fat kids....ugh

[Keebler]

Hi,

First, let me start by saying this is not a personal attack on kids. I bet they're all great kids.

But my lord, I went to a beach today with my kids and was floored, astounded ashamed, sad and angry and how many huge, fat kids there are. I know some kids have genetic issues, but not every one of them does i'm sure.

It was disgusting how fat they were. There was one kid who is about my size, but i bet he had 30-40 lbs on me! Huge fat rolls on his upper back!

I'm far from perfect, but as adults, we know the deal so it's our own dumb fault if we gain weight and stay out of shape (again, aside from genetic diseases), but for the kids, man, they don't know any better!

As a society, we are failing our kids. And it further freaks me out when I try to fathom how kids on one side of the planet can be so disgustingly fat and we have other kids who barely get a handful to eat. Now, this isn't to say that all kids are fat, but there sure are far more fat kids today from when I was kid back in the '70s - 80s.

Maybe i'm just getting old or maybe i'm looking for reasons to keep on my kids about eating properly, but the things I saw today, really bother me.

I'm not expecting kids to be ripped full of muscles, but just not so darn fat and out of shape. When 1 kid was running into the water, I swear i felt tremors.

That shouldn't happen.

Cheers,
Keebler

[iShater]

I blame too much time in front of the TV, consoles, and McDonald's. :cool:

At least you saw them out doing something active! ;)

[CanadaRAM]

OK, who is responsible for the popularity of McDonalds, sodapop, games and TV?

Multi Billions of dollars of the absolute highest-quality, highest-tech and most persuasive advertising is pummelling our children to convince then that one brand is better than the other (and G@wd forbid you go out in public with an unbranded piece of clothing on), that consumption of fast foods is not only desirable but normal, that pop and candy and pizza are staples of daily diet, that celebrity is something to admire and copy, that you are nothing if you don't have the newest, greatest, loudest, most expensive -- whatever.

Our kids don't have a chance of developing a balanced perspective. They see it, they are force fed the marketing messages day and night.

They model their parents and their role models' behaviours. And their role models? TV and movie characters, musicians, sports players, game characters who are all brought to you by -- the hawkers of fast food, pop, candy, pizza, games, electronics and movies.

Our children are turning out to be EXACTLY what we have put so much energy, talent and money into making them -- consumers.


(We got rid of our TV 20 years ago, when our kids were 10 and 5. Best thing we could have ever done)

[miloblithe]

A friend who's a pediatrician says he sees obese infants whose parents shove a bottle into them 24-7 to shut them up. Very sad.

Likewise, I'm not a perfect parent either. I was feeling lazy yesterday morning and used various youtube clips to entertain/distract my toddler while I checked my email for a few minutes, for example. But using food non-stop to distract/sate a kid is pretty bad. As is feeding kids foods with little to no nutritional value. Of course, that's easy for me to say at this point. I've got a toddler who loves broccoli and green beans but refused to eat her birthday chocolate cupcake (or have it anywhere near her). No doubt in a few years she'll realize that there are junk foods she likes.

[Prof.]

I was at the Chicago train station about 2 weeks ago and as I was standing in line to get onto the train, a dad walked by with his son. The dad was okay in terms of weight (but still a lil more to love) and his son was behind him. His son, who was prolly 8ish, was so fat that when he walked, he waddled like a penguin. It was really sad.

[Ugg]

What is truly sad and frightening is that obese kids almost always become obese adults.

There's a cool blog called strange maps (http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/) and the July 5th post is a map of the prevalence of obesity in the US. Without a doubt, the south east is the most obese while the Rocky Mountain Region and the Southwest is the least obese. Since the SE is also the poorest and least educated, it's not hard to see a link between poverty and obesity.

I think the saddest part is that obesity is becoming so commonplace that a lot of people don't see anything wrong with it.

[Iscariot]

http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyimages/1108.gif

[Victor ch]

I blame too much time in front of the TV, consoles, and McDonald's. :cool:

At least you saw them out doing something active! ;)

Hey stop describing my daily routine! Actually it is (gotta love McDonalds and the PS3), but I do exercise every night and skip meals (cause I don't have time to eat) and Im what you'll consider fit. I'm 6' tall and weigh a little under 160lb.

Having been here (US) for over 2 weeks now I must say Im shocked of the amount of obese people I've seen, and as this thread points, mainly kids. What's wrong here?

Victor

[Sun Baked]

Can't really blame McDonald's or kids would have been fat in 1955.

It was a restaurant trend in the US that can be seen in portion control.

Sort of sucks I didn't record the study that shows the growth of plates ordered by restaurants over the last 30 years.

Portion distortion that starts in restaurants and fast food, and ends at home.

You know portion control is out of hand people actually end up taking their plates to the Maytag store to make sure they will fit in the dishwasher.

We went from 12" plates being the norm for an individual to family platter sized plates of today.

Give somebody a small 12" plate and they will think you are nuts.

---

That and the don't waste food mentality ... pushing yourself to finish off a plate of food is like saying, "thanks I think I'll put this on my ass instead of in the trash."

[iJohnHenry]

What the hell happened to filling your plate with what you can easily finish, and being satisfied with that???

That's how I was raised. To bad about the current crop.

[Keebler]

OK, who is responsible for the popularity of McDonalds, sodapop, games and TV?

Multi Billions of dollars of the absolute highest-quality, highest-tech and most persuasive advertising is pummelling our children to convince then that one brand is better than the other (and G@wd forbid you go out in public with an unbranded piece of clothing on), that consumption of fast foods is not only desirable but normal, that pop and candy and pizza are staples of daily diet, that celebrity is something to admire and copy, that you are nothing if you don't have the newest, greatest, loudest, most expensive -- whatever.

Our kids don't have a chance of developing a balanced perspective. They see it, they are force fed the marketing messages day and night.

They model their parents and their role models' behaviours. And their role models? TV and movie characters, musicians, sports players, game characters who are all brought to you by -- the hawkers of fast food, pop, candy, pizza, games, electronics and movies.

Our children are turning out to be EXACTLY what we have put so much energy, talent and money into making them -- consumers.


(We got rid of our TV 20 years ago, when our kids were 10 and 5. Best thing we could have ever done)

i've often thought about canning the tv, but i haven't pushed that issue. I have severely limited tv usage and computer time. They're used more for rewards than anything. It's worked too - i find my kids play more games b/n themselves than anything. I had a frank discussion with my 7 year old and explained that too much 'screen time' is not good for you.

The above is another reason why we don't have a gaming system either. If we were to ever get one, it would be the Wii. Of course, this hurts me too b/c i grew up with nintendo so I would LOVE to play some of the new awesome games out there, but I'll sacrifice that :)

Good points about the consumers CRam. So very true.

[Iscariot]

i've often thought about canning the tv, but i haven't pushed that issue. I have severely limited tv usage and computer time. They're used more for rewards than anything. It's worked too - i find my kids play more games b/n themselves than anything. I had a frank discussion with my 7 year old and explained that too much 'screen time' is not good for you.

The above is another reason why we don't have a gaming system either. If we were to ever get one, it would be the Wii. Of course, this hurts me too b/c i grew up with nintendo so I would LOVE to play some of the new awesome games out there, but I'll sacrifice that :)

Good points about the consumers CRam. So very true.

I don't know if it's so much about limiting exposure to unhealthy habits as it is establishing healthy habits. While I don't have cable or watch TV per se, I do watch a lot of TV shows and movies on DvD, have some gaming systems, have a sedentary job, and spend an awful lot of time in front of the computer. My physical fitness by most measures (fitness test, BMI, body fat percentage and resting heart rate) is on or approaching that of an amateur level athlete, because I have established healthy eating and exercising habits.

I can't suppose if this in any way applies to raising children as that's an exercise competely foreign to me, but that's what works for me as an adult.

[Leareth]

It seems that the kids today are going to extremes: one side the fat kids, and on the other the starving sticks.

When i went to my uni today I was looking at the people around me and that was basically the two types I saw. then like a mirage,a group of people in front of me, normal looking, fit, in practical comfortable clothing for school, then I checked again, those were the Olympic's bound athletes. grr.

It is rather sad though to see the overweight 12 year old and under kids... really it not that hard to go play outside, run around ,climb trees etc.

[Iscariot]

89% of kids' food products low on nutritional value: study (http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/07/14/food-study.html) (excluding junk food)

@Leareth: hell, I still climb trees in the park to this day.

