamed for rising rates of childhood obesity. Okay then.
17
THere is balance and this is one them. These obese children will suffer many preventable chronic disease becuase of their parents denial - it is not being hypercritical.
1
Trust me, there are still hyper parents who pressure normal size children (usually girls) to diet even in elementary school. They see the tiniest bit of variation in body size as "fat" and are hysterical about it.
That is probably a much larger problem than the parent who can't acknowledge a real weight problem in their children. Most parents today agonize over having a fat child, because obesity is held in such distain by society.
(I suspect that the parent -- confronted by a hectoring, lecturing doctor -- are simply acting like "I didn't notice!" to try and deflect shame. I think most of them are very aware of their own weight problems, as well as that of their children. But the desire to avoid shaming and blaming is very powerful.)
That is probably a much larger problem than the parent who can't acknowledge a real weight problem in their children. Most parents today agonize over having a fat child, because obesity is held in such distain by society.
(I suspect that the parent -- confronted by a hectoring, lecturing doctor -- are simply acting like "I didn't notice!" to try and deflect shame. I think most of them are very aware of their own weight problems, as well as that of their children. But the desire to avoid shaming and blaming is very powerful.)
2
So in doing so (deflecting shame), those parents doom their children to a life of chronic disease - Type II Diabetes, hypertension etc. It makes those parents sound very narcissistic and I hope not the reason
1
I was overweight until junior high school, when I discovered sports...but I always had issues w/ food and it likely kept my height from reaching its full potential. Why was I concerned about being overweight from 5-14? No idea really. I suspect what didn't help was the processed foods and sugars I was fed. I had no sweet tooth, but loved salty chips, pretzels and the like. As we are now learning, it's the processed carbs, their associated glycemic indices, and sugars that are really making us all fat. Remember the low fat chips and cookies from the 90s? that seems almost as laughable as all the diet cokes we used to drink to no effect (other than making us all fat).
The largest stumbling block to obesity is that we still think it is about some mathematic equation based on calories, when it is rather the composition of the foods that we eat. Read Gary Taubes and you will have your eyes opened, or even the recent research he has supported with Peter Attia.
The largest stumbling block to obesity is that we still think it is about some mathematic equation based on calories, when it is rather the composition of the foods that we eat. Read Gary Taubes and you will have your eyes opened, or even the recent research he has supported with Peter Attia.
5
Calories DO have an effect on weight. This is well established. Just ask all the people who have lost weight by reducing (counting) calories.
@Mimi:
This begs a broader question, which is "why would a person be hungry for more calories than his/her body is using?" If we have to manually and consciously count calories, then something is already wrong with our hunger/satiety mechanisms, the types of foods that we are eating, or both.
This begs a broader question, which is "why would a person be hungry for more calories than his/her body is using?" If we have to manually and consciously count calories, then something is already wrong with our hunger/satiety mechanisms, the types of foods that we are eating, or both.
My step child is obese. He knows it is and has correctly identified that he would have to leave his mother's house (which is not an option) in order to eat healthy. His mom has a diet soda and junk food addiction and she is unwilling to make the household changes necessary to keep everyone healthy. Denial and rationalization are easier for her. We'll see if that changes when he develops diabetes or some other disease.
7
when most kids sit around in front of their computers all day both at school and at home or play video games while at the same time shoveling loads of junk food into their mouths , this is the result. It's been going on for decades now but still the problem gets worse. Add to it, local school districts cutting back on staff and physical ed classes due to the "Taxed enough crack pots" who don't want to spend more money on maintaining physical ed classes also has had its consequences... Tea party members- there is such a thing as inflation, more revenue is needed to keep up with just the basic levels of education and physical fitness classes.
1
Diabetes is an illness -- it is not a moral judgement about what you eat. Does he have Type II diabetes in his family? If not, he is not likely to develop it in childhood OR adulthood -- diabetes is highly heritable.
More than 80% of all OBESE people do NOT have Type II diabetes. Yes, obesity is correlated (NOT CAUSED -- correlated!) with Type II diabetes, but not remotely 100%.
We will never develop a cure or successful management of Type II diabetes as long as we treat as a moral issue. IT IS AN ILLNESS. Imagine if we treated cancer as a moral issue!
More than 80% of all OBESE people do NOT have Type II diabetes. Yes, obesity is correlated (NOT CAUSED -- correlated!) with Type II diabetes, but not remotely 100%.
We will never develop a cure or successful management of Type II diabetes as long as we treat as a moral issue. IT IS AN ILLNESS. Imagine if we treated cancer as a moral issue!
5
I think he's giving up too quickly. He doesn't have to drink diet soda - there's always water from the tap. I don't know what kind of junk food she buys, but maybe you could help him out by taking him grocery shopping and buying some food for him to prepare and eat. I don't know how old he is, but even fairly small kids can manage to wash some veggies for a salad.
