Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a battle

[TravelingGal]

Article in CNN today.

http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/29/first-lady-childhood-obesity/?hpt=Sbin

Nothing new here, as we all know Michelle Obama is big on this cause. But I think a lot of people sort of shrug it off. A world in the title caught my eye - "fight" (headline on the cnn main page was "Fight Childhood Obesity")

More and more around me I see this is a sticky issue. A tangled web, so to speak.

We're so PC these days, we need to be sensitive about everything. However, we should be sensitive on this topic, right? Who wants to give children complexes? What about parents who take it personally?

I see overweight children EVERYWHERE. Not just poorer socioeconomic kids (since the argument is healthy food is too expensive), but wealthy areas where kids are spoiled by whatever they want to eat, or in a case I know, a 300 lb nanny who cooks like she eats for the kids she takes care of. The parents respond by only putting their kids on a DIET when the doctor firmly advises them to do so. No one changes habits as a family. The younger skinnier ones still get to eat the same way, while the chubby ones are "punished." 3 girls, and one by one, they are getting fat.

Another friend of mine was recently told by our ped her son was overweight. She just shrugged it off as him being big boned. I spoke to my doctor about the issue of overweight children and he said it's a hard convo to have. The child is nearly always "big boned" or has "bad glands" according to the parents.

Most parents at the end of the day say their kids are happy and healthy - even if they are overweight (although again, they usually don't see it). But shouldn't this be something we watch more carefully? Should we give more credit to BMI charts for children or is it overkill? There is a huge range for "healthy in children" - from 5 to 85 on the kid BMI chart is considered healthy. Over 85, and it's a red flag. And my doc told me a LOT of kids are over 85.

My dad, in the end, died of diabetes. It breaks my heart that we're starting to see type 2 more and more in children.

Not sure if this is a vent, rant, or a real question...but thought I'd put it out there in case anyone has something enlightening to say.

 

[sctsbride09]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

I dont really have too much to say on the subject, although it upsets me very much. I dont have kids yet, but when I do I plan to make sure they eat proper and GO OUTSIDE to play. I swear when I was a kid, thats all we did was play outside, now you never see that. I wonder why. The reason I actually wanted to respond to this post was because of the snippet about healthy food being too expensive. I really dont see how junk food is cheaper than healthy food. Im constantly reading that, but I dont SEE it, especially when I go grocery shopping. If you want to eat healthy on a budget, there are ways, trust me I know. I think alot of it boils down to people being lazy, or simply being to stretched to their limit and not having TIME to put together a healthy meal.

Overall though, it saddens me that childhood obesity is practically the norm. But, eating healthy and having a healthy lifestyle start at home, and if you cant get parents to live like that, what hope do we have for the kids?

 

[elrohwen]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

I don't have kids and I may be oversimplifying, but it seems to me that childhood obesity stems from adult obesity. Adults don't know how to feed themselves in a healthy way, so they're unable to feed their kids to eat in a healthy way (or teach them healthy eating habits for the long-run).

It seems that health and weightloss are all over the news all the time, yet adults continue to get more overweight, so clearly this information campaign isn't helping. If informing people how to make the right choices isn't doing anything, then I'm at a loss for what to do. I don't think childhood obesity is going to change until the adults change.

I think that the food we eat just isn't healthy and we're eating too much of it. With the majority of food processors making things out of only corn, soybeans, and flour, I do think it's hard to people to eat healthy and know what to eat. Back when these products weren't available everyone had to cook, but now families are working longer hours and don't have the time (and often the knowledge) to prepare a healthy meal.

 

[KittyGolightly]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

I don't have kids and I may be oversimplifying, but it seems to me that childhood obesity stems from adult obesity. Adults don't know how to feed themselves in a healthy way, so they're unable to feed their kids to eat in a healthy way (or teach them healthy eating habits for the long-run).

It seems that health and weightloss are all over the news all the time, yet adults continue to get more overweight, so clearly this information campaign isn't helping. If informing people how to make the right choices isn't doing anything, then I'm at a loss for what to do. I don't think childhood obesity is going to change until the adults change.

I agree. I think it's great that so many schools now are trying to improve lunches and provide students with exercise and play opportunities. Unfortunately, that can't make up for eating too much at home.

 

[Jennifer W]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

It seems like such a complex issue and the more you look into it, the more complicated it becomes. Clearly nobody wants the poor health and emotional issues that are attached to obesity for their children, but yet so many people haven't managed to prevent it happening to them. I can't believe they're all careless, stupid or neglectful, so there has to be something difficult in there.

