Why are 1 in 5 children in Ireland overweight?

WindSock

I see an awful lot of overweight kids these days. It kind of sickens me to see this, fair enough if adults choose to be overweight, it's none of my business. But surely a parent has control over what their child eats?

RosieJoe

WindSock wrote: »

I see an awful lot of overweight kids these days. It kind of sickens me to see this, fair enough if adults choose to be overweight, it's none of my business. But surely a parent has control over what their child eats?

None of your business if the kids are overweight either!

However, if you said you were saddened to see obese kids on a daily basis and asked if the parents were to blame you might get more responses.

By the way, my 2 aren't

littlebitdull

Mine arn't fat either for that matter. But ... do you really think policing food and making food an issue with children would be the answer.

My mother thought I was a fat child. I grew up thinking of myself as fat - and knowing from my mother that it was a bad bad thing to be. I was on a diet at age 10, still am on one in my mid 40's.... but yea my mother thought having control over what I ate was a good idea.

Me ... I never looked for control over what my children are eating - never tried to limit their intake of so called bad foods - but always had a ready supply of fruit/veg home cooked meals ... and so far none of them are in anyway overweight.

Would I seek to make food an issue with them - no!! Because once it becomes one you carry that burden for the rest of your life.

Musha

I was the same as littlebitdull,

Childhood of "moment on the lips, lifetime on the hips"
I have a weight problem :mad:

My kids have the availablity of fresh fruit, juices, and good home cooked food.
Limited fizzys, sweets and crisps. Kept to weekend treats.

I have to fine healthy boys "not skinny not fat" who are never at the doctors and get plently of exercise and are happy with themselves.
We never subscribed to the finish your dinner routine or you "must" eat breakfast, lunch or dinner.
They eat when they are hungry and leave it when they are not.
I never knew a kid to starve themselves into sickness.

RosieJoe

Musha wrote: »

My kids have the availablity of fresh fruit, juices, and good home cooked food.
Limited fizzys, sweets and crisps. Kept to weekend treats.

Same as myself. Loads of fruit for them that they can pick up whenever they want. Shame fruit is more expensive that crap. Don't drink fizzys as it burns their nose! Lucky me

Musha wrote: »

We never subscribed to the finish your dinner routine or you "must" eat breakfast, lunch or dinner.
They eat when they are hungry and leave it when they are not.
I never knew a kid to starve themselves into sickness.

Never force the kids to finish all their food if they are full, just ends up frustating myself and upsetting them!

Documentary on last week about the 8 year old anorexic shows what kind of damage can be done to a child with regards to eating

Raytown Rocks

My 13 year old daughter is a picky eater.
She now wants to join a gym( I have seen more fat on a butchers knife) with her friends becuase she thinks she is overweight, and because her friends think they are too. Too much size zero body beautiful crap on tv.
If anything I would rather see her eat a bit more, and steer away from the gym.

Loopy

I think its mainly teenagers that have the problem - every morning I see them in gangs outside the spar and they are eating breakfast rolls and wedges at 8 in the morning and then again at lunchtime the chipper is full of them too, and a lot of them are overweight. How the hell do they afford it

the glass woman

Everything in moderation is my motto for myself and my son. My husband and i share a love of good food that we have already passed down to our 14 month old, who loves nothing more than sitting a the table with us sharing a plate of risotto, pasta, anything with a bit of flavour, the more garlic and chilli the better! I hope by installing this love of food in him he will make better choices about what he eats when he's older, as thats what my parents did with me and it worked. I've also no problem giving him treats from time to time as he's a child and I've no intention of depriving him of the simple pleasures of childhood, and to ban any food would only make it more appealing to him in my opinion..

Quality

I think that if the parents are not to blame then who is.

I watch what my daughter eats, If I was to let her she would eat rubbish all day long... Its not her fault, She is just a kid.

My sisters kids are disgracefully over weight. My 11 year old niece stayed with me a couple of weeks ago. She is in 6th class and is tall for her age. My mam had sent down a few quid for me to bring her shopping to get a few nice t shirts. I brought her into new look thinking that I could pick up something in the 9-15 range for her... I wish. I ended up getting her a sweater in size 16 LADIES!!!

I must say I was very upset for the child. It is not her fault she is over weight. She does not do the food shopping or control what goes into her mouth. I said it to my sister.... without trying to criticise, This little girl is making her confirmation next April and what is she going to wear. I feel so sorry for her.

It is down to my sister to make sure her kids are eating healthy foods in good size portions.

Anyone who thinks it is not the parents fault is only deluding themselves.

