Comments on: Childhood obesity explained

By: Emily

Emily — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:58:56 +0000

It all comes back to the same simple stuff, doesn’t it? Eat less (and make most of it real food) and move more.

@ ET Addison: I really DO think reading & playing computer games are different. I’ve always been a voracious reader, and even today I dedicate hours and hours of every day of my life to reading, and I have never had weight problems. I couldn’t tell you why, and obviously it’s not scientific evidence, but my childhood friends who spent hours in front of the TV were always heavy. I can’t explain it, but I think sedentary activities are very often deeply psychologically different. In addition to my hours of reading, I’ve also always been active, whereas those TV-watching friends didn’t so much as walk their dogs.

By: Tech

Tech — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 08:08:24 +0000

It’s shocking how much kids eat. They have far too many snacks on top of their three meals a day.

By: Gay

Gay — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 04:28:22 +0000

Okay – Now everyone has complained and commented. Let’s look for some solid behaviors to support parents who may need help:
1) kids need protein before they walk out the door in the morning. Eggs and toast or a decent cereal or oatmeal.

By: manuel

manuel — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 03:27:02 +0000

kids r fat?! what, this is a revelation ? look @ their parents ! 4 heavens sake almost 70% of america is fat. we dont need more programs or govt help. we need people 2 care enough about their own health & the health of their families 2 make proper decisions. only then will they ignore the rampant stupidity,hypocrisy & propaganda they r bombarded with every day. we all live in the same world. some people care about health & fitness,workout regularly,& r always seeking 2 improve their diets & learn more. other people make excuses & eat crap because “it tastes good”,just like children. how can they possibly teach their kids anything about health & nutrition-they bhave like kids themselves. if this country was really serious about obesity we would hav mandatory nutrition education startin in grade school,& half the crap that is served in school cafeterias would b in the garbage where it blongs. i kno 4 a fact that hot dogs,chips,cold-cuts,candy cereal & sugar infused breakfast bars r served in my area. what part of healthy nutrition is this ?! mandatory nutrition education by committed people is an idea whose time has come. who cares if u kno about the middle ages if u dont even kno how 2 eat. which 1 of these is goin 2 keep u alive?!

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:10:09 +0000

People can’t even visit the doctor these days without snacking in the exam room. I recently had a patient’s wife and son break out a large bag of chips and 2 sodas and start eating/drinking while I was trying to examine the patient. I had to ask them to please stop crunching the chips so I could hear the man’s heart with a stethoscope.

By: ET Addison

ET Addison — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:46:29 +0000

Curious.

I wonder if there would be such tsking and finger wagging if kids spent as much time reading books and studying. Both sedentary activities which would predispose to blubbery fatness.

Methinks there’s always a lot of puritanical moralizing in these ‘studies’.

Be careful to separate the ‘preaching’ and ‘soapboxing’ from the actual science and facts.

By: Anthro

Anthro — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:25:41 +0000

@Jennifer

I share your alarm. There are a number of children in my immediate neighborhood, but the only reason I know that is that I occasionally see them being strapped into their car seats. The play set in the back yard gets only very occasional use. One man told me (with the greatest pride) that he walks around the block “every day, but the kids won’t go most of the time”. This is a very safe area with a parkway running through it; lots of trees, good sidewalks. The only walkers are older people with dogs. I see a few families in the summer, but the child is always in a stroller–not walking–even if he/she is four or five years old!

When my youngest child (now 23) played soccer, I was assigned to bring “juice and snack”. I brought a jug of water and some sliced apples. Needless to say I was told off and accused of being “cheap” and “uncaring” (as though I had refused aid to starving third world children).

None of these trends show signs of abating. Younger parents have now grown up this way themselves. I have floated the idea of “walking groups” (adult escorts to organized groups of children to walk to school) and have read about a few communities doing this, but it has become a status symbol to drop the kids at school or bus stop in the SUV, so I don’t see this becoming widespread.

The odd thing is that many of these children are NOT fat–yet.

By: Nibbles: Tomatoes, Fattipuffs, Thinifers, Rice, Policy, IFAP, Small oats

Nibbles: Tomatoes, Fattipuffs, Thinifers, Rice, Policy, IFAP, Small oats — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:27:26 +0000

[...] “No wonder kids are gaining weight.” But they aren’t, see above. (Where’s that sarc-mark when you need it? [...]

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 23:03:12 +0000

Of course there’s the issue of what kids are choosing to eat, or what their parents are choosing for them to have access to, but there’s also the fact that most parents don’t feel safe letting their kids outside anymore. In fact, some parents who do are being visited by social services for possible neglect! There are some huge and seemingly insurmountable societal issues at hand. How do we get back to making “outside time” the norm? Are any communities having successful programs or initiatives that reverse this depressing and insidious trend?

Please share! I could use some happy stories!

By: FoodFitnessFreshair

FoodFitnessFreshair — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:11:03 +0000

I read the snack article, and it’s true, Americans have increasingly supplemented the healthy diet with tons and tons of unhealthy snacks. Kids expect snacks for almost all good deeds they do, at almost all sports games, and of course in school and at home. Kids who are always snacking at a young age will carry this habit into adulthood. Particularly when people reach adulthood, it’s not always healthy snacks that they reach for. Instead, mindless eating causes people to reach for the chips and other empty calorie filled junk.