3
Can we talk about the impact of car culture on this epidemic, as well? Many of our communities are designed so it is unsafe or unappealing to be able to walk or bike nearby to accomplish simple errands like shopping or even walking to school. I lived in a community where my neighbor wouldn't even allow her daughter to collect the mail on the street of her house because there was no sidewalk and cars regularly sped by (and occasionally crashed) at 55 MPH. I love the convenience of a car to get to remote places, but we need to restructure our cities and suburbs to encourage safe walking and biking over car commuting for local needs. It's ridiculous. Motor vehicle accidents are the largest killer of children according to the CDC. If a drug or a food were killing that many children per year we would be outraged. Yet we accept death by car as if it were inevitable and unchangeable, like earthquakes, rather than seeing it as a choice we make (or one that the structure of our communities makes). We are literally sacrificing our children here, people. It's time to make some change. I don't see anything in the Constitution that privileges auto transport over other transport. Walking is a civil right. What do we celebrate first after a child is born? Their first steps!! We need to take back our right to walk in this country.
115
It is more than that (although that is a big one - why all towns/etc. do not make the builders put in a sidewalk when building new housing is beyond me), it is convenience. Perhaps I should coin a new term: conveniencopia. Def = the belief that (more) convenience is a (more) Good Thing. In reality, we are becoming weak, lazy, and rather stupid.
Leaf blowers. Ever rake a yard? Talk about burning calories. Self-propelled mowers. Same. Wheeled luggage (although we're talking 'farmers walk' vs pulling weight, so perhaps someone needs to do a 'study'...lol). Everyone has everything, so there's no need to visit friends to see the new show, hear the new album (oops...CD, if that's not too old school now), etc.
Cynical? Sure. But I think we're almost in it up to the neck.
Leaf blowers. Ever rake a yard? Talk about burning calories. Self-propelled mowers. Same. Wheeled luggage (although we're talking 'farmers walk' vs pulling weight, so perhaps someone needs to do a 'study'...lol). Everyone has everything, so there's no need to visit friends to see the new show, hear the new album (oops...CD, if that's not too old school now), etc.
Cynical? Sure. But I think we're almost in it up to the neck.
1
Agreed 1,000%. I am an urban public transit user, but when I visit family in FL, they look at me like I have 3 heads when I talk about taking the train to work (yes, even in the winter!). And you should have seen the stare when I walked 3 blocks to the grocery store! Meanwhile one relative lives less than half a mile from work, but drives there (although there are actually sidewalks) and complains about how expensive it is to own and maintain 2 cars.
12
For that matter, even as an urban dweller, every day I see parents driving their children to the neighborhood school. It's not a magnet school, so the vast majority of students live within half a mile. This is a huge city with tons of public transportation, and public buses that literally drop off on the corner where the school is, and it's a high school, so the kids should be old enough to use public transportation (which is deeply discounted by the city). Why would any able-bodied high school student need a ride 3 blocks to school every day?
3
In motivational interviewing we have a saying: “Denial is not a patient problem; denial is a practitioner problem.” Denial (or “resistance” to change) is what happens when healthcare professionals tell people what they have to do without understanding the patient’s perspective or what the patient feels capable of. Unfortunately, pejorative labels like "oblivobesity" only compound the problem. An approach to counseling parents about their children’s diet and weight that emphasizes empathy, a non-judgmental attitude, and skills for tapping into parents’ own values and positive motivations can increase the likelihood that they will take steps toward healthy change.
Allan Zuckoff, PhD
Author, Finding Your Way to Change: How the Power of Motivational Interviewing Can Reveal What YOU Want and Help You Get There
www.allanzuckoff.com
Allan Zuckoff, PhD
Author, Finding Your Way to Change: How the Power of Motivational Interviewing Can Reveal What YOU Want and Help You Get There
www.allanzuckoff.com
3
Every major randomized intervention study done in children to achieve weight-loss has failed in the long-term. What good is it for parents to acknowledge their child's obesity when we lack any proven mechanism to reverse this obesity in the long term?
Instead we should put our effort into discovering the as-of-yet unknown cause of the obesity epidemic. Yes, the true cause is unknown though it is extraordinarily rare to find someone whose prejudices have not given them a very firm conception of what the true cause is.
One day we may realize that the cause of the obesity epidemic is something such as pre-zygotic epigenetic modifications to chromatin involved in the Su(var) pathway (http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMcibr1414707). That may not be the true cause, but it is going to be something 'like' that.
Instead we should put our effort into discovering the as-of-yet unknown cause of the obesity epidemic. Yes, the true cause is unknown though it is extraordinarily rare to find someone whose prejudices have not given them a very firm conception of what the true cause is.
One day we may realize that the cause of the obesity epidemic is something such as pre-zygotic epigenetic modifications to chromatin involved in the Su(var) pathway (http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMcibr1414707). That may not be the true cause, but it is going to be something 'like' that.
8
I doubt it. Using food as a self-medicating coping mechanism I would propose is the major cause of obesity in America today. Looking for scientific causes such as pre-zygotic epigenetic modifications to chromatin involved in the Su(var) pathway obscures the true picture and absolves folks from doing anything about their relationship to food and the obesity that comes with it.
5
Wish I could click "recommend" here 10,000 times.
BINGO! why shame a child (or their parents) when we have absolutely NO WAY to help them? when 98% of dieters fail? when diets provably do not work for long term weight reduction? when we have NO INKLING why some people get fat and others stay slim (in the same family!)?
Most fat children already have very low self-esteem and feel shame not only over their body -- the very essence of "themselves" -- but over their appetites. Imagine if we shamed children or teenagers this way over their SEXUAL desires! Then we'd be called "haters" or "trying to impose theocracy". But shaming people for what their body looks like, or what foods they prefer -- that is A-OK.