[ktbubster]

Spent the last 2+ years working with my boss on this book. Learned a lot about eating habits and diet balances and such. He is 93 and a emeritus professor still working (obviously) on research and such, and swims every day for exercise. His wife is the same age and all his kids have kids. I trust him, that and he has been in the industry for 70 years... :)

"Cholesterol Won't Kill You, But Trans Fat Could"

http://www.trafford.com/07-1517

All this fat kid talk got me thinking about that.

[leekohler]

Well, this started a long time ago. It's indicative of the laziness and selfishness of American culture. I'm shooting a segment for 20/20 Thursday with my aunt who tried a fad diet two years ago. Of course it failed and now they're doing the follow-up show. People in my family do this crap all the time. Then they ask me what my "secret" is. :rolleyes: I'm just say, DUH! Get off your butt and move! But they don't want to do that. :rolleyes:

EDIT- well, it appears that I now won't be doing the 20/20 segment. The producers changed their minds and want to do something different.

[Keebler]

I don't know if it's so much about limiting exposure to unhealthy habits as it is establishing healthy habits. While I don't have cable or watch TV per se, I do watch a lot of TV shows and movies on DvD, have some gaming systems, have a sedentary job, and spend an awful lot of time in front of the computer. My physical fitness by most measures (fitness test, BMI, body fat percentage and resting heart rate) is on or approaching that of an amateur level athlete, because I have established healthy eating and exercising habits.

I can't suppose if this in any way applies to raising children as that's an exercise competely foreign to me, but that's what works for me as an adult.

actually, that's a good point iscariot and i guess, the exact same reasons why I haven't sent the tv packing. many of the points you mentioned, I do (except the job b/c i stay at home with my kids).

You're right - it's education and lifestyle which is the point to bring to kids.

[leekohler]

Let's also face the fact that a lot of folks are ill-equipped to raise kids. I think you should have to have a license to raise kids, or at least have to take a parenting class.

[MrSmith]

I think video games should take a large part of the blame.

[mkrishnan]

Well, this started a long time ago. It's indicative of the laziness and selfishness of American culture.

It's not just American culture, though... it's almost every industrialized or industrializing nation. Even perennially thin Japan is fighting rising obesity.

I think exercise and activity levels are very important. People should exercise more. But the industrialization of food, I believe, is a much bigger culprit. As mentioned several times above, too much of the available food is too low in (micro) nutritive value, and yes, it comes packaged in too too large portions. It doesn't make any sense for most of the population to exercise harder and harder to compensate for unhealthy food options. And while a small portion of the population can successfully resist bombardment with unhealthy food options (and some of us can resist it altogether too well... :rolleyes: ), it's arrogant of us to expect that most of the population can be locked in a room with thousands of calories of non-nutritive food and be expected to not eat it. And yet that's exactly the kind of civilization we've built.

[.Andy]

I just did a paediatrics placement and the paediatrician was adamant that parents should never force feed any kid (even healthy foods). Even those kids who were on the lower end of the percentage tables, he made it clear that he considered the best evidence pointed towards not increasing their dietary intake above what they were willing to eat themselves (unless of course their weight was dropping at an increasing rate due to illness).

His reasoning was that research is showing that the you're not leaving the table until you eat everything on the plate attitude leads to a loss of the normal dietary self-regulation and satiety, which in turn leads to excess eating when the child is older. So a lot of the problems people are experiencing with weight might arise from problems set up as a toddler, by parents actually thinking they were doing the right thing.

I've not read the research myself but this seemed an interesting and biologically plausible approach. But then again professional opinion is the lowest form of evidence so take this with a grain of salt (!) unless you appraise the research yourself.

[OscarTheGrouch]

I think video games should take a large part of the blame.

How is an inanimate object to blame??:confused:

[OscarTheGrouch]

Let's also face the fact that a lot of folks are ill-equipped to raise kids. I think you should have to have a license to raise kids, or at least have to take a parenting class.

I agree with this 200%. I remember I worked at Spencer Gifts for a brief time while in College.

This family came in- quite obviously not well off- and they had 4 kids, including 2 in a stroller. Their purchases included adult themed games and accessories.

1. i would not be purchasing these things in the presence of my children

2. have you not figured out what causes them yet?

[MrSmith]

How is an inanimate object to blame??:confused:Time spent mouth agape in front of the TV screen instead of playing ball in the yard.

[LethalWolfe]

Time spent mouth agape in front of the TV screen instead of playing ball in the yard.
Sounds like a parent that's letting the inmate(s) run the asylum.


Lethal

EDIT:
Let's also face the fact that a lot of folks are ill-equipped to raise kids. I think you should have to have a license to raise kids, or at least have to take a parenting class.
I hope there's more frustration and hyperbole in this post than seriousness 'cause having the government determine who can procreate and who cannot is pretty disturbing, IMO. A private company (Baby's R' Us or something) offering $XYZ in in-store credit if you take a parenting class or something is one thing, but saying you believe government should decide who gets to have kids is quite another.


Lethal

[Motley]

And today in Time: A study showing teens are getting less exercise. (http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1823256,00.html)

[MrSmith]

Sounds like a parent that's letting the inmate(s) run the asylum.

Here in Japan that's the average family. You must have heard of the S. Korean guy who dropped dead after 50 hours straight play. Though of course that's not average... Someone made a flippant remark about inanimate objects but video games are a big problem right here and now for this generation. 7 year olds with video games...

[LethalWolfe]

Here in Japan that's the average family. You must have heard of the S. Korean guy who dropped dead after 50 hours straight play. Though of course that's not average... Someone made a flippant remark about inanimate objects but video games are a big problem right here and now for this generation. 7 year olds with video games...
Yeah, but the person's *choice* to play a video game until he died is his fault, not the game's fault. Unless, of course, the video game makers held a gun to the guy's head and forced him to play until he died. McDonald's isn't to blame for fat people. People who eat so much McDonald's that they become fat are to blame for fat people (the rare exception of people w/genetic disorders obviously excluded). When college kids binge on beer and die of alcohol poisoning is that the beer's fault? A mountain bike trail near me has a section named for a guy who pushed himself so hard he had a heart attack and died on the trail. Is that the mountain bike's fault? The trail's fault for being too steep?

If a kid is getting fat because he's playing too much Halo 3 that's not Halo 3's fault. Halo 3 can't see the kid and go, "Gee, yer looking a little thick. Maybe you should go outside and play." But the kid's parent's sure as hell can see if their child is getting fat or not. Or if he's spending too much time sitting on his butt eating Dorito's instead of leading a more active, healthy lifestyle. Parent's should not put the onus of raising children on the children themselves. That's just lazy and irresponsible.


Lethal

[MrSmith]

Lethal, you're right of course, you can't blame the game itself, but I think you're being a little disingenuous. Let's rephrase it. It's the parents who buy their kids these literally mind-numbing machines that are to blame. IMHO.

[it5five]

A private company (Baby's R' Us or something) offering $XYZ in in-store credit if you take a parenting class or something is one thing, but saying you believe government should decide who gets to have kids is quite another.



And you think that private company, especially one that exclusively sells baby items, would be objective in it's parenting class? It would be full of the same type of stuff we see every day on TV. They would recommend parents buy x item or y item, because without it, they wouldn't be good parents.

I don't blame obese children on video games or TV, I blame it on bad parenting. Bad parents think a television can act as a babysitter. Advertisers know this, and have easy access to a demographic unable to think critically at their age.

But like I said, it's not the fault of TV. When/if I have children, I won't get rid of TV entirely. But they won't have one in their room (an all too common practice these days), they won't watch shows/channels that have advertisements until they are old enough to understand that commercials lie, they will go outside and be active, and most importantly, they won't eat trash. My girlfriend and I don't ever eat fast food, and that won't change if we have kids.

[Iscariot]

I don't blame obese children on video games or TV, I blame it on bad parenting. Bad parents think a television can act as a babysitter. Advertisers know this, and have easy access to a demographic unable to think critically at their age.

I'm going to take it one step further and say that it's not so much bad parenting as it is education and beliefs that haven't kept up with modern living.

As per .Andy's example, it's not uncommon for parents to enforce a "clear your plate" or "eat it all before you get dessert" policy at the dinner table. 75 years ago, this wouldn't have had the same negative impact as it does today; 75 years ago meat consumption* was much lower and foods contained less sugars, making for meals with lower caloric values, and kids after dinner would go out and play, not go and watch TV. Less calories and more activity meant that kids could be fed a huge meal, and still have it all burned off before bed.

Portion sizes have gone up and physical activity has gone down, but what are believed to be healthy attitudes remain the same.

