Child obesity - Your thoughts

I was in a high street coffee bar Sunday morning when a rather large family of four came in. When I say large, I actually mean over weight an obese. Not only were the parents of a notable size but the children were so overweight their features on their faces were distorted.

When they arrived at the table I noticed the father had three chocolate twists, the mother had two slices of chocolate fudge and each child had a slice of cake each plus a chocolate bourbon biscuit and there were crisp on the table two. I would say both of the kids were under 11 and the oldest being at least 80+kg. I shouldn’t have been shocked but I truly was amazed by the ignorance and selfishness of these people.

Families/people like this truly disgust me.
 
I'm on a strict diet & buy no alcohol/pre-made rubbish, no sweets, chocolates or cakes & still my monthly shop is well over £50 a week for two.

Most of the money spent is fresh meat mind, but if I had kids & wasn't on a diet I'd be spending much more than that (as I'd be eating more).

Good quality fresh food (vegetables/meat) are more expensive than cheap rubbish.

But you can go for the less popular meat/fish/cuts and still eat well. We used to buy skinless chicken breasts from the butchers but now buy thighs and legs - far tastier and much cheaper.

@Telescopi - totally agree with your last post, 100%

Everyone short on time to cook should own a slow cooker. Those cheap meat cuts slow cooked are some of the most tasty meals we do!
 
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It's a combination of ignorance/laziness, and food pricing.

Health food can be affordable, but ONLY if you know how to cook.

Most people don't know how to, or are too lazy to cook, and that's where pricing kicks in, as healthy premade/ready type foods are far more expensive than the cheap readymeals.
 
Good food is far more expensive than processed crap.

I could eat a loaf of tesco value white bread each day and that would indeed be cheaper while, in theory, satisfying my calorific needs.

The kind of things people are over-eating though (crisps, pop, pies, nuggets) are not cheaper than lean meat/fish and vegetables eaten in the correct proportions and quantities.
 
Good quality food is more expensive than processed food, both in cost and in the time and skill necessary to prepare it properly.

Also you can eat what is essentially a healthy diet and still be overweight, excess carbs such as pasta, bread and potatoes can contribute to obesity just as much as cake, chocolate and crisps.

More education, cheaper alternatives to processed foods, easier and cheaper access to activities and exercise and a move to a better life balance for the less well-off would go a long way to addressing many of the issues with obesity.
 
If people struggle with cost then they should get an Allotment like me & grow there own. My Allotment costs me 19 quid a year.
If the fat ***** took there kids up the allotment then all of them would be healthier & not just because of the home grown food.

For those saying there are no gardens etc for the kids these days well there wasn't any gardens where I was brought up either.

I think kids these days are lazy ***** who would rather sit in front of the TV or play consoles than go out & build a go kart or a den/tree house.

Another thing that makes me sick is seeing toddlers in push chairs, When I was a kid I could run all day long & would never sit anywhere let alone in a pushchair.
I never stayed indoors & I mean Never, I had to do my chores in the morning then I was free until 6pm T time then it was out until I had to come in.
I don't see kids out on bike rides or racing home made go karts, I don't see any dens or tree houses being made & there's not even a rope swing over the local ditch.
Kids these days are just Rubbish. :p
 
I could eat a loaf of tesco value white bread each day and that would indeed be cheaper while, in theory, satisfying my calorific needs.

The kind of things people are over-eating though (crisps, pop, pies, nuggets) are not cheaper than lean meat/fish and vegetables eaten in the correct proportions and quantities.

You try feeding a family of four on £1 for 4 Chicken Pies, £1 for a kg of chips and 15p for a tin of beans.

£2.15 doesn't buy a single chicken breast let alone enough healthy food to feed 4.
 
If people struggle with cost then they should get an Allotment like me & grow there own. My Allotment costs me 19 quid a year.
If the fat ***** took there kids up the allotment then all of them would be healthier & not just because of the home grown food.