BINGO! why shame a child (or their parents) when we have absolutely NO WAY to help them? when 98% of dieters fail? when diets provably do not work for long term weight reduction? when we have NO INKLING why some people get fat and others stay slim (in the same family!)?
Most fat children already have very low self-esteem and feel shame not only over their body -- the very essence of "themselves" -- but over their appetites. Imagine if we shamed children or teenagers this way over their SEXUAL desires! Then we'd be called "haters" or "trying to impose theocracy". But shaming people for what their body looks like, or what foods they prefer -- that is A-OK.
5
Americans now consume, on average, over 150 pounds of sugar per year and the dramatic increase directly correlates with the rise in obesity. You're right, people want to blame everything but themselves now.
3
How about introducing health classes in elementary school? I took it in middle school, so it could be introduced a little earlier and give information about nutrition, exercise and weight. So many schools are being helpful, removing sodas from vending machines and offering more nutritious lunches, the education is another important component.
Unless parents fully support their kids when they come home from health class and start telling their parents that we shouldn't eat any more of this or that; that's bad for you etc, those health classes won't be very effective. In the case where the parent(s) are also obese, it's critical that they buy into the idea that change is vital to family health. If obese parents can't commit to fixing themselves, its quite a lot to expect kids to do all the changing. Kids do what they see, not what we say. And in the case of "misery loves company", the poor kid is seriously trapped. Much of the obesity rampant across America has less to do with folks not knowing what to eat, but rather is the result of emotional eating. A self-medicating coping process. Overeaters Anonymous (www.OA.org) is a good place to start to address this.
show me the money to pay for it- cutbacks are going on as we speak at the detriment of fitness classes and health related classes.
2
They have them.....
I was not an obese child, but I was overweight enough as a kid that my doctor spoke to me, with my mom, about it multiple times. He recommended I give up chips, sweets, fried foods, and all the obvious things.
But to deal with a child's weight problem, the whole family has to adjust; and my mom was not really going to do that. (3 of my 4 brothers were skinny.) If the family is having fried chicken tonight, or burgers and fries, then the overweight child will be having that too. Most children don't have the autonomy to control their own diets--it's a chore the parents have to take on.
It doesn't help that school sports are often team sports that less athletic kids cannot participate in. Why not more emphasis on fitness instead?
When I was in high school, I figured out that not eating with my family gave me more control over what I ate. I didn't always make good choices; but it was too bad that it came to that.
But to deal with a child's weight problem, the whole family has to adjust; and my mom was not really going to do that. (3 of my 4 brothers were skinny.) If the family is having fried chicken tonight, or burgers and fries, then the overweight child will be having that too. Most children don't have the autonomy to control their own diets--it's a chore the parents have to take on.
It doesn't help that school sports are often team sports that less athletic kids cannot participate in. Why not more emphasis on fitness instead?
When I was in high school, I figured out that not eating with my family gave me more control over what I ate. I didn't always make good choices; but it was too bad that it came to that.
98
You can't make thin kids starve because a sibling is overweight. They are getting the nutrition they need. It's the fat kid who has to be put on a diet.
1
You bring up a relevant point: to what degree must an entire family go on a diet, in order to accommodate one member? The lead paragraphs here show a mother, who resents being told what SHE can eat (or have in the house) in order to (MAYBE) get her child to eat less or slim down.
What about the other children? If they are slim or average weight, do they have to give up treats or snacks -- because their sibling cannot easily control their weight or their appetite? Must the parents? Frankly, that is going to be a losing cause. The child forced on a diet is ALWAYS going to feel like an outsider -- blamed because "we can't have ice cream BECAUSE OF YOU!" -- made to feel different or ugly or inferior.
Those things are 1000 times worse than being fat. How sad that you had to give up eating with your own family -- in order to "diet". Did that work out? How do you feel about missing so many meals and bonding experiences with your family -- chasing an ideal of physical beauty, that may not have been possible anyways?
What about the other children? If they are slim or average weight, do they have to give up treats or snacks -- because their sibling cannot easily control their weight or their appetite? Must the parents? Frankly, that is going to be a losing cause. The child forced on a diet is ALWAYS going to feel like an outsider -- blamed because "we can't have ice cream BECAUSE OF YOU!" -- made to feel different or ugly or inferior.
Those things are 1000 times worse than being fat. How sad that you had to give up eating with your own family -- in order to "diet". Did that work out? How do you feel about missing so many meals and bonding experiences with your family -- chasing an ideal of physical beauty, that may not have been possible anyways?
4
Yes, the entire family has to eat healthier foods. What parent would feed just one child helthy, nutritious meals while handing out salt and sugar laden fast food to the rest of the family?
1
True, nobody can deny that true obesity is a serious health problem. But I can't help getting a bit suspicious with the current media campaign. Then again, I was in junior high school during the Kennedy administration's official push for physical fitness, and all that accomplished was to empower gym teachers with a lot to say about their charges' futures. Real health accomplishments? As that great Yiddish saying goes, 'Vus helfen vi'af toten bankes' - 'That helps like putting fever cups on the dead'.