Einstein

tbh I think a lot of it has to do with kids not playing outside like they used to...it's all spent in front of xboxes n stuff...so zero excercise...
pfft...I miss the summers of playing Tip the Can till it was dark lol!

MrPudding

I don't think it is enough to only look at the food they eat. They could have the healthiest diet in the world but if they don't do any physical activity they will probably get overweight.

I reckon the childhood weight problem has a number of causes:

• Kids exercise less. Schools do less PE and kids would rather play games consoles
• Greater availability of processed food. It is easier and cheaper to provide sh1t food for kids. Good food is, or at least is perceived to be, more expensive. It is also more work.
• Fast food is attractive to kids. The advertising is there and their friends like it. I have no figures but I would guess that kid eat more fast food now than ever.
• Kids get sweet, crisps etc, more than they used to. When I was a kid they were treats. Now they are lunch.

Not an easy problem to fix. It has been steadily getting worse, but I think it will be slower to fix than it was to break.

MrP

stovelid

Annoying OP title and intro. Semi-trollish tbh.

Parents do have a duty to see that their kids eat healthily. It's a pipe-dream to think they will never eat crap though. You can't police what a 12 year old does with their pocket money, for example. And crap tastes good.

Only chance is to show them that good, healthy food can be tasty and interesting by cooking it at home for them.

Also have to get them interested in other outdoor activities. The prevalence of internet, TV and adult paranoia about letting kids out are all factors in obesity.

Also kids see what adults do. I know a woman who drives her kids the half a mile distance to school. The kids are old enough to walk the distance (in OK weather at least) and she is a stay-at-home mum. I won't be driving round the corner to pick up my son when he's older. I never got a lift anywhere, and I wasn't obese then, and I'm not obese now.

Its the whole "ah my kid wouldn't like that" attitude. I mean WTF???
I give my daughter every type of food, regardless of whether I like it or not, if she doesn't like something that's fine but I have never allowed her to dislike something unless she has tasted it. So far, the only things she doesn't like are aubergines and courgettes, everything else is yummy to her. Only last week she told me she tasted avocado and liked it, it's not something I would usually buy as I don't eat it, but it has been added to my shopping list.

I've seen 2 year olds being given coke in their baby bottles! If my daughter wants a fizzy drink she has sparkling water. She has treats, probably too many, but she has a healthy relationship with food and that's what is so important these days.

Quality

I hate the attitude from some parents that... "My kids dont like Veg" Or "John will only eat chicken nuggets!!" I think it is a cop out. There are so many healthy options available for kids.

Mr Puddings comments are very true.

Also I think a lot of it has to do with convienience foods, now I am in no way attacking working parents, I am one myself, But can it be brought down to parents being too tired in the evening to cook proper meals for their kids??

vincenzo1975

Quality wrote: »

I hate the attitude from some parents that... "My kids dont like Veg" Or "John will only eat chicken nuggets!!" I think it is a cop out. There are so many healthy options available for kids.

Mr Puddings comments are very true.

Also I think a lot of it has to do with convienience foods, now I am in no way attacking working parents, I am one myself, But can it be brought down to parents being too tired in the evening to cook proper meals for their kids??

I always laugh at these kind of comments, some kids are just picky.

My daughter(not overweight or skinny) does not like most veg(carrots and potatoes only). The only red meat she will eat is in the form of sausages and beefburgers. She also, however wont each chocolate or fizzy drinks cause she does not like them either.

I know a couple who point blank refuse to allow their kids to have any sweets, ice cream, junk meals like McD's or soft drinks. Like for gods sake, thats wrong too.

Just like being too skinny is just as bad as being too fat.

WindSock

Obviously I don't know if you're children are fat or not, so no need to jump onto the defensive wagon and tell me that your kids are great and healthy. You know what I am talking about. It's not puppy fat, it's not water retention, it's proper obesity.
How can I not watch in disgust when I see an overwieght family trundle along straight into McDonalds with their kids? Kids are supposed to be at their fittest yet they can barely even walk properly. To me, it's neglect. Who do you blame? Ronald McDonald?

vincenzo1975

now thats an exaggeration. Does it really disgust you see overweight kids going into mcdonalds?

What annoys me is that someone will label someone a bad parent simply because a child is overweight. This world has become obsessed with weight, overweight societies are a result of affluence in society. Once money is easily available to the majority, laziness, convenience and indulgence follows, thats the real reason. Hammering people and labelling them bad parents is wrong.

The idea that a child is a robot that can be programmed by a parent is silly. I agree parents have to set boundries and be firm, but they also have to be relistic and fair.