One issue you touched on is the heavier kids being punished with a diet while those around them carry on with the treats - there's a lot of commercial pressure to believe that a diet is a temporary thing that you pick up as a solution to a problem, then discard when the problem is solved, returning to normal. No real understanding that health and fitness is about a balance of lifestyle factors, rather than a balance of food groups.

Another factor seems to be the overwhelming availability of truly dreadful food, much of it targeted at children. Some of it is even dressed up as high quality or superior in some way, or even healthy. Like the organic wholemilk yoghurt with organic sugar as it's second greatest component, and in a serving size that's just too large for the age group it's targeted at (suitable from 4 months, according to the pack). You have to read every label very closely to be confident you're buying something appropriate for a child to eat. I take hours to do a weekly shop, and some crap still sneaks past me- palm oil, corn syrup, inverted sugar syrup, trans-fat solids, to name but a few.

It's very difficult to feed a child only good quality food. It's one of my core beliefs in childrearing, yet I find it hard to stick to sometimes. The more I look into what is in our food, the more I think there are certain things sold as edible that aren't compatible with human health and are actively harmful. What I find ironic is that some of the foods I see in that category as seen as treats.

It's also hard to have the last word in what your child eats. Older children can swap things, buy things and be given things, but even my two year old has been given food gifts at Christmas that I'm not happy for her to eat. They might taste nice, but there is no other benefit to be derived from them. One particular horror was a box of kids' cupcake mix. The list of ingredients was startling, but of course she wanted to make and eat the cakes. I don't mind her eating cake now and again, on the understanding that the portion size is appropriate and that cake contains butter, flour, eggs and sugar, but I do mind her eating the things that came in that box. She's young enough that I could dump the foul contents and use the decorations, paper cake cups and so on to 'make' the cakes with real ingredients. I wouldn't get away with that in a year or so, and I'l have to have a long think about how that's going to go.

Anyway, I'm ranting. The food industry seems geared towards promoting poor childhood health and ultimately obesity and it makes me furious.

 

[TravelingGal]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

I don't have kids and I may be oversimplifying, but it seems to me that childhood obesity stems from adult obesity. Adults don't know how to feed themselves in a healthy way, so they're unable to feed their kids to eat in a healthy way (or teach them healthy eating habits for the long-run).

It seems that health and weightloss are all over the news all the time, yet adults continue to get more overweight, so clearly this information campaign isn't helping. If informing people how to make the right choices isn't doing anything, then I'm at a loss for what to do. I don't think childhood obesity is going to change until the adults change.

I think that the food we eat just isn't healthy and we're eating too much of it. With the majority of food processors making things out of only corn, soybeans, and flour, I do think it's hard to people to eat healthy and know what to eat. Back when these products weren't available everyone had to cook, but now families are working longer hours and don't have the time (and often the knowledge) to prepare a healthy meal.

I think that it's easy to generalize that way (uh oh, am I starting something again here? ) But in the cases I see, thin parents are getting big kids as they don't know how to say "no" to the 6th cookie. And there are bigger parents with thin kids, as they make an effort to put their kids on a different track from where they are.

It's hard too, because it's often said that being fat is one of the last frontiers where you CAN be unPC and very insensitive. I find the line of being sensitive and confronting the issue confusing at times.

IMHO (at least from the observations I've made from the people around me), it doesn't stem from overweight parents, or lack of money - but a lack of setting boundaries as a whole. Kid wants to watch TV all day? Fine. Video games? Sure. Cakes? yup. Because tantrums are scary and no one wants to deal with them.

That's simplifying, of course. There are many, many reasons for childhood obesity, which is why I do think it's such a battle.

Oh, and re: healthy being cheap...yeah, spinach can be cheap, but my kid won't eat it!

 

[elrohwen]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

I don't have kids and I may be oversimplifying, but it seems to me that childhood obesity stems from adult obesity. Adults don't know how to feed themselves in a healthy way, so they're unable to feed their kids to eat in a healthy way (or teach them healthy eating habits for the long-run).

It seems that health and weightloss are all over the news all the time, yet adults continue to get more overweight, so clearly this information campaign isn't helping. If informing people how to make the right choices isn't doing anything, then I'm at a loss for what to do. I don't think childhood obesity is going to change until the adults change.

I think that the food we eat just isn't healthy and we're eating too much of it. With the majority of food processors making things out of only corn, soybeans, and flour, I do think it's hard to people to eat healthy and know what to eat. Back when these products weren't available everyone had to cook, but now families are working longer hours and don't have the time (and often the knowledge) to prepare a healthy meal.

