As a mother are you worried about the talk of childhood obesity?

Question

I have just read yet another article about children who are overwieght. As a mother of 2 young girls I am about sick of this. I am not saying that some children are not overweight and need to lose some. But does it bother others as much as me that we might be sending a message to our daughters that is already being pounded on them from the media that they are FAT! I feel that we should be promoting a healthy lifestyle and good habits, along with the love of self more than the number that is on a scale. I would much rather have a child who is obese than one with an eating disorder. Eating disorders are far more difficult to deal with. Am I totally off base in feeling this way? Or are there others that are as sick of this as me?

I guess I'm the only person who in high school weight 97 pounds and yet still thought I was fat.

Answer 1

I totaly agree with you. They should def promote self love and helathy living. At least it would help tp conquer self esteem issues.

Answer 2

Well, it's not so black and white. You can have a child that is obese who is very secure and emotionally in a good place. But that child is still more likely to have health problems and would benefit from losing weight. You can also have a child who is thin and in the healthy weight range, yet has emotional issues that can lead to a variety of disorders or bad behavior. We have a problem in this country because diets are not what they should be for optimal health, portions are too big and most people (including kids who spend too much time in front of the TV, computers and video games) don't get enough exercise. So yeah, we can't go too far and give our daughters a complex about their bodies. We should be, as you say, promoting a healthy lifestyle. But I think there is a difference between talking about not being obese, and, as the fashion magazines do, pressuring girls to be ultra ultra thin.

Answer 3

I agree with you on some levels then disagree on others, I have been overweight all my life and Its not fun. In many aspects, I had to deal with cruel kids in school, cruel adults in the real world and also the future possibility of medical problems if I dont get this under control. It is a disease, i am a food addict, I love it like a junkie loves crack, even when I know Im not hungry I eat and even when I know I am disgusted with what I see in the mirror I will grab another plate of spaghetti or whatever looks good. I tend to think I wish someone would have pushed this knowledge into my parents when I was 5- 6 or whenever so I would have learned how to eat healthy and exercise. I worry about my son all the time because he was at the top of the weight charts for awhile and now he's perfect but I never want him to go thru what I did mentally or have health concerns as a result of this. So while I am tired of ALL the drama over it I do understand the importance of it. Hope this helps!

Answer 4

No you are definitely not off base. I think it's great that you are not pushing the media sense of thin on your daughters. But I think that this whole media articles saying child obesity is overwhelming is not off base either. There are so many families that do not teach their children to eat healthy foods and that such things as fast foods are an OCCASIONAL treat. Did you know that even on candy wrappers now it says this is a treat not to be eatin in excess. Yeah, crazy i know. But obviously it's there cause there are some people that don't know healthy eating habits. You have every right to be sick of the media's skewed ideas of "healthy". As long as you continue to help your girls eat healthy and be comfortable with who they are, you're on the right track!

Answer 5

Yes you are. There is nothing healthy about being FAT, kids or adults. They lead to other illnesses. The studies is trying to ring awareness to people. Yes you should promote healthy lifestyle and eating habbits. Not being fat does not mean you need to look like Kate Moss and have an eating disorder. You are turning a blind eye if you think being obeses is not a disease.

Answer 6

since my kids were born, I have talked to them
about healthy choices when eating,and eating
healthy food, not drinking soda or diet soda
it was made for obese adults, not for thin people
to stay thin,or for kids.

I also let them drink only the fattest milk content I can find
1 % milk was also not made for kids or thin people
it;s intention when brought to market was for adults
who needed less fat in their diets.

I read a real strong article on the internet somewhere
and also saw on t.v. that the fat in milk is realy good for a childs
brain development between the ages of 3-15,if they have
never been breast fed.

breast milk has a real high fat content, so the only other place to get close to that is fat in milk,

if kids drink fat free milk it hurts thier growth potential
and there brain power.

both my boys are skinny as rakes,strong as oxes
and have an above grade average in theirs school.

neither was breast fed due to complications

they broke the chain, I think by me and my wife being
informed as much as possible about our kids health.

my 13 yr old eats more than I do at a meal
my 11 yr old is very picky eater.

but they nevr have caffine, about 3 soda a month each
they never eat diet ir drink diet products, not meant for kids
and they only drink % of fat milk highest I can find.
they are both strong athletes. at all sports.
so they are very active.

they are not obese or have an eating disorder
they bothdrink 3 lts of water a day,and we don;t tell them too
they know it;s good for you.

teaching from a young age is the key,
they would rather eat chicken, than Mcdonalds anyday.

Answer 7

I disagree. If a child is fat you have to do something about that. It's only going to get worse from there. It is not healthy for a child to have a gut hanging out of their shirts, ect.

As for sending a message to our daughters that they are fat, a good parent would have already taught their children the difference between "skinny", "a little chubby", and "F A T"

Answer 8

I am actually glad that this discussion is going on and that the public is being made aware of this problem. There are not enough healthy choices available for kids. School lunch programs are full of junk food, sports and fitness programs are underfunded and not accessible to children from lower income groups, fast food restaurants are the worst offenders with their french fries, soda and toy meals. Let's hope that all this talk brings some well needed changes to this unhealthy community for our children.

Answer 9

NO!!! Don't make it about fat versus skinny!

Just teach them that they need to keep themselves "fit"! Show then examples of healthy, athletic women with good muscle tone and acceptable levels of fat. Teach them that they need to strive for healthy, not skinny.

Love is also key, just make sure you serve it with a side of carrot sticks, not chocolate chip cookies!

Answer 10

no your right...but overweight children are more entertaining for the media to talk about...i was watching maury yesterday and there was this little boy he was like 5 and weighed 112