Education, patience and understanding - not heavy-handed punitive measures - are the only things that could really accomplish anything constructive. True, in Japan they have their mandatory Anti-Metabo (Metabolic syndrome) Programme, involving periodic weigh-ins, goals and fines for communities or employers of those who don't measure up - but THAT applies only to age 40-up, even in rather traditionally conformist Japan. Try a childhood variation of that here, with threats to parents and hobbling marks on the kids' school records, and you're cruisin' for a bruisin'. Americans would accept THAT the day they all give up their guns.
Education, patience and understanding - not heavy-handed punitive measures - are the only things that could really accomplish anything constructive. True, in Japan they have their mandatory Anti-Metabo (Metabolic syndrome) Programme, involving periodic weigh-ins, goals and fines for communities or employers of those who don't measure up - but THAT applies only to age 40-up, even in rather traditionally conformist Japan. Try a childhood variation of that here, with threats to parents and hobbling marks on the kids' school records, and you're cruisin' for a bruisin'. Americans would accept THAT the day they all give up their guns.
12
I was a child in elementary school when President Kennedy put through his physical fitness campaign -- oh what misery. We were weighed in school, and the heavyset children were shamed publicly. (Yeah, that helped a lot...NOT!) We were forced to do calisthenics, and long outdoor runs -- sit-ups (we know now are BAD for your back!) -- and how did that all turn out? The boomer generation was fatter than all previous generations.
We know a few things about obesity and dieting from 100 years of scientific research and data collection. One thing that is very well documented -- when obese adults are asked "when did you first develop a problem with your weight? and why do you think you did?", almost to a person they say "when I was a child, someone got on my case about what I weighed and what I ate and shamed & lectured me....as a result I started eating secretly and sneaking food, and lost touch with my own sense of satiation."
We know a few things about obesity and dieting from 100 years of scientific research and data collection. One thing that is very well documented -- when obese adults are asked "when did you first develop a problem with your weight? and why do you think you did?", almost to a person they say "when I was a child, someone got on my case about what I weighed and what I ate and shamed & lectured me....as a result I started eating secretly and sneaking food, and lost touch with my own sense of satiation."
8
Agreed, great column. It is also worth pointing out that some parents also underfeed, or simply don’t feed their children. When this happens the kids exhibit many kinds of attention and behavior issues which are then treated with “therapy” and drugs. I don’t say parenting is a lost art in the US, but the influence of corporations and the way therapy is implemented raise the issue of who is creating problems just so someone can make money from those problems.
30
The most important observation here is that the kids get the message from their peers that they are overweight. That should create the incentive to lose weight. And if the parents didn't know earlier, they now know there is a problem. For many reasons, parents often do not see their kids as they are. The important thing is that they act to resolve problems once they become aware of them.
2
I doubt that the types of messages get from other kids about being overweight (or any other perceived impairment that happens to bother the ringleader) will help much. Children are very cruel, and the sort of needling that they might give a classmate might be more likely to encourage him or her to eat junk as a solace.
1
I don't like Dr. Kaufman's flippant remark about fixed income families having a harder time eating healthy. Making decisions about eating healthy is difficult because thought is involved, but it does't have to cost a lot more. Education is the key. In the middle school where I teach, students participate in a Lunch Menu Challenge, learning about healthy choices. They often don't like what they learn about their own family meal choices, but it doesn't take a personal trainer or groceries from Whole Foods!
49
S. Smith: I noticed that too. Why is it more expensive to cook a thrifty meal at home than buy a take out meal? Make beans and rice with some meat, and not too much rice. Good food can be a great experience, but it does not have to be expensive. A lot of the excuses seem like just self-indulgence.
13
It's a little more complicated than the brief version, but it's true: better food often requires longer (and more expensive) travel to get, especially in food deserts where even frozen vegetables can be hard to find. Cooking is time consuming—even 20 or 30 minutes is a long time for a tired, harried, overworked parent. Cooking is also skill, even if not an unreasonable one; doing new things is scary. It's doable, but it's not so easy to eat healthy.
7
S. Smith & Richard:
Barbara Ehrenreich already explained how eating healthy was prohibitively costly when on a minimum wage. See her book "Nickled and Dimed"
Barbara Ehrenreich already explained how eating healthy was prohibitively costly when on a minimum wage. See her book "Nickled and Dimed"
3
Language matters, always. Euphemisms abound among adults referring to other adults, so it's natural that it extends to kids as well, and becomes a way of evading difficult responsibilities. After a while, it's pervasive, and then, too late, it's a "crisis."
9
Its not just food. In my opinion, decreased outdoor play is a larger factor impacting childhood obesity. And even then, obesity is just one kind of flag for poor health outcomes. A skinny child raised on soda, chips and an I-pad is not likely to be healthy either.
55
No, it's not really about activity or exercise. That's a continual red herring along with the calories trope. It's about processed carbohydrates and sugars. Periods.
2
It's about calories.
I suspect that increased eating is a direct result of eliminating physical play or organized gym activities. Kids are restless and bored and have been conditioned to eat to resolve both...
1
“Eating healthy costs more,” said Dr. Kaufman, the author of “Diabesity.” “It’s harder for someone with a fixed income who relies on school lunches than someone who can get the kid a personal trainer and buy their groceries at Whole Foods.”
Eating healthy does NOT cost more with respect to weight. One generation ago, obesity rates were much lower and Whole Foods didn't even exist. McDonalds, soda and chips were rare treats and children played outside. Healthy staples such as beans and rice and stews (which can be made with frozen vegetables) cost less per meal and are much healthier.