I think that it's easy to generalize that way (uh oh, am I starting something again here? ) But in the cases I see, thin parents are getting big kids as they don't know how to say "no" to the 6th cookie. And there are bigger parents with thin kids, as they make an effort to put their kids on a different track from where they are.

It's hard too, because it's often said that being fat is one of the last frontiers where you CAN be unPC and very insensitive. I find the line of being sensitive and confronting the issue confusing at times.

IMHO (at least from the observations I've made from the people around me), it doesn't stem from overweight parents, or lack of money - but a lack of setting boundaries as a whole. Kid wants to watch TV all day? Fine. Video games? Sure. Cakes? yup. Because tantrums are scary and no one wants to deal with them.

That's simplifying, of course. There are many, many reasons for childhood obesity, which is why I do think it's such a battle.

Oh, and re: healthy being cheap...yeah, spinach can be cheap, but my kid won't eat it!

I think this is where your actual experience with parents and kids is useful for looking at the real causes. I know very few parents and kids, so I only see lots of overweight kids and lots of overweight adults, without the specifics. I will say that I see a lot of overweight kids walking around with overweight parents at the mall, while skinnier kids are walking around with skinnier parents. But that's just my observation, since I don't know them personally and know the details of their lives.

 

[elrohwen]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

Jen, I completely agree with your post! Food companies spend a lot of time working on "perceived" health of their products, instead of actual health. I personally worked on and launched a baked snack food that claimed to have part of your daily servings of veggies in it. How many parents understand that once those veggies are freeze dried and baked into a snack that they have almost no nutritional value left? I'm assuming almost no parent would realize that, not working in the food industry, so to have a company (and this was one of the better and more upfront companies) insinuating that this snack was healthier than other similar snacks just made me angry.

Some parent is probably out there loading their kid up on these snacks thinking that they are healthy and providing vegetable nutrients, when they might as well give them any other cracker. How is that parent to know? The food company certainly isn't going to tell them.

But nobody's going to buy a product that's actually as healthy as a real vegetable, because then it would just taste like a real vegetable! If food companies are going to make money, they need to make things that taste good and those things will always be high in sugar, fat, and salt, because that's what we like to eat. Ironically, the product I mentioned went off the market quickly because it didn't taste very good. Go figure!

 

[Prana]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

Childhood obesity seems to be a problem most notable in America. The American culture has been known to overdo things, eating being the main thing. We have everything we need right at our fingertips...plus and abundance of over-processed, salty, sugary, fatty, hormone injected foods. I think we need to retrain the nation as a whole regarding portion sizes, and getting the right balance of healthy foods in our diet.

I can't speak for other countries, because I honestly have no clue what the obesity epidemic is like anywhere else.

Now I have to get down off my soap box and wash the potato chip grease off my hands and trade them in for a grapefruit....

 

[TravelingGal]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

Jen, I completely agree with your post! Food companies spend a lot of time working on "perceived" health of their products, instead of actual health. I personally worked on and launched a baked snack food that claimed to have part of your daily servings of veggies in it. How many parents understand that once those veggies are freeze dried and baked into a snack that they have almost no nutritional value left? I'm assuming almost no parent would realize that, not working in the food industry, so to have a company (and this was one of the better and more upfront companies) insinuating that this snack was healthier than other similar snacks just made me angry.

Some parent is probably out there loading their kid up on these snacks thinking that they are healthy and providing vegetable nutrients, when they might as well give them any other cracker. How is that parent to know?

But nobody's going to buy a product that's actually as healthy as a real vegetable, because then it would just taste like a real vegetable! If food companies are going to make money, they need to make things that taste good and those things will always be high in sugar, fat, and salt, because that's what we like to eat.

And you know, it kills me because as a parent with a picky kid, some days you want your kid to eat ANYTHING. I recently posted on FB to the toddler moms, why do I bother? I try to make healthy foods with real meats and veggies and it's a battle to get her to eat. On a whim (because my daughter probably suffers from being underweight), I bought a can of spaghettios as an "experiment", and she gobbled the whole thing up.

I don't know what made me feel worse...that I actually gave the stuff for her, or that she liked it. And I admit, the part on the can that said "blah blah blah, healthy serving of veggies, blah blah" made me feel better even though I KNOW that it's exactly what you said - bull crap!

 

[elrohwen]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

Jen, I completely agree with your post! Food companies spend a lot of time working on "perceived" health of their products, instead of actual health. I personally worked on and launched a baked snack food that claimed to have part of your daily servings of veggies in it. How many parents understand that once those veggies are freeze dried and baked into a snack that they have almost no nutritional value left? I'm assuming almost no parent would realize that, not working in the food industry, so to have a company (and this was one of the better and more upfront companies) insinuating that this snack was healthier than other similar snacks just made me angry.