While parents are certainly responsible for the values they pass along to their kids, one has to ask, where are they getting their values? Most adults and teenagers don't even know what a calorie is, let alone have any idea how many or in what proportion to eat them. Even today, nutrition and proper physical education (phys ed is not being forced to run laps by an overweight teacher) are not being taught at even a reasonable level in public schools. Where is a parent or potential parent supposed to learn about the value of nutrition and fitness, or for that matter, even consider learning about it when our institutions seem to place such little value on it?

_______________
*Meat is typically more calorie dense than other foods

[nbs2]

But like I said, it's not the fault of TV. When/if I have children, I won't get rid of TV entirely. But they won't have one in their room (an all too common practice these days), they won't watch shows/channels that have advertisements until they are old enough to understand that commercials lie, they will go outside and be active, and most importantly, they won't eat trash. My girlfriend and I don't ever eat fast food, and that won't change if we have kids.

Wait until you have kids. Suddenly, you realize that everyhting has been commercialized. I don't mean product placement, but rather that everything is available for purchase. My daughter, at just over one, can identify the dogs on tv thanks to her stuffed animal. If she is close enough, she'll hug it.

You have a computer, I'm guessing. Wait until she sees you on it. Ours lives to try and type at a computer. What is that you say? You have an old machine that long since hasn't worked? It will keep her good for about five minutes, then she'll want a working machine - your working machine.

Back on topic, kids will do what they want when they are tiny. They will run around if even if you don't encourage them and play with them, but it takes parental investment keep them going. Plus, it can be more fun for you. When my kid sees that I'm going to tickle her, she'll run. We can keep that up for 15-20 minutes (an blessed eternity to any parent). On the occasions that I am too tired or sore to move, after trying for a minute or two to get me to play with her, she'll sidle up to me, sit down, and vegetate while I read to her. But, the point is, her continued activity demands that I (or my wife) be actively involved with her.

[maestro55]

I figured that I would chime in on here as I am one of the fat disgusting people this thread talks about, and while I am 20 now I started gaining weight when I was around 9 or 10 years old. Last time I weighed myself I was 282lbs (I am 6'3, so need to lose about 100lbs to be average size). Do I think I overeat? Yes, I know I do. I am one of those people that enjoy eating. I am one of those people that can go to the buffet and put down four plates of food.

Why do I think children are fat? Well for me it was actually quite interesting, because I was a very skinny kid in elementary school, I remember in the third grade being called "toothpick" by classmates, I mean it was bad you could see my bones. It always ticked me off because after that summer and the start of my 4th grade year I had gotten much bigger and kids started making fun of my weight problem. As I got taller though it stopped being such a big deal and I have been between 275 and 285 now since my sophomore year in High School.

I guess one thing is that I never actually cared, and it is only when I see threads like this or my girlfriend comments about the amount of mayo I am using that I actually seem to care a bit. I mean it isn't like I am really all that lazy, I have worked in retail now for two years (very active) and I don't mind walking (in fact my friends, even the skinny ones, usually get pissed off with me when in Austin and I want to park somewhere and then Walk all over town).

We could spend all day talking about the different cases, trying to figure out why kids are fat. It is obvious for me that my weight problem began really with buffets and my love for food. We used to go to Ci Ci's Pizza a lot because there were so many of us and my dad enjoyed Chinese buffets and so I would go with him a lot. Probably when I was 9 or 10 I didn't eat 4 plates of food like I can now, but I know I ate too much (hence the reason I put on so much weight).

But alas, life has gone on and now I am here. I have actually started eating a little bit less (I cut out the fast food because of the cost) and I have considered joining a gym. Though I can still overeat easily, I haven't been to a buffet in several weeks. Will I ever be of average weight? Probably not, unless I make a serious effort, and I guess I am not ready for that right now.

Though my only concern is health concerns. High Blood pressure, or heart disease. Of course I smoke and drink too so I will probably die young unless I change my habits. But as for caring if people think I am disgusting or not, they can go ---- themselves for all I care. I got tired of hearing that BS in junior high and I don't need to hear it from adults.

[Prof.]

For the record...

Back in January 2008, I was 268lbs @ 6 feet 4 inches. Now, in July, I am 248lbs. My goal is to be 210 by Christmas of this year.

I'm working on it!:)

[Leareth]

89% of kids' food products low on nutritional value: study (http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/07/14/food-study.html) (excluding junk food)

@Leareth: hell, I still climb trees in the park to this day.

@ Iscariot , I do too. I just get weird looks from people , and even threats that they will call the police. Found some cool things in old birds nests though.


My University has a foodbank for students. Mostly it is the single moms who use it. The quality of the food they are giving them for their kids is absolute *****; why kool-aid, hamburger helper and kraft jam? empty calories. with little other nutirents.

[TSE]

I am 15. Going into 10th grade. Between 5'11 or 6'. 150 pounds. Almost no fat, but with some muscle too (I have a six pack). I play baseball all summer on two teams, and play basketball in the winter. I eat a lot of high-carb, low sugar stuff like rice and pasta, but also eat a lot of meat and occasionally will eat veggies. I consider myself healthy.

Let me tell you something.

Between Kindergarten and 7th grade, I was the chubby (not fat), unathletic kid. I played baseball, and I was the worst on the team. I played basketball, and I was the slowest on the team. I remember getting beat up and getting made fun of because of this. I was really unpopular at school. All I did was eat macaroni and cheese, pop, pizza, chocolate, ice cream, etc.

In the middle of 7th grade, I started getting tall, and got to about 5'9, and got really incredibly skinny and uncoordinated. I then started getting made fun of because of that. After 7th grade, I decided to start fresh and go to a new school. Ditch everyone, even the people that weren't mean to me.

I went to a new school and joined the wrestling team, because my dad never was really proud of me because of anything, and he told me I am not a man until I do wrestling. Even after joining wrestling, he still said I wasn't a man but that's another story. At first, I got my ass handed to me by everybody. But during one practice match, I was getting my ass handed to me again, and got my head pounded into the ground. That made me realize, that I wasn't going to take it anymore. I started making my own school lunches consisting of pure whole grains and protein. During the wrestling season, I went from about 5'9 115 pounds to 5'10 135 pounds. I was built. All I did was quit watching TV so much, get a lot of sleep, workout and eat right, but most of all, wrestling.

Wrestling taught me to push myself to the limit, yea I did some really stupid stuff to lose weight before every tournament, but it also taught me to push it, no matter what.

Now I am one of the most athletic kids on my baseball team, and yea I suck at basketball, but I just do basketball to keep in shape during the winter, because I can still outrun almost anybody on the basketball team.

I now workout at the Y and am very active. Ditched the TV and video games and whenever I am not doing anything active I just browse the internet. Haven't watched a full TV episode in about a year.

I plan on starting my kids out right and put them in as many sports as allowed for, and let them select the ones they want to do. When I have kids they will have to do atleast two active organized activities in seperate seasons. I plan on feeding them right, too.

Wrestling is what saved me from coming on here and talking about why I'm fat.

[LethalWolfe]

And you think that private company, especially one that exclusively sells baby items, would be objective in it's parenting class? It would be full of the same type of stuff we see every day on TV. They would recommend parents buy x item or y item, because without it, they wouldn't be good parents.
I wasn't clear. I meant more along the lines of if you took a parenting type class at a local hospital or something and at the end of the class you received a certificate which could be used for discounts at local retailers. For example, you could go to Baby's R Us to get X% off your first purchase.


Lethal

[Badandy]

I'm going to take it one step further and say that it's not so much bad parenting as it is education and beliefs that haven't kept up with modern living.

There are always societal influences that steer people away from doing what is right or healthy, but ultimately, it is up to the parents to impress upon their children what is good and what is bad. IMNSHO of course.

Portion sizes have gone up and physical activity has gone down, but what are believed to be healthy attitudes remain the same.

I prefer both of those things to go up :)



Now I am one of the most athletic kids on my baseball team, and yea I suck at basketball, but I just do basketball to keep in shape during the winter, because I can still outrun almost anybody on the basketball team.

Outrunning people on the basketball court is one of the "easiest" ways to be good even when you're actually not. Even though I've been playing basketball for about ten years, I still find I enjoy it the most when I'm just plain old outrunning people and hustling.

All in all, that was a great post. I'd say you're a bit on the skinny side, but you're only 15 so it's completely normal.

[MonksMac]

I am 15. Going into 10th grade. Between 5'11 or 6'. 150 pounds. Almost no fat, but with some muscle too (I have a six pack). I play baseball all summer on two teams, and play basketball in the winter. I eat a lot of high-carb, low sugar stuff like rice and pasta, but also eat a lot of meat and occasionally will eat veggies. I consider myself healthy.