Eating healthy does NOT cost more with respect to weight. One generation ago, obesity rates were much lower and Whole Foods didn't even exist. McDonalds, soda and chips were rare treats and children played outside. Healthy staples such as beans and rice and stews (which can be made with frozen vegetables) cost less per meal and are much healthier.
143
Vegetables are relatively expensive, and getting them can mean going much further than the corner store. Cooking is expensive in time. Carbohydrates are very fast and very cheap and ubiquitous. And kids complain about greens, not breads.
6
So what costs more in the long run: eating fresh fruits and vegetables and refusing to touch processed food, or diabetes drugs, trips to the doctor, bariatric surgery, and all the other results of a careless diet?
The cost to this country will put us out of business worldwide when all the overweight, unhealthy kids grow up to be obese, sickly adults unable to do anything but rely on the taxpayer to pay their medical bills.
The cost to this country will put us out of business worldwide when all the overweight, unhealthy kids grow up to be obese, sickly adults unable to do anything but rely on the taxpayer to pay their medical bills.
5
Vegetables are NOT expensive -- not most of them. I was just at the store, and you can buy a huge bunch of broccoli now (it's summer!) for $1.50. There were bags of pre-washed salad greens for 99 cents.
The problem is that many adults -- and nearly all children -- absolutely hate vegetables. It's not something they are "meh" about. THEY HATE VEGETABLES.
If the "plan" for nutrition or dieting is "force people (or kids) to eat what they HATE, and give up the foods they LOVE" -- well, you are going to fail. And you will create a huge incentive for children to hide food, sneak food, lie about what they eat and end up in adulthood with some form of disordered eating.
The problem is that many adults -- and nearly all children -- absolutely hate vegetables. It's not something they are "meh" about. THEY HATE VEGETABLES.
If the "plan" for nutrition or dieting is "force people (or kids) to eat what they HATE, and give up the foods they LOVE" -- well, you are going to fail. And you will create a huge incentive for children to hide food, sneak food, lie about what they eat and end up in adulthood with some form of disordered eating.
7
I have a restaurant and I have noticed for years the chunky children who are allowed to order chocolate chip pancakes with their chocolate milk. Almost no children drink plain white milk. They drink a lot of apple juice, too. I wince but the parents are oblivious.
I believe our problems started when children stopped drinking water and milk and began to drink large amounts of juice, flavored milk, and soda instead. It was the parents who started this, at an early age, training their children's palettes to prefer super sweet foods and drinks.
I believe our problems started when children stopped drinking water and milk and began to drink large amounts of juice, flavored milk, and soda instead. It was the parents who started this, at an early age, training their children's palettes to prefer super sweet foods and drinks.
173
You wince, but keep selling the chocolate milk ... which puts you in line with lots of other restaurants. Surely it's not there for the adults. Why sell it at all? I would not dream of offering chocolate milk or juice or lemonade or soda with meals at home ... but somehow they are everywhere when we go out. And forget about finding skim milk at a restaurant. Move beyond the beverages, and one gets to the "kids' meals", which at most restaurants is just code for "french fries with chicken nuggets or hot dogs or burgers." You can certainly blame the consumer, but a little help on the supply side would be welcome, too....
22
When I was a child (lo, these many years ago), I would have been allowed to have chocolate chip pancakes and chocolate milk at a restaurant, too, if I wanted. The difference may be that I was only eating at a restaurant a few times a year. Everything in moderation.
33
I was startled when I visited a preschool--bad enough that someone brought in cupcakes for no apparent reason, but when the teacher went to give the kids cups of water to have with them, one kid demanded kool-aid and said she did not drink water!
4
One solution is to photograph everything you eat, state your weight loss goal publicly, and create a social network to help you. Taking a photo of yourself every day helps, too. When I started doing this I found my plates were more colorful and beautiful, I grazed less, and didn't go back for seconds as much. Because I put it 'out there' I felt an obligation to not let myself and others down. It was similar to the scrapbooking my niece does as a hobby. I just wish I had taken more 'before' pictures. I wish, too, it inspired my family more. I did lose 40 pounds, I'm not as hungry, and my food tastes better. Not everyone can do this, though.
7
We eat terrible food sold by conglomerates who would just as soon strip out every last nutrient and replace it with cardboard if it would make a buck.
Parents don't let Junior out of their sight, which means lots of time in front of the teevee rather than out exploring the neighborhood.
Kids are unused to hearing "no." For some reason half the parents I know pack snacks for a 20 minute car ride. Or they drink useless, sugary sports drinks because advertising has convinced them that their electrolytes need to be replenished. I'm a marathon runner and I don't need sports drinks. There is no way little 200-lb Johnny needs them either.
Parents have lost their will to parent. I'm willing to chalk it up to denial and/or ignorance as well, but whatever it is, they need to try a little harder.
Parents don't let Junior out of their sight, which means lots of time in front of the teevee rather than out exploring the neighborhood.
Kids are unused to hearing "no." For some reason half the parents I know pack snacks for a 20 minute car ride. Or they drink useless, sugary sports drinks because advertising has convinced them that their electrolytes need to be replenished. I'm a marathon runner and I don't need sports drinks. There is no way little 200-lb Johnny needs them either.
Parents have lost their will to parent. I'm willing to chalk it up to denial and/or ignorance as well, but whatever it is, they need to try a little harder.