Some parent is probably out there loading their kid up on these snacks thinking that they are healthy and providing vegetable nutrients, when they might as well give them any other cracker. How is that parent to know?

But nobody's going to buy a product that's actually as healthy as a real vegetable, because then it would just taste like a real vegetable! If food companies are going to make money, they need to make things that taste good and those things will always be high in sugar, fat, and salt, because that's what we like to eat.

And you know, it kills me because as a parent with a picky kid, some days you want your kid to eat ANYTHING. I recently posted on FB to the toddler moms, why do I bother? I try to make healthy foods with real meats and veggies and it's a battle to get her to eat. On a whim (because my daughter probably suffers from being underweight), I bought a can of spaghettios as an "experiment", and she gobbled the whole thing up.

I don't know what made me feel worse...that I actually gave the stuff for her, or that she liked it. And I admit, the part on the can that said "blah blah blah, healthy serving of veggies, blah blah" made me feel better even though I KNOW that it's exactly what you said - bull crap!

I can only imagine the frustration! I think a lot of parents are where you are, but instead of trying so hard to get healthy foods in there, they give up and use the packaged foods because, "hey, it says there are veggies in it, right? At least the kid is eating something." There's definitely no easy answer.

 

[fieryred33143]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

A lot of it is awareness. I'm overweight as is my FI. We have a few overweight people in our families. But from the day my daughter was born, I became a lot more aware of what she was eating. To me, she has the perfect health. It would be a shame if me feeding her crap destroys that.

This week we were at my moms. Every (older) person that came to visit commented on how thin my daughter looks compared to how she was as a chunky baby. I got all kinds of "advice" to chunk her up including dipping regular food in desert so she'll eat more of it and adding cereal/chocolate/strawberry to her milk. They mean well because these are people that care a lot about us but it showed me that there is still the thought that chunky children = healthy.

That said, my daughter is incredibly picky. There are days where she'll eat nothing but an egg in the morning and snacks throughout the day no matter how hard we try to get her to eat other things. She eats bread like it's no ones business so after days of her eating nothing, I resort to a grilled cheese because I know she'll eat it. And she loves mac n cheese which is another option when she isn't eating. The difference with being aware of her eating habits is that instead of stuffing her with kraft, I take the time to make homemade. This kid doesn't even like hamburgers or chicken nuggets like a normal kid would. Luckily she loves her veggie and fruit smoothies which she gets daily but it can be VERY frustration and heartbreaking dealing with a kid that doesn't want to eat. I can see why some parents give certain foods in that case.

 

[TravelingGal]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

I can only imagine the frustration! I think a lot of parents are where you are, but instead of trying so hard to get healthy foods in there, they give up and use the packaged foods because, "hey, it says there are veggies in it, right? At least the kid is eating something." There's definitely no easy answer.

It's just on so many levels. Take chicken nuggets. Amelia likes the ones from Trader Joe's. I also make ones from scratch with flour, eggs, and panko. They are really good. But something about the frozen ones she likes. She also gets frozen nuggets at preschool, where they provide lunch. They are not cooking from scratch. So she develops the taste for them there, and that translates to what she wants to eat at home. It is very difficult to make a toddler eat.

So then, what are my options for school? Pack her lunch each time and don't let her eat school lunch? That's an option, but then she won't eat the lunch I make because she wants the school lunch and I'm not there to try and get her to eat...she has 20 minutes to eat her lunch and then it's time to clean up (another issue because she is a SLOW eater). And then there's me...lazy maybe...because I don't want to take the time to pack her a homemade lunch that she's not going to eat! So I just let her have the school lunch. And then I think, geez, I'm really not helping our cause here.

If I struggle like this with ONE kid, how insane is it when parents have a gaggle of them??!

 

[Prana]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

Fiery "stuffing her with Krafft"

 

[Haven]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

Childhood obesity makes me so sad. We were at a holiday party with a family of five, and all five were obese. The oldest child is six, the youngest is 2, and they are all very large. I told DH that I think it's child abuse, and I stand by that comment.

I have no idea how difficult it is to keep your children thin, especially when they are picky eaters. The parents' eating habits, and the amount of physical exercise they incorporate into their lives, must have an effect, no?