Let me tell you something.

Between Kindergarten and 7th grade, I was the chubby (not fat), unathletic kid. I played baseball, and I was the worst on the team. I played basketball, and I was the slowest on the team. I remember getting beat up and getting made fun of because of this. I was really unpopular at school. All I did was eat macaroni and cheese, pop, pizza, chocolate, ice cream, etc.

In the middle of 7th grade, I started getting tall, and got to about 5'9, and got really incredibly skinny and uncoordinated. I then started getting made fun of because of that. After 7th grade, I decided to start fresh and go to a new school. Ditch everyone, even the people that weren't mean to me.

I went to a new school and joined the wrestling team, because my dad never was really proud of me because of anything, and he told me I am not a man until I do wrestling. Even after joining wrestling, he still said I wasn't a man but that's another story. At first, I got my ass handed to me by everybody. But during one practice match, I was getting my ass handed to me again, and got my head pounded into the ground. That made me realize, that I wasn't going to take it anymore. I started making my own school lunches consisting of pure whole grains and protein. During the wrestling season, I went from about 5'9 115 pounds to 5'10 135 pounds. I was built. All I did was quit watching TV so much, get a lot of sleep, workout and eat right, but most of all, wrestling.

Wrestling taught me to push myself to the limit, yea I did some really stupid stuff to lose weight before every tournament, but it also taught me to push it, no matter what.

Now I am one of the most athletic kids on my baseball team, and yea I suck at basketball, but I just do basketball to keep in shape during the winter, because I can still outrun almost anybody on the basketball team.

I now workout at the Y and am very active. Ditched the TV and video games and whenever I am not doing anything active I just browse the internet. Haven't watched a full TV episode in about a year.

I plan on starting my kids out right and put them in as many sports as allowed for, and let them select the ones they want to do. When I have kids they will have to do atleast two active organized activities in seperate seasons. I plan on feeding them right, too.

Wrestling is what saved me from coming on here and talking about why I'm fat.

That was really motivating for me. Right now I don't want to always be the fat kid. If you see me I'm not really fat looking, but I'm heavier than I want to be. This is going to stop now and I am going to lose fat. Hopefully I will grow a little taller too (I'm 15). Thanks for the motivation!:D:apple:

[Iscariot]

There are always societal influences that steer people away from doing what is right or healthy, but ultimately, it is up to the parents to impress upon their children what is good and what is bad. IMNSHO of course.

I agree in principal, but with no one impressing that knowledge upon the parents at any age, I don't see where they were supposed to pick it up.

[brendanryder]

just seen this on digg:
http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/obesitystates.jpg?w=470&h=371

[Prof.]

just seen this on digg:
http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/obesitystates.jpg?w=470&h=371
It doesn't surprise me one bit that the southern states are the fattest.

[Badandy]

I agree in principal, but with no one impressing that knowledge upon the parents at any age, I don't see where they were supposed to pick it up.

I'll go so far as to say common sense. I know, commercials, blah blah blah. But parents know that fast food is unhealthy compared to a fresh chicken sandwich, they just get lazy. Personal responsibility...

[ErikCLDR]

Yea,

Parents need to get their kids off their butts and have them go play outside.

Also lay off the fast food, eating frozen food or canned food isn't much healthier either.

In todays busy world I think parents find it easier to pop a box of frozen crap in the microwave and have their kids stay still in front of the TV.

[Iscariot]

I'll go so far as to say common sense. I know, commercials, blah blah blah. But parents know that fast food is unhealthy compared to a fresh chicken sandwich, they just get lazy. Personal responsibility...

Yeah, but even that isn't enough. Check out the study I linked; 93% of kids foods are unhealthy, but 63% of them make a nutritional claim on the packaging. Without a certain amount of knowledge about nutrition, it's pretty difficult to, in the words of Danny DeVito, "untangle this web of ****".

I'm not trying to deny parent's very significant role here -- good Spielberg, I wish my parents had taught me healthy eating habits, and my sister, having not picked it up on her own, is having some serious health issues as a result -- but I really do think that the education system does everyone a huge disservice by not teaching healthy living habits or laying any kind of foundation for them. Parents don't know what to teach, and commercials and companies unleash a veritable assault of misinformation.

[Dustman]

McDonalds has nothing to do with it. I eat there 4x or more a week and im 6 ft 145 pounds. I also never exercise because I work (as a cook).

[BlakTornado]

Well, I have some personal experiences on this topic.

I am 15 (16 as of next week), and I must say I am incredibly unhealthy. I'm not so much fat (a little bit chubby - I have a belly), but I know that I am definitely not healthy, as indicated by the number of spots I've been getting recently.

Why? Well, I eat reasonably badly (I still eat veg and fruit, but not enough). I eat pizza regularly, I eat sugary foods, ice cream, cakes, etc. etc. and I don't exercise at all, now that I've finished school and don't have P.E. lessons anymore (or even go out of the house more than once a week).

And I blame Television (Cable in particular), Computer Games, Fast food and computers.

When I was young, I used to have cable and I spent the whole time watching Cartoon Network, since there were cartoons available 24/7. There was no need to entertain myself because the childrens shows had stopped.
Then I got a Game Boy and from there, a Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, Gamecube, Game Boy Advance SP, Nintendo DS and Wii. Honestly, they were all great and I have fond memories of playing them. But they didn't help me be healthy.
And since I wasn't the most popular kid in school (changed schools, my parents didn't know any other kids parents, and I was goofy, weird and had a southern [england] accent, so people didn't exactly take kindly to me to start with), it wasn't like I could go out and play with my friends... because I didn't have any.
However, moving onwards, I then discovered McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, etc. There was a time in my life where I went to the same Pizza restaurant three times a week, because it was quick and easy to get to, and tasted good.
So around that time I put on a bit of weight, whereas previously I was very skinny. (thankfully I lost most of it over the last three years)

Finally, I blame computers.
The first computer in my house was a DOS PC and I used to play games on it. Then we won a Win98 box (brand new one) through a phone competition thing, and on that there were games like Sims and stuff, on that.
But what really made things bad was that in 2003, when I started secondary school, a lot of people I knew were using MSN and therefore I wanted to use it. So I did and I soon became addicted to talking to people on there. It was fun and exciting. I was talking to my friends through my computer.
Then I discovered flash games, and so on. But I also found out about Flash and started making movies in it, and that started a whole other story that I won't go into now. So I was at least being productive. But productivity isn't as important as health, and now that's the problem I have.
I bought an iMac last September, and basically, I spend almost all day on it. From the moment I wake up to the moment I sleep. (Although recently I've been going on it, going on the Wii, coming back on the computer until 4am). I have distractions like MacRumors, MSN, AIM, Myspace, Etc. and not to mention making movies, music and other things. And since the only time I come away from my computer is when I'm procrastinating on something, I don't think "oh yes, I'll go out for a bike ride" because that would be too time consuming (even though spending three hours on Brawl or Zelda isn't).

But at least I know my problem, and now when I go out to town, I walk instead of catching the bus, and I plan to bike to college (UK college) next year instead of catching the bus, as well. I know what it's like to be fat (not obese, but fat) and I don't want to be that way again. But some people don't.

I know my post has mostly been about me so far, but it does have relevance.

I'm sure there are other people who've had similar stories, and similar excuses as to why they spend so much time doing something unhealthy. You can't blame people for their life styles, nor can you blame kids for their parents giving into them.
It's not so much their parents being bad parents. It's good that their parents aren't being strict and horrible with their children, and forcing them to do things they don't want to do. But it's over-loving. It's not bad but it's not good either, especially not when the kid is becoming obese.

But there really isn't much you can do unless you ban all fast food ads, all computer game ads, and all other potentially unhealthy ads.
I mean, in the UK, stations aren't allowed to run ads that promote candy or junk food during certain hours so that kids don't see them. But the thing is, as soon as that's over, McDonalds starts showing ads about burgers, and then the parents take their children to McDonalds, and instead of buying the oh-so-exciting carrot sticks, fruit in a bag and milk happy meal, they buy them a burger and chips, and McFlurry.
The only way you can really combat the damage that has already been done is to ban and fly propaganda against all junk food, computer games and unhealthy activities, and that wouldn't be fair on the people who use those things reasonably, or the people that make a living out of these things.