The amount of children in this country that are 'obese' and 'trundle' is actually very small. Anyone who drops their kids off to playgrounds easily see that the vast majority of kids are normal and fairly healthy looking. A playground is the best guage for this, as you get to see a good range from various backgrounds. Its certainly not the doomed future your suggesting.

IanCurtis

Give your kids a 9 piece box of deep fried chicken nuggets, large fries and a bucket of coke and no one bats an eyelid.

It's similar to giving them a lit cigarette in my opinion - a disgrace.

It's child abuse, plain and simple.

Dudess

If a young child is obese, the fault lies with the parent(s) - the child does not choose the food, buy the food, prepare the food, decide on portions.

Surprise surprise, there's indignation here because this is being viewed in the same way as bullying of an overweight person or judging people on their size etc.

No, it's a concern for children's health - obesity is very dangerous and people seem to forget that with their protestations of fattism etc.

vincenzo1975

IanCurtis wrote: »

Give your kids a 9 piece box of deep fried chicken nuggets, large fries and a bucket of coke and no one bats an eyelid.


It's similar to giving them a lit cigarette in my opinion - a disgrace.


It's child abuse, plain and simple.

who gives their kids that on a reguler basis? for the vast majority those sort of things are treatsm and as such are fine. calling it child abuse is doing a diservice to what child abuse actually is. It cheapens the term and shame on you for that.

I could just as easily put forward the arguement that any parent who does not have a real interest in their childrens education is a bad parent. And by real interest, I dont mean dragging yourself to a parent teacher meeting once or twice a year, or dropping your kids at the school gate before you rush off to work. I mean how many parent know what kind of maths level their kids are at, know the english books their kids are on, and what social science stuff they are learning. How many of them know the class structure and groups and how their kids are getting on with other children, who their freinds are, how well do they know the teacher, what day is PE and what other activities are their kids into. how many parents give support to the homework on a daily basis and get involved. I would say a lot of stay at home parents may have info here, but a lot of working parents dont, does that make them bad parents? Is it fair for me to say that a parent who is not fully on top of their kids education is commiting child abuse. Ridiculous. Its unbalanced and elitest.

Chicken nuggets and chips and a coke is child abuse, thats is a disgraceful comment.

I dearly hope you never come across a real case of child abuse.

Dudess

vincenzo1975 wrote: »

Does it really disgust you see overweight kids going into mcdonalds?

It does me. Obviously they're being brought there too often and that is just negligent and lazy.

vincenzo1975 wrote: »

who gives their kids that on a reguler basis? for the vast majority those sort of things are treatsm and as such are fine. calling it child abuse is doing a diservice to what child abuse actually is. It cheapens the term and shame on you for that.

I could just as easily put forward the arguement that any parent who does not have a real interest in their childrens education is a bad parent. And by real interest, I dont mean dragging yourself to a parent teacher meeting once or twice a year, or dropping your kids at the school gate before you rush off to work. I mean how many parent know what kind of maths level their kids are at, know the english books their kids are on, and what social science stuff they are learning. How many of them know the class structure and groups and how their kids are getting on with other children, who their freinds are, how well do they know the teacher, what day is PE and what other activities are their kids into. how many parents give support to the homework on a daily basis and get involved. I would say a lot of stay at home parents may have info here, but a lot of working parents dont, does that make them bad parents? Is it fair for me to say that a parent who is not fully on top of their kids education is commiting child abuse. Ridiculous. Its unbalanced and elitest.

Chicken nuggets and chips and a coke is child abuse, thats is a disgraceful comment.

I dearly hope you never come across a real case of child abuse.

If that's what they get regularly, yes I would consider it a form of child abuse. Surely endangering a child's health is abusive...? But somehow it's ok for them to be fat because "it's what's on the inside that counts" etc. We're becoming so concerned about being tolerant of obesity due to how it might affect the person's self image that we're forgetting about a far more crucial matter - the person's health.
And also, what about the child's self image? Feeding your child enough calories to put them in the overweight or obese category leaves them easy targets for bullies - what a position to put a child in...

vincenzo1975

Dudess wrote: »

If a young child is obese, the fault lies with the parent(s) - the child does not choose the food, buy the food, prepare the food, decide on portions.

Surprise surprise, there's indignation here because this is being viewed in the same way as bullying of an overweight person or judging people on their size etc.

No, it's a concern for children's health - obesity is very dangerous and people seem to forget that with their protestations of fattism etc.