My niece and nephew are picky eaters, and when they were younger we sat through some tormenting meals with them where their parents told them they could eat what was on their plate, or go to bed hungry. If they excused themselves from dinner without eating, my SIL told us not to worry, they'd get hungry in a couple hours and ask her to reheat the food for them. This seemed reasonable to me. It was pretty awful suffering through the whining and crying, but now that they're older the kids are good eaters for the most part. And very healthy.

My sister and I ran a local 5K race on Thanksgiving morning. There were many families there with their small children, some were in strollers, and many ran the race with their parents. I ran into an old acquaintance from high school that day, as well. She's now 30, her three younger siblings are 27, 23, and 21, and they were there running the race with their parents. The entire family is extremely fit and they all appear healthy; I have to imagine that their parents' healthy lifestyle has something to do with that.

ETA: I don't mean to sound as if I think this is easy. I imagine it's extremely difficult. And I understand that a couple of anecdotes don't make a case, but they are interesting examples of what I see as the influence of parents' choices on their children's health and well being.

 

[Jennifer W]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

Jen, I completely agree with your post! Food companies spend a lot of time working on "perceived" health of their products, instead of actual health. I personally worked on and launched a baked snack food that claimed to have part of your daily servings of veggies in it. How many parents understand that once those veggies are freeze dried and baked into a snack that they have almost no nutritional value left? I'm assuming almost no parent would realize that, not working in the food industry, so to have a company (and this was one of the better and more upfront companies) insinuating that this snack was healthier than other similar snacks just made me angry.

Some parent is probably out there loading their kid up on these snacks thinking that they are healthy and providing vegetable nutrients, when they might as well give them any other cracker. How is that parent to know? The food company certainly isn't going to tell them.

But nobody's going to buy a product that's actually as healthy as a real vegetable, because then it would just taste like a real vegetable! If food companies are going to make money, they need to make things that taste good and those things will always be high in sugar, fat, and salt, because that's what we like to eat. Ironically, the product I mentioned went off the market quickly because it didn't taste very good. Go figure!

What a depressing tale, especially when it didn't sell! If the manufacturer was saying it was better than similar snacks, I can forgive that (just) because none of the similar snacks will be coming home with me either and it really doesn't matter. They could claim it would could mop floors and change bed linen for all I care. What really does bother me is the implication (never quite explicitly stated) that it really is as good as an actual vegetable.

TGal, that really sucks and I feel for you. I too have made wholesome, nutritious meals to have them spat out or declared to be "poopy." That's the exception though - I can't imagine the frustration of dealing with that day in, day out. I do have a child who will generally eat what we eat and is happy to try new foods. I have no suggestions, at least none that you won't have heard before.

ETA on the school lunches thing, we had the same dilemma. The stuff they gave the kids wasn't acceptable, so it's packed lunches. Which sucks, because you have to pack them, and they often come back uneaten. I'm taking a hard line though - eat it or be hungry. She can out-last me for a while, but basically likes to eat so we get there in the end...

 

[TravelingGal]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

Childhood obesity makes me so sad. We were at a holiday party with a family of five, and all five were obese. The oldest child is six, the youngest is 2, and they are all very large. I told DH that I think it's child abuse, and I stand by that comment.

I have no idea how difficult it is to keep your children thin, especially when they are picky eaters. The parents' eating habits, and the amount of physical exercise they incorporate into their lives, must have an effect, no?

Yes Haven, I think it does. Which is why parental fitness is hugely important. I've said this before, but it's probably like taking care of a pet. You can't exactly let a kid go out and walk herself. Which means YOU have to get off yer ass too. And I can tell you, toddlers MOVE. Like RUN. Endlessly. It's hard to keep up with Amelia sometimes, and her legs are only a third as long as mine! Some days, I don't want to walk my kid, but I know I HAVE to. Lucky for me, I have a dog walker...er, I mean, a nanny who helps in the active department.

There was an article on CNN this week that sleep is definitely a KEY factor in how tall kids get because the growth hormone releases when they sleep. Kids seem to sleep better after a full, active day, and you'd think then, grow taller. Activity is healthy and good for them in ways we probably don't even fully understand.

But oh! It's so easy to just kick back on the couch some days....

 

[yennyfire]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

There are MANY reasons why people (and kids) are obese. In some cases, it's because junk food is less expensive than healthy food (though there are healthier fast food options, like Subway), in some cases, it's lack of knowledge on the parents part, in some cases it's that the parents don't want to deal with a temper tantrum.