Really, it's a loose-loose situation. (be warned, a lot of the above may not make sense. I spend half an hour writing it, and I started at 3:50am, so it may not be the most well put together post in the history of posts, but you can probably gather what I mean)

[ReanimationLP]

Yeah, but the person's *choice* to play a video game until he died is his fault, not the game's fault.

Naw, its all Blizzards fault. They made Starcraft too engaging and addicting with its 3 perfectly balanced races and online play. :D

[Iscariot]

McDonalds has nothing to do with it. I eat there 4x or more a week and im 6 ft 145 pounds. I also never exercise because I work (as a cook).

And I blame Television (Cable in particular), Computer Games, Fast food and computers.

I don't think assigning "blame" in particular is the correct term. Each of these entities has a certain amount of responsibilty (for example, McDonalds has a responsibility not to make false or dubious nutritional claims, or misrepresent information), but that's not the same as "blame". There are many factors that influence a person's attitudes and behaviours, and it's important to acknowledge them all fairly, with the weight they deserve, including the responsiblity of the person themselves to make educated decisions under the circumstances.

[Rodimus Prime]

Well, I have some personal experiences on this topic.

I am 15 (16 as of next week), and I must say I am incredibly unhealthy. I'm not so much fat (a little bit chubby - I have a belly), but I know that I am definitely not healthy, as indicated by the number of spots I've been getting recently.

Why? Well, I eat reasonably badly (I still eat veg and fruit, but not enough). I eat pizza regularly, I eat sugary foods, ice cream, cakes, etc. etc. and I don't exercise at all, now that I've finished school and don't have P.E. lessons anymore (or even go out of the house more than once a week).

And I blame Television (Cable in particular), Computer Games, Fast food and computers..... (goes on justify the actions instead of accepting the blame)

The post I quote is a prime example of the problem. No one want to accept the blame for the fact they are over weight and unhealthy but instead wants to blame things like TV...


No the reason why is people just are lazy. I do not buy that long sob story because I am only 10 years older and I know what I did when i was your age. My brother and a friend of our road our bikes a LOT and I mean A LOT. We more than likely average 10+ miles a day ever day. Not just riding but doing jumps running just a lot of outside stuff. The carreid on though a good part of high school for us. My friend road longer than I did and I got back into last year. My brother still rides and in college

I will admit that I quite riding in college due to time but I stayed active playing different intermural and things like Ulimate freesibee.

Oh yes and I do play video games and I had cable. I just choose to not let it run my life and choose to stay active.

I think it is sad how people do not see how easy it is to just stay active and it is not like it takes any real work. Case and point is the biking I did when I was younger. We just had run doing jumps and living.

Even today I do not go out of my way to work out so to speak. I choose to go mountain biking. somethign that is a challage and I do not do stay healthy and work out. That part is just a bonus. Most sports are that way. The health part is a nice little bonus.

[Badandy]

And I blame Television (Cable in particular), Computer Games, Fast food and computers.

As Rodimus and Iscariot said, this is entirely the wrong mindset to have. Fast food existing doesn't make people unhealthy, people make a conscious choice to be unhealthy.

When I was young, I used to have cable and I spent the whole time watching Cartoon Network, since there were cartoons available 24/7.

What kid didn't watch CN all the time? The important part here is moderation. I always loved those shows, but I always wanted to go outside on my bike or with a friend and explore. If my friend beat me at something on the playground, I didn't want to wallow in my despair and watch cartoons. I wanted to get better and beat him. Now I'm not trying to posture myself as the consummate human being, all I'm saying is that kids innately like to run around and get better physically, and any lifestyle that's not conducive to that is a conscious choice.

And having just read the part of your post dealing with going to the pizza place 3 times per week; I say so what? Kids do that stuff. They shouldn't be expected to eat perfectly all the time. Hell, I went to Coldstone Creamery (an extremely rich (read: unhealthy) ice cream place that mixes candy into the ice cream) every single day. I literally walked in and they made what I ordered without me saying anything, and in this, I am not exaggerating. The difference is that I had been running around that entire day, and I would after I ate the ice cream too. Remember, while eating healthily and doing lots of physical exercise is the best option, it's not the only option. Eating somewhat unhealthily but getting exercise to burn that off/increase your level of physical fitness is still hugely beneficial.

But at least I know my problem, and now when I go out to town, I walk instead of catching the bus, and I plan to bike to college (UK college) next year instead of catching the bus, as well.

Good, that will help. I'd also recommend joining a gym. People usually quit that routine fairly early, but I will tell you that experiencing yourself doing more than you could or lifting more than you could even the previous week or two is absolutely addicting, so stick with it.

It's not so much their parents being bad parents. It's good that their parents aren't being strict and horrible with their children, and forcing them to do things they don't want to do. But it's over-loving. It's not bad but it's not good either, especially not when the kid is becoming obese.

As I said before, it's not an all or nothing approach. If the kid is bent on eating some sweets, try to limit it a little, but at least encourage him/her to play.

But there really isn't much you can do unless you ban all fast food ads, all computer game ads, and all other potentially unhealthy ads.

Or until you remind people how fun it is to go outside and sweat for once. I like fast food, don't ban those ads, that's completely contrary to free enterprise. I like Halo 3, and their commercials are awesome, don't ban those. It is an individual responsibility to be healthy, not the government's. Many people across the world have been subjected to these corporate messages for our entire lives, and no matter how many times they use the word "natural" or "select", it's still painfully obvious that a cheap ground hamburger soaked in grease is not good for you. Stop blaming the companies, blame the consumers.

I mean, in the UK, stations aren't allowed to run ads that promote candy or junk food during certain hours so that kids don't see them.

Utterly ridiculous.

[TSE]

That was really motivating for me. Right now I don't want to always be the fat kid. If you see me I'm not really fat looking, but I'm heavier than I want to be. This is going to stop now and I am going to lose fat. Hopefully I will grow a little taller too (I'm 15). Thanks for the motivation!:D:apple:

Not to be mean, but don't post that here. The way you can thank me is simply doing it and not post about you doing it, then after all is said and done post about your experience. Learn from my experience, I was always saying to myself,"Oh yea I'm gonna start eating right" but I never actually did, until I got my ass handed to me. Pain is a great lesson and has been teaching people for millions of years.

[LethalWolfe]

Well, I have some personal experiences on this .
.
.

I'm kinda hoping this post is some wicked piece of satire but I really doubt it is.


Lethal

[Iscariot]

and any lifestyle that's not conducive to that is a conscious choice.

Nail, meet hammer. It's a lifestyle choice, encompassing a balanced diet and physical activity. Fad "diets" don't work, because they're not a lifestyle or even really a choice, they're a set of rules that you eventually stop following.

I woke up one day and said "I don't want to be a 90 pound weakling anymore. I want to be Captain America" and I didn't adopt a diet or start an exercise "program", I changed the way I lived my life. Sometimes it's a lot of work, but to be the Captain, you have to be willing to put in the face time.

Hell, I went to Coldstone Creamery (an extremely rich (read: unhealthy) ice cream place that mixes candy into the ice cream) every single day.

That is so gross.

I like Halo 3, and their commercials are awesome, don't ban those.

I think the games suck, but man, that advertising campaign was truly excellent. Gears of War's "Mad World" commercial was solid gold, too.

It is an individual responsibility to be healthy, not the government's.

Stop blaming the companies, blame the consumers.

I totally agree with you about blame, but I do think that food companies should be responsible with their advertising claims, and that school boards incorporate a decent phys ed/nutrition program and offer better cafeteria food.

[Badandy]

That is so gross.


And by so gross, you mean so delicious :)

I totally agree with you about blame, but I do think that food companies should be responsible with their advertising claims, and that school boards incorporate a decent phys ed/nutrition program and offer better cafeteria food.

I agree. Making false claims in advertising, especially in that industry, should (and I think is?)be illegal.


Lethal : No satire has yet been presented...

[BlakTornado]

Utterly ridiculous.

Not really. It stops kids from seeing junk food on TV and wanting it. I know I used to when I was little. All the time. Why? Because I was seeing it on TV constantly, and didn't know the damage it could cause. Kids are very susceptible to advertising at the best of times.

And, while I'm at it, the UK has also banned fast food being served in schools. I know at my secondary school (before the ban), they served fatty burgers, pizza, fatty cakes, chocolate, etc. But after the ban, they sold pasta, REAL meat (not just processed gunk), and fruit. Not to float a boat or anything, of course, but it's a step that should (if it isn't already) be taken by other nations as well.

I'm kinda hoping this post is some wicked piece of satire but I really doubt it is.