145
My parenting philosophy is "No is a complete sentence." The one time some kindly grandma gave my daughter soda (when she was 3!), I told her that she could keep her until the sugar was out of her system. ;)
14
I genuinely, and somewhat cruelly, enjoy telling my kids "no" to more TV shows, video games and junk food. But just as important is telling your kids "yes" to playing on the Slip n' Slide, jungle gym, playing tag or helping you cook some wholesome food.
1
I'm really curious about how we arrived at this state of constant eating and eating everywhere. I used to call some of the strollers at the park when my son was young "traveling pantries" because of the variety and plenitude of snacks that could be produced from them from a two-hour trip to the park.
1
The size of others has a pretty strong influence on perception. A few years ago many in the church I pastored were on the heavy side. The often told me how "thin" I was, expressing a wish that they could eat 'normally' and be thin, too. They were chronically on diets, but only half-heartedly. The truth is, I am not thin and never have been. My weight falls in the middle of the 'desirable' range for my height/build. I only seemed thin to them because so many of them were overweight. Overweight was the norm, which skewed their perceptions of what a normal weight would be.
149
It's certainly true that obesity is relative. I once worked in the UK and had a manager who was very overweight and said he liked to go to the US because it made him feel slimmer. This was in the early 1980's, and the people he was comparing himself with were not children, which suggests that the roots of the problem go back some way.
4
Obesity - even being overweight - sets a kid up for lifelong health problems and permanent damage to their body.
And no - just because blood work shows that cholesterol is okay and the person is not becoming diabetic - that oes NOT mean that extra fat is not damaging and they are "healthy" despite the excess weight. Excess weight - fat - damages bones, joints and spines slowly but surely and while a knee can be replaced, a spine can not.
If a parent did anything else that would cause permanent physical damage or illness to a child, the child would be removed from the home for abuse and/or neglect.
If a child is overweight, Child Welfare should be brought in. Unless the fat is due to an endocrine imbalance or other medically verifiable problems (and not just wishful internet blather about carbs or whatever), the family should be under the supervision of the Child Welfare until the weight comes off.
If the child does not lose the weight - or makes no realistic progress to losing the weight - they should be removed from the parent's care as an abused or neglected child. PERIOD
The rest of us do not care to get stuck with having to chip for the endless healthcare costs for the fat - and chip in we will have to as our health insurance costs go up.
And no - just because blood work shows that cholesterol is okay and the person is not becoming diabetic - that oes NOT mean that extra fat is not damaging and they are "healthy" despite the excess weight. Excess weight - fat - damages bones, joints and spines slowly but surely and while a knee can be replaced, a spine can not.
If a parent did anything else that would cause permanent physical damage or illness to a child, the child would be removed from the home for abuse and/or neglect.
If a child is overweight, Child Welfare should be brought in. Unless the fat is due to an endocrine imbalance or other medically verifiable problems (and not just wishful internet blather about carbs or whatever), the family should be under the supervision of the Child Welfare until the weight comes off.
If the child does not lose the weight - or makes no realistic progress to losing the weight - they should be removed from the parent's care as an abused or neglected child. PERIOD
The rest of us do not care to get stuck with having to chip for the endless healthcare costs for the fat - and chip in we will have to as our health insurance costs go up.
28
Well, if this is what would happen to them, I can certainly see why parents would prefer not to acknowledge the problem.
And I'm sure that forcibly removing a child from his parents wouldn't have the teeniest potential for harm, now would it?
And I'm sure that forcibly removing a child from his parents wouldn't have the teeniest potential for harm, now would it?
29
Thin people can be unhealthy and costly, too. Studies have shown that even thin children can have hardening arteries from eating the wrong stuff. Just because someone is thin, that doesn't mean that person is healthier, but even healthy people can cost money for treatments like replacements for joints damaged or worn out from physical activity.
If a child is anorexic or schizophrenic, but does not show improvement with treatment, would you advocate removing that child from his or her parents' home?
Calling weight-challenged people "the fat" is quite insensitive, by the way, and, unless you are privy to others' tax returns, how do you know that you are subsidizing anyone in particular, rather than things being the other way around? Overweight people pay work and pay taxes, too.
If a child is anorexic or schizophrenic, but does not show improvement with treatment, would you advocate removing that child from his or her parents' home?
Calling weight-challenged people "the fat" is quite insensitive, by the way, and, unless you are privy to others' tax returns, how do you know that you are subsidizing anyone in particular, rather than things being the other way around? Overweight people pay work and pay taxes, too.
21
I agree, especially if the child is under 12. I have never understood how a normal, healthy child can be obese at that age because a parent is controlling all their food. Just say no!
Now, when I hit puberty, I started spending most of my time with friends and ate a lot of garbage and put on 50 lbs. but my mom didn't much control over what I did anymore. That's harder to handle.
Now, when I hit puberty, I started spending most of my time with friends and ate a lot of garbage and put on 50 lbs. but my mom didn't much control over what I did anymore. That's harder to handle.
3
In the US food is big business run amorally by the rules of the market.... humans/consumers are the target....
Coke, Chips Ahoy, Doritas... in fact most of what's sold in the average supermarket has little value and can be toxic...
It's a war.... too often fought against children....