Couple of comments to earlier posts that caught my attention. I'm glad that schools are making an effort to offer healthier choices, but it does no good if the kids don't eat them. I have lunch at least 3 times a month with my son (he's in kindergarten) and I see the kids going through the lunch line, taking a cheeseburger, tater tots and dessert. They don't take the side salad, fruit or yogurt. The teachers don't monitor what the kids choose, so the kids aren't any better off then they were when the schools didn't offer healthy choices. I wish the school would stop offering dessert at lunchtime. Is it really necessary?

TG, I hear ya on the frustration of cooking healthy food and having your kids refuse to eat it. I cook what I consider to be kid friendly healthy food and most nights, dinner is an unpleasant experience. My kids (ages 4 and 6), don't like the same things...my daughter doesn't like any type of meat/chicken, but eats a variety of veggies, while my son likes meat/chicken, but is very limited on veggies. Thank goodness they both eat a wide array of fruits. I have the attitude that I put the meal on the table and they either eat it or they don't. There are no substitutes made and there is no additional food until morning. Of course, I make a huge effort to make sure that there is at least one item on the table that they each like, so no one actually leaves the table hungry, though it has happened. I've also made it clear that if they are fussing about the meal, they will be excused from the table. It's taken a LONG time (about 2 years), but they are finally getting the message. It certainly hasn't been pleasant, but I refuse to make two meals or take the easy way out and give them garbage. I'm not saying that I NEVER make them fish sticks and fries, because I do, just not on a weekly basis.

As for the outdoor activity, I know that things have changed a lot since I was a kid. I used to play all over the neighborhood without telling my Mom when I went from one backyard to the next. Now, I won't let my 6 year old son walk across the street by himself. My kids play in the backyard, but it's not the same as being able to run freely about. Playing has become such an organized activity, with parents having to make "playdates" and going to a park where they can supervise the kids.

I think the lack of opportunity to run around freely, combined with a lack of knowledge about making healthy food choices has contributed to the juvenile obesity problem in our country. It's definitely a huge problem (no pun intended) and not going to get better on it's own.

 

[TravelingGal]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

TGal, that really sucks and I feel for you. I too have made wholesome, nutritious meals to have them spat out or declared to be "poopy." That's the exception though - I can't imagine the frustration of dealing with that day in, day out. I do have a child who will generally eat what we eat and is happy to try new foods. I have no suggestions, at least none that you won't have heard before.

Jennifer, some days I wonder if it's my head too. If I am being too hard on everyone. I say she is a picky eater, but then I take note of what she eats. Last week she had an entire adult size bowl of pasta (the recipe you gave me) so it was healthy with bellpeppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and even spinach! On whole wheat pasta. Another time she had a piece of salmon (a good size piece) with a couple of cups of mixed fresh fruit, carrots, cucumbers and wheat bread on the side. For christmas she had lamb roast and loads of broccoli. She can eat like this, but just not ALL the time. Which is why I wonder if I should just cut everyone some slack and not feel bad about the spaghettios.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

DH and I are both overweight and as we hopefully are going to become parents this year (through adoption) we are trying to get healthier so we can set a good model for our kids.

1. I realized my concept of portion sizes has gotten totally out of whack in the past 10-15 years and I don't even know who to believe about what portion sizes should be b/c pretty much every "pyramid" and set of guidelines is developed by the government with the input (coersion) of big-agra companies
2. GMO foods scare me and I want to really start avoiding them, but it's hard to tell what foods have been GMOd
3. I read that food processing basically makes food hyper-palatable by adding flavor stimulants like sugar, salt, fat, MSG, and other additives and by beginning to break the food down, essentially pre-chewing. EW! remembering that while eating is helping me.
4. DH loves TV and video games and I love to read, plus I admit to a pretty seriuos BRAVO/MTV addiction. We need to be more active

My new years/new lifestyle changes are:
1. To get 30 minutes of activy each day (with a goal of 6 hours per week)
2. To make the majority of the food I eat, and know what's in the rest of it
3. To not eat out more than once a week (tough when it comes to take-out lunches, but it will be better for my waist and my budget)

We were watching old movies at Christmas (like its a wonderful life and it's actually kind of startling to realize how much bigger/fatter we are now--adults and children...

 

[sctsbride09]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

.

niece and nephew are picky eaters, and when they were younger we sat through some tormenting meals with them where their parents told them they could eat what was on their plate, or go to bed hungry. If they excused themselves from dinner without eating, my SIL told us not to worry, they'd get hungry in a couple hours and ask her to reheat the food for them. This seemed reasonable to me. It was pretty awful suffering through the whining and crying, but now that they're older the kids are good eaters for the most part. And very healthy.