Lethal

It sounds a lot worse than it is. :P





I know there were some other responses to my post about the blame. But in my post, I did say that it's not fair to ban those things for the people that enjoy them and don't become obese by them, so in a way that is sort of saying that it's not the company's fault but the people's. I may not have made it obvious (I was tired, give me a break :P) but that is how I feel.
On the other hand, however, it's also not easy for people to stop themselves when they're constantly being bombarded with the temptations. Especially those who hate and always have hated exercise (like myself), or have been teased because of how terrible they were when they DID try to exercise (again, like myself). You can say "Fat people are going to die" but like smokers, they don't listen because they deny it's going to happen to them.
If the governments of the world cared about their kids being obese, they would [continue to] lay down measures to protect them from becoming obese in the first place, even if it does sound "utterly ridiculous". You need to be empathetic in these situations. It's not like anyone WANTS to be so fat they can't move.
And while some measures could go against various things like American amendment, don't you think it's worth breaking them to protect the kids and stop the future from being full of obese people? It's all very well to complain about obesity, but unless people are prepared to do something to prevent it, then what's the point? Moaning about issues like these isn't going to change the world. Doing something about it is.

[Badandy]

Not really. It stops kids from seeing junk food on TV and wanting it. I know I used to when I was little. All the time. Why? Because I was seeing it on TV constantly, and didn't know the damage it could cause. Kids are very susceptible to advertising at the best of times.

And it's up to the parents or those in charge to lay ground rules on what kind of consumption is acceptable. You don't ban bicycle racing on TV; You teach your child that you can ride your bike if you're wearing a helmet.

And, while I'm at it, the UK has also banned fast food being served in schools.

That's a good thing, definitely, especially if it's being funded by the tax payers.



On the other hand, however, it's also not easy for people to stop themselves when they're constantly being bombarded with the temptations.

Such is life. Obesity is a consequence of lacking the will power to cut down on the consumption of something that has immediate gratification, but long term consequences. For lack of a "cleaner" analogy, it's the same thing as someone having sex without wearing a condom. Are you now going to blame the act of sex? No, you blame the retard that didn't wear one when he should have.

And while some measures could go against various things like American amendment, don't you think it's worth breaking them to protect the kids and stop the future from being full of obese people?

No.

It's all very well to complain about obesity, but unless people are prepared to do something to prevent it, then what's the point? Moaning about issues like these isn't going to change the world. Doing something about it is.

Exactly. Like the individual realizing that eating cheap beef soaked in grease might be a little less healthy for you than a salad.

[MonksMac]

Not to be mean, but don't post that here. The way you can thank me is simply doing it and not post about you doing it, then after all is said and done post about your experience. Learn from my experience, I was always saying to myself,"Oh yea I'm gonna start eating right" but I never actually did, until I got my ass handed to me. Pain is a great lesson and has been teaching people for millions of years.
I understand what you were saying, but at the same time I don't. I was simply thanking you for giving me extra motivation to keep doing what I am doing. I wasn't simply talking about doing, but I am doing it and was doing it in the past.
On-Topic-
I think a variety of factors are to blame for obesity in children and teens. These include Excessive,TV, Video Games, and increased computer/videogame usage. I know that when I was younger I watched a lot of TV and rarely went outside and played. When I was five or so we moved to Texas from Illinois. There it was cool enough most of the time to be active and do things outside, but here in Texas unless it is February it is usually too hot to do things outside. So I got bigger. A few years ago my parents signed me up for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (martial arts) and I really realized how bad I was. I worked really hard and lost tons of weight because of my determination and perseverance to help myself. Joining Jiu-Jitsu was one of the best things that has happened in my life and showed me that I want to become fit.
To combat child and teen obesity parents need to help their kids find some physical activity that they like to do and get them to work at it. :apple:
P.S. Sorry if this doesn't make any sense.:o

[Iscariot]

I agree. Making false claims in advertising, especially in that industry, should (and I think is?)be illegal.

False advertising is, but claims such as "natural", "fresh" and a whole host of other buzz words have no certified or third party definition like "organic", so it's easy to skirt around. I've also noticed that many of the in house bakeries don't provide ingredients or nutritional info for their goods; I think, at least in Canada, they are subject to different packaging laws.

[.Andy]

False advertising is, but claims such as "natural", "fresh" and a whole host of other buzz words have no certified or third party definition like "organic", so it's easy to skirt around. I've also noticed that many of the in house bakeries don't provide ingredients or nutritional info for their goods; I think, at least in Canada, they are subject to different packaging laws.
The same with 'no added sugar' and 'low/no fat'. These immediately give a sense of being healthier, when in fact the no added sugar products are usually loaded with sugar/fat, whereas the low/no fat products are loaded with sugar. It's misleading advertising. Even after a semester on medical nutrition I'm still largely in the dark and loaded with misconceptions about diet. I've got a far greater appreciation for the work of nutritionists.

Being overweight isn't as simple as saying it's a lack of will power. There's many physiological, psychological, and societal factors that also contribute. The problem wouldn't be so difficult one to overcome if it had a single, identifiable, and rectifiable cause.

[superman193]

I blame pc's :mad:


If only everyone used mac's the world wouldn't be like this :rolleyes:


Oh well tomorrow I get my iHouse and will never have to go outside again :eek::apple:

[Dagless]

I blame too much time in front of the TV, consoles, and McDonald's. :cool:

At least you saw them out doing something active! ;)

Hey that's my lifestyle :p and I'm struggling to put on weight! It's taken me about 3 months now to put on just half a stone! It's only since I started using the multigym that I've put weight on.

I just think it's too easy to fall into the fat trap.

Around here parents will drive their kids to school in the mornings (which also causes hella bad congestion problems) despite the school being only a couple of roads away. And these aren't US-style roads, these are mini, can-walk-there-in 2-minutes style distances.
And the only flat field around here has been bought by a local nursery school so that's a whole load of sports nixed.

[thebassoonist]

I don't really know if this is actually an issue, but it might be something to look into. I think parents today are particularly worried about creating a safe and sterile environment for their children at all times. Climbing trees can lead to a broken bone, running around and scraping knees may bring forth a little infection, jumping fences can cut a child, children get hurt playing contact sports, etc. And what do we do when I child walks in the door? Spray 'em down with Lysol.
TV and video games may seem a lot more safe to parents than real physical activity. Parents need to learn to let go and expect to help clean up scrapes and wipe away tears, even if it takes a little more energy than plopping them down in front of the TV.

[Dagless]

But at least I know my problem, and now when I go out to town, I walk instead of catching the bus, and I plan to bike to college (UK college) next year instead of catching the bus, as well. I know what it's like to be fat (not obese, but fat) and I don't want to be that way again. But some people don't.

Keep doing this. I've only ever got the bus to and from town when there was a thunderstorm (once), it's a 6 mile round trip but it's the source of my kinda-good health. I walked to and from college too which was a good 5 miles away when weather permitted. Yet every college day I walked to the nearest town for MacDonalds (another 2 mile walk away).

Oddly enough it was when I started eating "healthily" at college that walking became harder. Looks like all them calories and junk were really put to good use.

Tried biking once... was knackered by the time lessons started :D

[zebraman]

I think the root source of obesity is corporation. They control the advertising, food, programs, brands that kids love. They take their defenseless minds with catchy commercials. I see this in my five year old brother. As soon as theres a new toy line at mcdonalds he tells me my mom to go take him. They dont know any better and chase things blindly. I think its very abusive to do this to children.

[Iscariot]

I think its very abusive to do this to children.

Then it's a good thing corporations aren't charged with the care of minors, and parents or legal guardians are, yes?

[LethalWolfe]

I think the root source of obesity is corporation. They control the advertising, food, programs, brands that kids love. They take their defenseless minds with catchy commercials. I see this in my five year old brother. As soon as theres a new toy line at mcdonalds he tells me my mom to go take him. They dont know any better and chase things blindly. I think its very abusive to do this to children.
Sounds like someone needs to make it clear to the 5yr old that he isn't in charge and won't always get what he wants. The submissiveness of some parents is staggering.


Lethal

[Shotglass]

I've always weighed about 5kg above what I myself consider my ideal weight. You know why? Because my parents told me not to waste food. I'm no couch potato. I don't excercise, but I move around a lot. I eat healthily, but I don't see myself losing those 5kg in the near future. Simply because my parents won't let me waste food.

Also, I completely agree with leekohler about the license to raise children thing. There's too many crazy people out there who actually get away with reproducing. Just think of the poor kids.