Coke, Chips Ahoy, Doritas... in fact most of what's sold in the average supermarket has little value and can be toxic...
It's a war.... too often fought against children....
45
It's the food supply.
Just google pictures in the 1970s---people, all people, were thinner. Way thinner. I am talking about people who ate steaks and butters, and hamburgers and french fries......and they were thin.
We can try and blame the parents. Blame ourselves. And sure--we can all do a better job of eating better.
But I think that there are other factors like the high levels of BPA and arsenic in our food. The overuse of antibiotics. It's the GMOs--treated with Roundup. It's the high corn fructose syrup in everything. And the incredibly high price of clean food.
Address that and then go ahead and fat shame us al you want.
Just google pictures in the 1970s---people, all people, were thinner. Way thinner. I am talking about people who ate steaks and butters, and hamburgers and french fries......and they were thin.
We can try and blame the parents. Blame ourselves. And sure--we can all do a better job of eating better.
But I think that there are other factors like the high levels of BPA and arsenic in our food. The overuse of antibiotics. It's the GMOs--treated with Roundup. It's the high corn fructose syrup in everything. And the incredibly high price of clean food.
Address that and then go ahead and fat shame us al you want.
72
Easy answer
THen DO NOT eat the junk
Buy fresh vegetables an ingredients
Cook
(BTW I can only find 5 food items in my house that have corn syrup - 3 kinds of purchased jam and 2 types of basic peanut butter.)
Stop making excuses for being lazy
THen DO NOT eat the junk
Buy fresh vegetables an ingredients
Cook
(BTW I can only find 5 food items in my house that have corn syrup - 3 kinds of purchased jam and 2 types of basic peanut butter.)
Stop making excuses for being lazy
18
Easy there---I am not lazy. Nor am I fat. This is exactly the kind of body shaming I am talking about. I am pointing out our food supply is NOT ON PAR with Europe's--and you start making assumptions about me and feel entitled to attack me. Not right.
Fresh vegetables are not as fresh as you would think. Unless you can afford and have access to organic and/or farm grown, you run the risk of bringing pesticides into your home. Your local grocer has GMOs amongst those fresh vegetables and many foods are mislabeled.
But perhaps the worst thing of all is this: even organic food is suspect because they use pesticides and growth promoters.....and many of those fresh vegetables have unhealthy levels of arsenic. Nothing is safe and it plays out in a variety of ways--from the rise in autoimmune disorders, to the high rates of autism, to the obesity crisis, to a host of other things that are VERY SPECIFIC TO THE US.
So Ann S, off the high horse there and do a little research. There is more making us fat than just french fries. If our bodies are not healthy to start with they cannot metabolize or function as intended and unfortunately, even with your basic jam and peanut butter and veggies, your food supply is not as healthy as you think. Our family is foreign and we don't change our diet yet every member that moves to the US gains weight. Why do you think that is if we are still eating the same foods?
Fresh vegetables are not as fresh as you would think. Unless you can afford and have access to organic and/or farm grown, you run the risk of bringing pesticides into your home. Your local grocer has GMOs amongst those fresh vegetables and many foods are mislabeled.
But perhaps the worst thing of all is this: even organic food is suspect because they use pesticides and growth promoters.....and many of those fresh vegetables have unhealthy levels of arsenic. Nothing is safe and it plays out in a variety of ways--from the rise in autoimmune disorders, to the high rates of autism, to the obesity crisis, to a host of other things that are VERY SPECIFIC TO THE US.
So Ann S, off the high horse there and do a little research. There is more making us fat than just french fries. If our bodies are not healthy to start with they cannot metabolize or function as intended and unfortunately, even with your basic jam and peanut butter and veggies, your food supply is not as healthy as you think. Our family is foreign and we don't change our diet yet every member that moves to the US gains weight. Why do you think that is if we are still eating the same foods?
6
You can buy peanut butter that is "just peanuts" without corn syrup...grind your own at the health food store. Or spread cut up fresh fruit on your toast...yummy mango or cut up strawberries. We can all do better...
One point not mentioned in this article is the notion of 'the clean plate club'. I've always thought that forcing a child to finish every last bite helped to increase what they could eat in each sitting, making the ability to achieve portion control for themselves much harder.
162
The "clean plate club" was the way I was raised, but it was cited in conjunction with portion control, and required before I was allowed to load up on favorite foods. I was required to take SMALL portions of everything offered - which meant that I got all the foods needed for a balanced diet (since my mother's meals always included meat and starch in limited quantities, two vegetables in unlimited amounts, and fruit for dessert). Second helpings were permitted only after I finished everything on the plate. I fear that very few homes adhere to that kind of diet now.
12
Use smaller plates, serve smaller portions
8
The reason parents push for clean plates is to discourage snacking later. Some kids push their food around the plate, are hungry later and then sneak-eat.
Of course it is also important that the plate had appropriate portion sizes.
Of course it is also important that the plate had appropriate portion sizes.
2
Having begun around 1980, the obesity epidemic is now into its third generation. With the obesity of the parents themselves, this denial of their kids' problem is the most insidious part of the epidemic: the notion of a new normal. It's a national, and now, global, crisis of wastefulness, and is deeply entwined with the destruction of nature and climate disruption. It's unethical consumption enabled by corporations.