]
Haven- This is exactly how I was raised, and to this day, I will eat everything. My brother however (7 years younger) was raised differently, and was obese as a kid btw, If he would refuse dinner, my mom would rush to make him something else, instead of insisting that he eat what everyone else eats. He is the pickiest person alive. I was baffled that my mom was willing to do this with my little bro, and Im still baffled by it. Im no short order cook, and if my kid doesnt want to eat for a night, they arent going to die. It just seems crazy to me that the children seem to be in charge nowadays, instead of eating what is in front of them, it seems more have the option to turn their nose up to it.

 

[yennyfire]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

TG, my pedi told me that you need to look at the overall picture with your kids diet. It sounds like Amelia is doing fine. If my kids ate like you described (ever) I'd be thrilled! I think it sounds like you're doing a great job! Offering her spaghettios now and then won't hurt her (hmmm, I've never tried them...wonder if my kids would eat them, lol!)....

It's like parents who go to the opposite end of the spectrum and refuse to let their kids have any sugar/desserts. All they're doing (IMO) is creating a child who will go nuts whenever the opportunity presents itself. I'm the product of one of those familes, though no one in my family is overweight. Growing up, a graham cracker was cause for celebration and when I went to college, I gained 30 lbs. because all I wanted was huge quantities of the foods I had never been allowed to eat. Luckily, I finally learned to embrace the "everything in moderation" approach and eat anything I want in reasonable portions and am at a healthy weight/BMI. I am trying to raise my kids with this mindset. We have dessert/treats several times a week (providing that they've eaten their meal). Yes, I wish they'd eat more things, but what they do eat is for the most part healthy, and I think that with time, they will begin to eat a wider variety of food.

 

[TravelingGal]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

.

niece and nephew are picky eaters, and when they were younger we sat through some tormenting meals with them where their parents told them they could eat what was on their plate, or go to bed hungry. If they excused themselves from dinner without eating, my SIL told us not to worry, they'd get hungry in a couple hours and ask her to reheat the food for them. This seemed reasonable to me. It was pretty awful suffering through the whining and crying, but now that they're older the kids are good eaters for the most part. And very healthy.

]
Haven- This is exactly how I was raised, and to this day, I will eat everything. My brother however (7 years younger) was raised differently, and was obese as a kid btw, If he would refuse dinner, my mom would rush to make him something else, instead of insisting that he eat what everyone else eats. He is the pickiest person alive. I was baffled that my mom was willing to do this with my little bro, and Im still baffled by it. Im no short order cook, and if my kid doesnt want to eat for a night, they arent going to die. It just seems crazy to me that the children seem to be in charge nowadays, instead of eating what is in front of them, it seems more have the option to turn their nose up to it.

sct, I do this with my kid (the go to bed hungry thing). If she doesn't eat dinner (meaning at all and won't try), then I also don't give her milk, which I think she can count on to feel full before bed. I know she won't starve by missing a meal. But she's so slim, I admit it is SO SO HARD to send her to bed without those calories. However, for the reasons you say, I refuse to be a short order cook. That's back to the boundaries thing again though.

 

[Haven]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

Bella--DH and I watch the Ironman World Championship on ESPN together every year because it is so motivating and helps us get through the winter slumps. This year, they profiled an 80 year old man who was running in his 21st Kona Ironman. (Or was it his 31st?) This means that he qualified for Kona in *another* triathlon event for all of those years! This guy was amazing. He gave us the most motivation to stay healthy, and two things he said have stuck with me:

1) When asked how long he plans to live, he said that he'd already made it 80 years, and he still feels great, so he's planning on being around for at least 120. This seemed so profound, because his plan to live another 40 years means that every choice he makes in life is based on the assumption that he needs his body to be healthy for another 40 years. This sounds so elementary when I type it out right now, but it really clicked with me and changed the way I look at things like skipping a workout or choosing a bad meal over a healthy one.

2) When asked about his secret to staying healthy, he said a) He never eats something unless he can identify everything that's in it, and b) He gets in a cardio workout every day, and pushes himself just to the point of failure when he just can't go any longer.

I think it's wonderful that you're trying to get healthy, and if you can get your hands on this year's Ironman broadcast, I think you'd find it really inspiring.

Oh, and he finished within the time limits, by the way! 21 years in a row, isn't that amazing?

Edited to add commentary to #1.

 

[Kaleigh]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

I saw on CNN today that kids are being prescribed drugs for hypertension. BP medicine. That's super scary.

My son was a super picky eater TGal, and was also allergic to all things dairy. It was hard to get him to eat anything!

They won't eat anything processed, it's got to be fresh real food or they won't eat it.. DD is a vegetarian, and is really making me aware of stuff I had no clue about.