[Pittsax]

Also, I completely agree with leekohler about the license to raise children thing. There's too many crazy people out there who actually get away with reproducing. Just think of the poor kids.
While I agree with the merit of this, I don't think it's anything new. There have been asshats around reproducing since time began.

I'm to bring up something that I don't think has been talked about yet: the way jobs are today. In the past, you worked 9-5, and if you had a really stressful job, you might work a few hours here and there at home. But now, thanks to wonderful inventions like cell phones and email, most jobs expect you to be available 24/7. My father-in-law works in IT at an energy company, and his boss treats him like it's the end of the world if a computer is not functioning on a Saturday. Newsflash to boss: you sell freaking natural gas at fixed rates. The world will not come to an end if your network is down on a weekend when people aren't supposed to be working anyway.

This stressful existence had lead to most parents thinking work first, work second, and human nature makes them be quite selfish about the 5 hours a week they actually have to themselves. No wonder they can't be bothered to properly parent their children, much less cook an actual meal. Why else do you see commercials with parents lamenting the fact that they can't have a sit-down meal together until the miracle of KFC enters their lives? Along with this, the ridiculous cost of living has made it nearly impossible to have one parent (mother or father, it doesn't matter to me) stay at home to raise the kids.

[pinktank]

personally I find it disrespectful in a way that owning a SUV as a single person is

[Mord]

I was a bit lardy as a kid, it was due in part to depression part due to overfeeding by my father, these days I eat about half as much and am allot happier for it.

[Shotglass]

personally I find it disrespectful in a way that owning a SUV as a single person isOwning SUVs per se is a tad disrespectful.

[pinktank]

disrispectful to the planet and the majority which suffers from hunger that is

[Shotglass]

disrispectful to the planet and the majority which suffers from hunger that isYeah, exactly. Also, it's just like running around town in a t-shirt that says "I have a small penis".

[skunk]

Yeah, exactly. Also, it's just like running around town in a t-shirt that says "I have a small penis".Now that would be quite subversive.

[Badandy]

Yeah, exactly. Also, it's just like running around town in a t-shirt that says "I have a small penis".

You live in Germany, eh? Home of 700 horsepower cars that get horrendous mileage. Home of race tracks which, by definition, requires someone to burn gas in order to end up right where they started.

I don't own an SUV, but the people perpetuating that "small penis" myth are those who

A) Have one themselves
B) Want an SUV but can't afford it

Stop with the 5th grade insults, it's childish.

[.Andy]

You live in Germany, eh? Home of 700 horsepower cars that get horrendous mileage. Home of race tracks which, by definition, requires someone to burn gas in order to end up right where they started.

I don't own an SUV, but the people perpetuating that "small penis" myth are those who

A) Have one themselves
B) Want an SUV but can't afford it

Stop with the 5th grade insults, it's childish.
I have a small penis and I don't want an SUV.

[Shotglass]

You live in Germany, eh? Home of 700 horsepower cars that get horrendous mileage. Home of race tracks which, by definition, requires someone to burn gas in order to end up right where they started.

I don't own an SUV, but the people perpetuating that "small penis" myth are those who

A) Have one themselves
B) Want an SUV but can't afford it

Stop with the 5th grade insults, it's childish.
Dude, what the ****.
Firstly, I never built a 700 horsepower car myself and I'm not a patriot, so your argument about Germany is irrelevant. Secondly, the small penis thing is a joke, and I'm definitely not the first one to use it. Thirdly, I don't have an SUV, I don't want one, and I also can't afford one (I'm not even old enough to get a driver's license).
Seriously, show some humor.

[penter]

It's not just American culture, though... it's almost every industrialized or industrializing nation. Even perennially thin Japan is fighting rising obesity.

I think exercise and activity levels are very important. People should exercise more. But the industrialization of food, I believe, is a much bigger culprit. As mentioned several times above, too much of the available food is too low in (micro) nutritive value, and yes, it comes packaged in too too large portions. It doesn't make any sense for most of the population to exercise harder and harder to compensate for unhealthy food options. And while a small portion of the population can successfully resist bombardment with unhealthy food options (and some of us can resist it altogether too well... :rolleyes: ), it's arrogant of us to expect that most of the population can be locked in a room with thousands of calories of non-nutritive food and be expected to not eat it. And yet that's exactly the kind of civilization we've built.

Well-said, mkrishnan!!

[Badandy]

Dude, what the ****.

Indeed.


Firstly, I never built a 700 horsepower car myself and I'm not a patriot, so your argument about Germany is irrelevant.

Alright.

Secondly, the small penis thing is a joke, and I'm definitely not the first one to use it.

I know. I just find that the people who actually tell that "joke" don't know what the hell they are talking about. For example, the same thing is said about sports cars and Porsche's. I find the people who tell the joke would take a Ferrari or Porsche over what they have currently.

I still stand by my original statement: it's a childish joke that has almost no comedic humor because it is so overused. The fact that you're under driving age doesn't help either...

[Shotglass]

I just find that the people who actually tell that "joke" don't know what the hell they are talking about. For example, the same thing is said about sports cars and Porsche's. I find the people who tell the joke would take a Ferrari or Porsche over what they have currently.Not me, sir. I respect Ferrari and Porsche for making solid cars, but even if I was offered one, I wouldn't take it. Having an expensive car without being rich enough to actually afford it makes you look like you're about an inch tall.
I still stand by my original statement: it's a childish joke that has almost no comedic humor because it is so overused. The fact that you're under driving age doesn't help either...It's childish alright, but it's still funny. And me being under driving age is very helpful for defending myself against those that don't agree with the first sentence.

[Roger1]

Not me, sir. I respect Ferrari and Porsche for making solid cars, but even if I was offered one, I wouldn't take it. Having an expensive car without being rich enough to actually afford it makes you look like you're about an inch tall.
.

Or long :D

[mkrishnan]

This was in the news today, so I wanted to share...

Report (http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/kids_meal_report_final.pdf) investigating nutritional value of kids meals at chain and fast food restaurants.

USA Today article (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2008-08-04-kids-meals_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip) about it.

The first comprehensive report on kids' meals at popular fast-food and chain restaurants finds the servings are far too high in calories for a single meal.

In fact, some of meals contain more 1,000 calories, which is almost as many calories as some elementary-school children need for the entire day, according to the analysis from Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer group.

...

Overall, the findings reveal that 93% of the kids' meals at McDonald's and Wendy's contain more than 430 calories, the average number of calories that children ages 4 to 8 should get at a single meal. The comparable numbers are 92% at Burger King; 89% at Dairy Queen; 69% at Arby's; 60% at Denny's. The latter's kids' meals don't include drinks.

LA Times blog post (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2008/08/hey-pass-me-tha.html) about it (basically, how most kids meals are appropriate for adults).

Certainly stilted towards a focus on calories vs. macronutrient or micronutrient mix (which I think are also issues), but interesting.

Incidentally, I usually got the kid's meal at Moe's, and they finally (at least I don't remember it being there before) have nutritional information on their website. The Moo Moo Mr. Cow comes with a kid's burrito, chips, a 20-oz soda, and a cookie. Even with my concessions, it's more than I want...

- burrito = tofu, with cheese = 376 (the tofu is lowest cal, but only by a small margin)
- chips = delete (0) ... although half the time they try to give you chips even after you nicely but explicitly say you don't want any
- soda = diet (0)
- cookie = chocolate chip (170)

I actually usually do admittedly add sour cream. Without the sour cream, and with the two actions to eliminate calories (chips and soda), it's still 546 calories. With the the sour cream, it's 90 more, at 636 calories. So with a non-diet soda and the chips added back in, it would easily be comparable to an adult meal at most fast food restaurants! At the 550-650 calories, it's still a sizable dinner for me....

[Iscariot]

That is some pretty troubling data, mkrishnan. Good post.

[gkarris]

Hey stop describing my daily routine! Actually it is (gotta love McDonalds and the PS3), but I do exercise every night and skip meals (cause I don't have time to eat) and Im what you'll consider fit. I'm 6' tall and weigh a little under 160lb.

Having been here (US) for over 2 weeks now I must say Im shocked of the amount of obese people I've seen, and as this thread points, mainly kids. What's wrong here?

Victor

Part of it here in the US is the use of Corn Syrup for sweetener instead of natural cane sugar. Your body freaks out with it and make you much fatter. I've seen people, who are fit, come over from other countries and get a belly since they continue to eat sweets here thinking it's still fine.

Can't really blame McDonald's or kids would have been fat in 1955.

It was a restaurant trend in the US that can be seen in portion control.