If we are talking about obesity, then obviousley the parents are to blame, but the vast majority of kids, and their parents are fine and doing things right. I stand by my comment, that anyone who stands in a playground and looks around for 5 minutes will get a real idea of the level of obesity in kids, it is not as bad as some posters are claiming here.

Also, the villification of parents who allow their children treats by calling them child abusers is unacceptable.

IanCurtis

vincenzo1975 wrote: »

Also, the villification of parents who allow their children treats by calling them child abusers is unacceptable.

I'd really like to know when given you're child cheap, processed, deep fried food was considered a "treat".

This is the whole problem in my opinion. Healthy food=boring, junk=treat.

Children's menus in restaurants are usually fish fingers, chicken nuggets, chips, etc. We really need to break this link and start thinking of our kids' diet as we would of our own.

vincenzo1975

IanCurtis wrote: »

Give your kids a 9 piece box of deep fried chicken nuggets, large fries and a bucket of coke and no one bats an eyelid.


It's similar to giving them a lit cigarette in my opinion - a disgrace.


It's child abuse, plain and simple.

IanCurtis wrote: »

I'd really like to know when given you're child cheap, processed, deep fried food was considered a "treat".

This is the whole problem in my opinion. Healthy food=boring, junk=treat.

Children's menus in restaurants are usually fish fingers, chicken nuggets, chips, etc. We really need to break this link and start thinking of our kids' diet as we would of our own.

On Friday night last, we went to eddie Rockets for a meal. I had a burger and chips, as did my wife, and my daughter had chicken nuggets and chips.

You claim I am a child abuser for that, shame on you, do you know what child abuse is?

IanCurtis

vincenzo1975 wrote: »

On Friday night last, we went to eddie Rockets for a meal. I had a burger and chips, as did my wife, and my daughter had chicken nuggets and chips.

You claim I am a child abuser for that, shame on you, do you know what child abuse is?

Well I don't have children and I don't know what I would do. People will say "ah it's only once in a while" but you're setting that 'treat' idea in your daughter's mind. Treat = chicken nuggets and chips. It's not a treat - it's deep-fried ****e.

A treat to me is fresh mussels steamed in white wine, a fillet steak, irish stew...you get the idea.

Like I said, I'm not a parent and don't know the trouble that raising a child on a healthy diet brings.

vincenzo1975

IanCurtis wrote: »

Well I don't have children and I don't know what I would do.

and there folks, is the answer to that.

IanCurtis

vincenzo1975 wrote: »

On Friday night last, we went to eddie Rockets for a meal.

I think you've answered your own question there. Eddie Rockets for a meal? :rolleyes:


Nothing says Family Meal like mechanically separated meat and processing additives - sure I was raised on polydimethylsiloxane!

IanCurtis

vincenzo1975 wrote: »

and there folks, is the answer to that.

Well I wouldn't bring them to an overpriced chipper for their meal of the day - of that I am sure.

How about cooking something eh?

Lazy parenting doesn't get so obvious.

vincenzo1975

IanCurtis wrote: »

Well I wouldn't bring them to an overpriced chipper for their meal of the day - of that I am sure.

How about cooking something eh?

Lazy parenting doesn't get so obvious.

you should cut this thread out, seal it in an envelope and save it for your tenth wedding anniversary, It will give you a laugh.

IanCurtis

IanCurtis wrote: »

Well I wouldn't bring them to an overpriced chipper for their meal of the day - of that I am sure.

How about cooking something eh?

Lazy parenting doesn't get so obvious.

Sorry but bringing children for fast food is a treat, I am all for healthy eating, as you will see from my first post, but kids are kids, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with them having this food, dare I say it, "as part of a balanced diet" You refer in a previous post to a treat being mussels, steak, and stew, with the exception of the mussels (replace with prawns/fish), this is just what my child eats for dinner on a regular basis, it's not a treat, it's normal dinner, so now dinner is a treat??


And I'm with Dudess on this one, yes, it sickens me to see obese kids being brought to McDonalds and the like, it's disgusting, these children only know what they're taught and they are being taught that it's ok to be obese and eat what you like. And on top of being fat, you'll find most of these kids will have skin problems, dental issues and will be at the doctor alot more than a child of a healthy weight.

the glass woman

Vincenzo i suspect having read some of Iancurtis' previous posts he is simply trying to wind you up. Try to ignore it if possible, as you pointed out he already stated he doesn't know what He'd do if he had children so that's the end of that! And as for his 'what about cooking a family meal' comment, well going out wouldn't be seen as a treat if the child wasn't getting homecooked meals every other day now would it! But he failed to recognise this.