30
The notion of fitness in children's minds is molded and fostered (or not) in the home, in school and among peers. It doesn't take a lot of scientific studies to drive this home. It really is common sense. Unfortunately, each aspect of a child's world tends to want to blame one of the other factors when they are not doing the right things to make children healthier. It is really when all of these factors are working to promote childhood fitness where we see the best results.
4
I just minutes ago looked at a Tumblr site where an 18-year old girl resembling a skeleton complained about being too fat and hoped that death would come for her soon. "Please somebody call me skinny!" she begged.
Whipping up mass hysteria in any direction is of no use to anyone.
Whipping up mass hysteria in any direction is of no use to anyone.
13
So the percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.
At best anorexia affects 1% of female adolescents and it's not changing. Obesity, on the other hand, is an EPIDEMIC. This is not mass hysteria - this is the biggest health crisis our country faces. Sure anorexia is a disease too, but it's not going to prematurely kill half the country like obesity.
At best anorexia affects 1% of female adolescents and it's not changing. Obesity, on the other hand, is an EPIDEMIC. This is not mass hysteria - this is the biggest health crisis our country faces. Sure anorexia is a disease too, but it's not going to prematurely kill half the country like obesity.
13
A public health crisis is not hysteria. The existence of anorexia does not counterbalance the obesity epidemic.
7
Bode: your capitalized 'epidemic' which jumps from 21% of adolescents to killing half the country is the epitome of hysteria. Meanwhile the individual I referred to, representing an unimportant one percent, is in grave danger of ending her own life, though the applicable epidemic might actually be "suicide." She is the victim of contagious, self-loathing thought patterns fueled by global media, which go hand in hand with the enormously profitable worldwide business of "assisted" weight reduction.
Each new article blaming obesity-related health problems on "denial" - that late-Victorian diagnosis of morally-culpable refusal to agree with one's haters - is another blow in favor of American bigotry.
Each new article blaming obesity-related health problems on "denial" - that late-Victorian diagnosis of morally-culpable refusal to agree with one's haters - is another blow in favor of American bigotry.
3
Very little in this article about activity. The way kids do sports now discourages it. Everything is organized, and the kid who cannot perform is made fun of, making it worse. Short of kids re-learning how to organize their own football and basketball games, healthy lifestyle activities, including bicycle riding, jogging, walking, swimming, shooting hoops at the playground or in the backyard, should be encouraged by schools and doctors and health professionals over the stuff our little leagues and travel soccer teams do for the kids who can and want to play competitively.
42
I agree with you completely...... that is a very good point. We have taken the fun out of sports.
4
What about non-competitive sports or physical activities? I used to absolutely dread gym. Yet I was a decent athlete and wound up becoming a dancer (big shock to my classmates and parents who truly thought I was hopeless!)
But, some of us think team sports are rather frightening, especially if they involve mean people who form cliques (otherwise known as "teams") and also if they involve fast moving objects such as balls (otherwise known as Things That Might Break My Nails:)
Seriously - we don't provide for individualism much at all. This includes dance, but also encouraging people to get out and walk, look at nature. Horses are expensive for individuals but maybe communities could figure out how to maintain some kind of pony club - little girls and boys who hate "sports," who aren't competitive by nature and dread being picked on gym class, sometimes love riding.
This helps people integrate with nature too, which is increasingly remote and contributes, I think, to our feeling alienated from our own planet.
But, some of us think team sports are rather frightening, especially if they involve mean people who form cliques (otherwise known as "teams") and also if they involve fast moving objects such as balls (otherwise known as Things That Might Break My Nails:)
Seriously - we don't provide for individualism much at all. This includes dance, but also encouraging people to get out and walk, look at nature. Horses are expensive for individuals but maybe communities could figure out how to maintain some kind of pony club - little girls and boys who hate "sports," who aren't competitive by nature and dread being picked on gym class, sometimes love riding.
This helps people integrate with nature too, which is increasingly remote and contributes, I think, to our feeling alienated from our own planet.
13
Parents need to eat healthy themselves and to not distinguish between adult and kid food. Kid should be eating what the parents eat. There is no reason to have things like cookies and chips in the house to be eaten as snacks or as a reward for good behavior. These things should simply not be purchased for regular consumption but should be seen as special occasion indulgences.
In order to have a sweet tooth, one has to develop one first through constant exposure to the stuff.
In order to have a sweet tooth, one has to develop one first through constant exposure to the stuff.
96
I think you are wrong about the sweet tooth being taught. We are born with a desire for sweets. Often the parents are overweight themselves. Living in an environment where even most poor people have access to excess calories, the deciding factor is genetics. Shaming and blaming the parents is the wrong tactic.
2
I completely agree that there are so many rewards that are better than food. We'll purchase a DVD my kids want or take them to a museum. This summer, my kids are I are training for cross country running in the fall, so we are climbing the steps up the 22 floors of our capitol building. At the end of the up and down run, we stop at the gift shop and they can pick something for under $1. My daughter is trying to get the whole collection of tiny rubber sea critters. (They are 50 cents each.) We come home and they eat fruit and yogurt. Heck, the reward can be as simple as a walk around the mall or reading a book together. All so much more memorable than a cookie.
1
The taste for sweet things is really a taste for fruit, berries, and honey, which would have been the sweet things available to us in our evolution. Modern sugary foods fool our taste buds but do not deliver the nutrients of fruit or berries.
1