Obese Children?

Question

Nicklelodeon broadcasted 3 hours of dead airtime on Sept. 29, 2007 in efforts to encourage kids to exercise. Average American children watch 4 hours of T.V a day. In the U.S 9 million kids older then 6 (ages 6-11) are OBESE.

9 million!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Question: If any kids in your family are obese, is there anything you do to help them eat healthier? Or do you help the situation by buying them chips and candy? and WHY?

I, never buy my sister candy or junk food. Whenever she spends the weekend over my house, we only eat home made food. And we don't buy soda anymore either. So all she drinks in my house is WATER!

Answer 1

GOOD FOR YOU! You set an example for parents today.

Jamie Oliver had a food special last year about kids in Europe and the crap they eat. Kids eat more processed and junk food AND sit in front of TV, video games, computer and on cell phones. They are destined for a long, miserable life if the parents don't get them on the right track...................but then again 60% of all parents in America are obese too, so what good can they do?

Answer 2

My son is obese and no we dont contribute by buying candy and chips and stuff. He is 12 and about 200lbs.
We realize it is a serious health problem, but it is very difficult to deal with. We have a 1 hour rule with tv and video games. He can play or watch 1 hour a day. But even doing that he seldom does anything more than lay around.
We cant keep any kinds of snack foods in the house, or he will eat them quickly. In the past we have resorted to locking up the fridge or he would consume all our shopping for the week. We are not just talking snack foods, we would find stuff like boxes of potatoe flakes and cans of beets in his room.

I guess all you can do is encourage them to exercise and keep an eye on them. Try to get them into physical games more.

Answer 3

IMO Scuba Dude nailed it - with 60% of parents suffering from obesity its only reasonable that their kids are obese.

I personally believe a large part of the problem is that parents are too self-absorbed and, feeling guilty, indulge their children. They give them everything they want when they want it and children are content to play video games and go on line and going outdoors is almost a form of punishment. I'll not be surprised when I read that a child called CPS because his/her parents made them play outside.

Spend a few hours at the mall or at Wal-Mart and observe how parents react to their children's demands. 9 times out of 10 little Bobby or Suzy gets exactly what they demand. Its easier to give in than it is to be a responsible parent. After all, the child will stop screaming and crying when their demand is met.

Answer 4

What ever happened to moderation? I believe in striking a balance in nearly every area of life.

Healthy food, exercise, playtime and relaxation, as well as occasional treats, are all important IMO. However, if a family is obese, something is going wrong. It is really sad to see these young kids with huge bellies and bloated faces.

Answer 5

They need to do like they did back in the day: make them all take P.E.
Back in the day, we stayed outside and played until dark, unless we had homework. There was no spending hours in front of the television!
Back in the day, we RARELY got soda, and we'd take lunch to school.
Now, some kids can't help their weight. There are some that are just going to be bigger than others.

Answer 6

First off my parents regulated our food, so from a baby until 18 I ate what my parents TOLD me to eat, meaning one sweet a day and breakfast lunch and dinner and if we wanted snacks it HAD to be some fruit. Now if me or my siblings disagreed we'd be punished, therefore NONE of us were overweight. NOw that we are not under our parents we can eat what we want. But I've been conditioned so long to eat healthy that I don't even crave unhealthy crap. Whereas my older brother got fat(since he use to sneak unhealthy foods around the house so he craved bad foods), I lost weight, and was never overweight to begin with.