Sort of sucks I didn't record the study that shows the growth of plates ordered by restaurants over the last 30 years.

Portion distortion that starts in restaurants and fast food, and ends at home.

You know portion control is out of hand people actually end up taking their plates to the Maytag store to make sure they will fit in the dishwasher.

We went from 12" plates being the norm for an individual to family platter sized plates of today.

Give somebody a small 12" plate and they will think you are nuts.

---

That and the don't waste food mentality ... pushing yourself to finish off a plate of food is like saying, "thanks I think I'll put this on my ass instead of in the trash."

Definitely portioning is a big problem. There was a good restaurant in the area and to survive, they were going to raise prices way high. Instead, they raised prices only a little and decreased the portion size, to what I believe, is PROPER. I frequent the place because of it.

I went to a Mexican place and they actually have good portions. The overweight people I went with complained about how small the portions were... :eek:

Well, this started a long time ago. It's indicative of the laziness and selfishness of American culture. I'm shooting a segment for 20/20 Thursday with my aunt who tried a fad diet two years ago. Of course it failed and now they're doing the follow-up show. People in my family do this crap all the time. Then they ask me what my "secret" is. :rolleyes: I'm just say, DUH! Get off your butt and move! But they don't want to do that. :rolleyes:

EDIT- well, it appears that I now won't be doing the 20/20 segment. The producers changed their minds and want to do something different.

It is diet AND exercise. I'm also trying to consume less calories on days I'm not able to workout because of my work schedule.

I was into those "fad" diets - loss weight quickly but gained MORE back even quicker. The one I'm on now, yes, it's only a pound a week, but I understand it will be permanent, as I'm changing a life habit, not following a "fad".

As far as the topic at hand, I was at a store and saw an infant in the shopping cart, and two ultra-obese parents. :eek:

I'm also been more noticing people's weight and am overwhelmed at the amount of very fat people everywheres - gross... THIS IS THE NORM?

[mkrishnan]

That is some pretty troubling data, mkrishnan. Good post.

Thanks. :) The examples and data in the PDF link are actually really interesting (and it's more like a PowerPoint deck -- it's not heavy reading like a white paper or anything). They did have some slightly more encouraging information, though.

And they showed off some of the examples of menus in one of the articles at restaurants in NYC that display calorie data on the menu per the new law. It's actually really nice. I wish they had that here. And also it's impressive in that the calorie data show big differences between things you wouldn't expect. Some of their examples not so much, like I did know that raisins are much more calorie dense than apple slices. But, there is an example in one of the links of a kid's grill cheese sandwich and a kid's peanut butter jelly sandwich, both at Cosi. They're both on the same kid's menu, and for reference, if you made the two (and toasted both) at home, they'd probably have roughly comparable calories. In fact, in lots of places, the cheese sandwich would be worse, because each slice of cheese is some 100 calories. But the PBJ surprisingly has almost 40% more calories than the cheese sandwich.

Those kind of examples I think do demonstrate that it's hard even for diligent parents to make good decisions without data when they're taking their kids out to eat. Cosi is much closer to Panera (many of whose options are pretty responsible nutritionally) than it is to KFC, also.

I really would like to see calorie data on menus in the Chi.

[sikkinixx]

The obesity issue is definitely a huge problem (hell, I need to get my increasingly chubby ass back to the gym come the start of the semester) and we all know the factors (fast food, poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, etc. etc.) but so many people have this complete backlash against all of it.

Several people in this thread have already "get rid of TV all together" "Gaming is the problem, go outside" "Never eat junk food", gimmie a break. It's called moderation. If you eat Rotten Ronnie's once a month, but live fine aside from it, it ain't gonna kill you. If you play games for an hour or two a day but exercise same deal. Just on the news yesterday the nutritionist said when she takes her kids out to dinner, they are never allowed burgers or pop or fries, instead they get salmon or a salad. Don't you eat that at home? What happened to a treat? One burger won't make you a lard ass.

People seem to just wanna reject everything that can be bad for you when taken/done in excess.

[iCantwait]

IN RESPONSE TO THE OP
parents, and lack of education.

oh, and don't forget the attempt to crush bullying at schools. who tells kids they are fat today? The fat mums sure as hell don't

[OutThere]

I see fat kids with their fat parents every day at work (I scoop ice cream/serve coffee). The kids demand many scoops of ice cream with candy on top or giant milkshakes and their parents get them whatever they want. I see kids come in with empty candy wrappers or cans of soda and get an ice cream cone and a new soda. What are people thinking, really?

[alphaod]

You live in Germany, eh? Home of 700 horsepower cars that get horrendous mileage.

Actually German cars have great mileage; what planet do you live on? :rolleyes:

[Badandy]

Actually German cars have great mileage; what planet do you live on? :rolleyes:

I guess you have to chime in right when the topic gets going in the right direction again. But need I remind you about BMW M-series, Mercedes AMG, the BRABUS variation of Mercedes (modifier), Porsches, etc..? I never said on average German cars get horrible mileage...

[Iscariot]

I guess you have to chime in right when the topic gets going in the right direction again. But need I remind you about BMW M-series, Mercedes AMG, the BRABUS variation of Mercedes (modifier), Porsches, etc..? I never said on average German cars get horrible mileage...

(Call me ill-informed, but wouldn't a 700 horsepower vehicle get poor mileage just by virtue of being 700 horsepower?)

[hulugu]

(Call me ill-informed, but wouldn't a 700 horsepower vehicle get poor mileage just by virtue of being 700 horsepower?)

It depends on what you feed the horses.

[Badandy]

(Call me ill-informed, but wouldn't a 700 horsepower vehicle get poor mileage just by virtue of being 700 horsepower?)

Yes.

[nbs2]

oh, and don't forget the attempt to crush bullying at schools. who tells kids they are fat today? The fat mums sure as hell don't

It's being cruched everywhere. You bring up a good point though. Childhood teasing may be rough, but it also was one of the few places where you could find honesty. I'm a tub of lard at 5'10"/187, but when I explain that is the reason I should limit my servings (size/quantity) I always hear, "no, you aren't fat! You look fine." Being overly polite is leading to distorted body image.

I see fat kids with their fat parents every day at work (I scoop ice cream/serve coffee). The kids demand many scoops of ice cream with candy on top or giant milkshakes and their parents get them whatever they want. I see kids come in with empty candy wrappers or cans of soda and get an ice cream cone and a new soda. What are people thinking, really?

Having just explained that I'm fat, that sounds like a really good milkshake.

[iCantwait]

It's being cruched everywhere. You bring up a good point though. Childhood teasing may be rough, but it also was one of the few places where you could find honesty. I'm a tub of lard at 5'10"/187, but when I explain that is the reason I should limit my servings (size/quantity) I always hear, "no, you aren't fat! You look fine." Being overly polite is leading to distorted body image.


run fatty boom-bah:D:D:D

i say if you dont have excess muscle keep to the recommended BMI, and one chin

[Iscariot]

Yes.

Then it looks like you live on planet "things that make sense" Earth.

[Dmac77]

I understand what your saying about kids not watching their eating habits, and irresponsible parents, but you can't assume that every "fat kid" is just a lazy slob. I'm a good 75 pounds overweight, but it's not because I'm lazy or just a food crazed slob, it's because I have an extremely under active thyroid, and I have take 7 pills a day to control it, and lately I've stopped gaining weight. You can't just assume that people are fat because they're lazy. People need to learn that (especially the kids at my school:().

Don

[Sdashiki]

I understand what your saying about kids not watching their eating habits, and irresponsible parents, but you can't assume that every "fat kid" is just a lazy slob. I'm a good 75 pounds overweight, but it's not because I'm lazy or just a food crazed slob, it's because I have an extremely under active thyroid, and I have take 7 pills a day to control it, and lately I've stopped gaining weight. You can't just assume that people are fat because they're lazy. People need to learn that (especially the kids at my school:().

Don

Im sorry for your condition. But frankly, you know you are in the minority. And taking personal offense to a comment you know is not about people in your situation just goes to show where we are as a society.

Still in high school cliques.

[Dmac77]

Im sorry for your condition. But frankly, you know you are in the minority. And taking personal offense to a comment you know is not about people in your situation just goes to show where we are as a society.

Still in high school cliques.

Understandable, and I know that this isn't targeted at me at people like me. But you have to understand that some people will still take offense at any comment a=made about weight. Some people refuse to differentiate. And yes, I admit that society is just big high school clique, although, I sometimes think that the kids in the cliques are smarter then the adults that try to run our lives.

Don