So I will say as a parent, I didn't do enough of the fresh veggies.. We had our share of processed dinners.

And they say Mom you gave us Pop tarts for breakfast!!!

So parents need to be more aware, and understand you can't always afford to by organic produce, etc..

Schools need to do a better job, and have seen on TV that many are trying...

 

[sctsbride09]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

Tgal- I can see your point about missing calories, especially if she is a slim child. That would be a tough one. I know it is easy to say I will let my kid go to bed hungry like I did, and it wont kill them, but I can also see how if she/he didnt eat meals I would probably let some spaghetti os slide. Especially if its only once in a while. But like you said, and I think you NAILED IT,it is the boundaries w/kids. I think we see alot of parents now days that are super lax compared to how most of us grew up.

 

[Haven]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

DH recorded a great show about school lunches in France, I'll try to get the title from him later. They were serving fresh, gourmet, amazing lunches to PRESCHOOLERS, and it was really a riot to see these kids eating this delicious food.

I'm pretty sure there is research out there to support that fresh, healthy lunches have a positive impact on student behavior, especially students that are labeled BD. We have a school in the area for children with behavior disorders, and they serve only fresh food, no soda, and rumor has it that they have very few behavior issues during the school day, and credit their lunch food for it. Apparently, they switched food providers and saw a dramatic change. Very interesting.

Really, though--parents can *send* a healthy lunch to school with their kids. You can't blame the schools, entirely. You do have a CHOICE.

 

[fieryred33143]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

Yenny-our pedi told us the same.

It's a lot easier said than done but we do it anyway. Dinner is dinner, there is nothing else. The only problem with my kid is that she won't ever come back and say she's hungry. It's like she forgets she needs to eat.

Anyway, there can be a whole topic on toddler feeding issues. I think the key is a balanced healthy meal and activity. I don't think being an overweight adult is an excuse to have limited activity. I can't run like others but that doesn't mean I can't take my kid to the park and let her run around, you know?

 

[Skippy123]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

I don't have kids and I may be oversimplifying, but it seems to me that childhood obesity stems from adult obesity. Adults don't know how to feed themselves in a healthy way, so they're unable to feed their kids to eat in a healthy way (or teach them healthy eating habits for the long-run).

I think that the food we eat just isn't healthy and we're eating too much of it. With the majority of food processors making things out of only corn, soybeans, and flour, I do think it's hard to people to eat healthy and know what to eat. Back when these products weren't available everyone had to cook, but now families are working longer hours and don't have the time (and often the knowledge) to prepare a healthy meal.

I agree with this! I wasn't really overweight but on the verge of it in HS; I didn't know I should be eating fruits and veggies nor how many calories I should be eating. I also didn't know how many calories were in a coke. I took a college Nutrition class and it really opened my eyes. I agree that there are horrible choices out there; I wish there were more choices in healthy fast food to make it convenient for working moms or single parents.

I have a friend who feels bad her kid is in daycare and brings her a chocolate milk or milkshake when she goes to pick up her 5 year old child. I think treats should really be limited. I think if you start introducing more goodies into a childs diet then the more of those goodies (treats/sweets) they want. I notice it with myself when I eat veggies, beans, fruits, lean meats that I do not crave junk. It really was eye opener for me to try not eating so many processed meals and focusing on whole foods. It made the cravings for more and more junk go away. I do have treats here in there but now try to be more mindful of what I am eating and how it makes me feel overall. I wish they taught nutrition in the schools; I think it would really help parents and students. I noticed Jamie Oliver was on a mission; I wish more people would join his mission because it is sad to see so many diabetics out there (based on seeing it happen in my family too).

 

[Jennifer W]

Re: Childhood obesity-I'm really starting to see it IS a bat

TGal, from what you've described, your Amelia eats much the same as mine. I hadn't got mine down as a picky eater at all, but she does the same things.

Some days she eats a significant amount and wide variety of food, other days she barely takes a bite, or only wants to eat one type of food, often grapes.

I put it down to variation in daily activity (from manic to hyper-manic) and phases of growth.

I'm trying to relax about the 'no thank you' days, and I've stopped trying to tempt her appetite - if she doesn't want to eat, and I know she isn't really prone to power struggles, then there is likely to be a reason. I really don't want to mess up her appetite control or her ability to recognise when she is and isn't hungry.

It is so hard sometimes, but I'm impressed that your A ate my pasta sauce - lovely to get international acclaim. I'm going to admit to being offended that she has tasted that and yet prefers canned spaghetti though.