Who else thinks it's outrageous that girls as young as 9 are on diets?

Question

Not a day goes by that I don't see a post here from some 12 or 13 year old who is convinced she is overweight. These kids are going to stunt their growth, and surpress the development of their internal organs.

Who else finds this unacceptable?

I'm not talking about kids whose doctors have put them on reducing diets; I'm talking about girls who think 102 pounds at 5'4" is overweight.

Answer 1

That really saddens me. Society can really destroy people. I see posts all the time "I'm overweight, 105lbs., best way to lose weight quickly?" Our children have gotten such skewed ideas about some things.

But then there are the posts, "My bf wants me to have sex. Should I?" and you check up on them and they're 13. Or how about answers like, "Sperm dies as soon as it hits air." "You can't get pregnant through your underwear." There are a lot of scary things out there for our kids.

Answer 2

Maybe if their parents weren't feeding their kids so much fast food and processed food, 9 year olds wouldn't need to go on diets.

If they're seriously overweight I think it's warranted, but otherwise I totally agree. It comes from their moms for the most part, my aunt was always preoccupied with fat grams and calories and once when I was babysitting my 9 year old cousin she turned over a tiny packet of Jelly Bellys to see the fat grams!! A lot of it is the entertainment industry too, these girls don't realize that the models in fashion magazines and music videos are all airbrushed and photoshopped, so expecting themselves to look like that is totally unrealistic.

Answer 3

I blame this on the parents I see a lot more overweight kids nowadays than I did when I was a kid. I do think it's ridiculous for young girls (and boys) to feel they need to be on diets.

Eating healthy should start at a very young age. If parents, schools, and the media worked together to teach healthy eating habits from the beginning young kids would never feel the need to diet.

Answer 4

girls don't grow much past 12 or 13 so i really doubt their growth will be stunted. have you looked at kids lately? many of them are overweight. do i think they should go on a diet? no, but they need to start exercises and make a lifestyle diet change...no junk food and more fruits and vegetables. cut out pop and drink only water and milk.

Answer 5

If they just think they are "fat" and are of a normal or slighty chubby size then it is a bad idea

But there are some morbidly obese kids that age and even younger who really do need to have their diets drastically changed for health as well as appearance

I hate seeing a hugely overweight mom with her huge 10 year old, it seems almost abusive to alow a kid to get that fat just from over eating

Answer 6

I do as well. They have there whole lives ahead of them yet they worry so much about weight and don't realize they will develop into a healthy young woman by just eating the right foods and getting regular exercise. I would say put the magazines away and hopefully the parents teach them proper eating habits.

Answer 7

Do you live in America? Ive seen "toddlers" that are overweight here. We are the fattest country on earth. There are kids much younger than twelve that should be taught proper eating habits and any parent that lets their children eat like gluttens should be charged with cruelty. It takes some discipline but I have always maintained a normal weight and I'm disgusted with anyone who allows themselves to become hideous with fat, and there are alot of them in America.

Answer 8

It depends on if the are really overweight or not and if their nutritional needs are being met while on the diet (by the way 5 pounds over the "standard" isn't over weight!) But there are a LOT of american children that ARE morbidly over weight!

Answer 9

A lot of this kids that are 12 or 13 try to emulate their favorite celebrities,I think it's up to the parents to tell them not to try to copy hollywood celebrities who like going into these extremes diets.

Answer 10

The only reason young kids are dieting is because society places unrealistic visions of what beautiful is, and the children want to reach what society deems as beautiful.