I was just about to post this. :)
 
If people struggle with cost then they should get an Allotment like me & grow there own. My Allotment costs me 19 quid a year.
If the fat ***** took there kids up the allotment then all of them would be healthier & not just because of the home grown food.

For those saying there are no gardens etc for the kids these days well there wasn't any gardens where I was brought up either.

I think kids these days are lazy ***** who would rather sit in front of the TV or play consoles than go out & build a go kart or a den/tree house.

Another thing that makes me sick is seeing toddlers in push chairs, When I was a kid I could run all day long & would never sit anywhere let alone in a pushchair.
I never stayed indoors & I mean Never, I had to do my chores in the morning then I was free until 6pm T time then it was out until I had to come in.
I don't see kids out on bike rides or racing home made go karts, I don't see any dens or tree houses being made & there's not even a rope swing over the local ditch.
Kids these days are just Rubbish. :p

I couldn't agree more.
 
Also you can eat what is essentially a healthy diet and still be overweight, excess carbs such as pasta, bread and potatoes can contribute to obesity just as much as cake, chocolate and crisps.

If the portion and proportion is that far out of whack it isn't a healthy diet. That is where proper education comes in and not media sound bites in 'public health messages'.
 
If people struggle with cost then they should get an Allotment like me & grow there own. My Allotment costs me 19 quid a year.
If the fat ***** took there kids up the allotment then all of them would be healthier & not just because of the home grown food.

The 27 year waiting list for an allotment is a bit of a barrier round here...:p
 
You try feeding a family of four on £1 for 4 Chicken Pies, £1 for a kg of chips and 15p for a tin of beans.

£2.15 doesn't buy a single chicken breast let alone enough healthy food to feed 4.

Exactly this.
 
Another thing that does my box in;

I'm in Tesco sorting the Produce out & Mum & little Johnny are behind me picking up a few chunks of cut up fruit packed in plastic for over a quid whilst 2 feet away I am stocking Fresh produce. :confused:

Another one is when I am in store & I hear a Mum asking little Johnny what he wants for dinner, I turn around & see a 4 year old boy with his Mum.
What the **** does a 4 year old boy know about nutritional requirements ?

A lot of Mums these days are just lazy & kids are just rubbish.

The 27 year waiting list for an allotment is a bit of a barrier round here...:p
I was 93rd on the list & got mine within 2 years.
Also you'd be surprised just how much you can grow in your own back yard.
 
If the portion and proportion is that far out of whack it isn't a healthy diet. That is where proper education comes in and not media sound bites in 'public health messages'.

Adding fructose to fresh chicken and sugar to canned veg and all the other little things that supermarkets do to extent shelf life do not help either.....

Schools do not help either with their menus and access to rubbish during school breaks etc.
 
I don't think the financial aspect is a strong argument. To get realy fat you have to eat a lot of food, a lot more than you "need". You don't even need to eat a healthy diet of loads of veg and fruit etc. All you have to do is eat a balanced diet with small portions and do some exercise. Most children hate veggies anyway but i only ate an apple a week if that when i was growing up. Maybe some fruit juice occasionally.

But i had one realy fat friend when i was very young like 10-13 named sergio. I went to hsi house a few times and when i would sleep over and eat food their, i could not believe how much they ate. His mom made soo much pasta and it just sat in the middle of the table, when i was finished i had left some on my plate because it was too much and my friends mom tried to give me more and would not accept a no and forced more on to my plate and my friend had a second helping. This is what makes him fat. Also the abundance of sweets and chocolate and biscuits in his house. To me biscuits was a treat not a daily occurrence.

I always say it is not rocket science, what makes people fat is they eat too much food and do not do enough exercise.
 
Another thing that does my box in;

I'm in Tesco sorting the Produce out & Mum & little Johnny are behind me picking up a few chunks of cut up fruit packed in plastic for over a quid whilst 2 feet away I am stocking Fresh produce. :confused:

What exactly is wrong with that?
A lot of fruit is wasted when bought whole. Yes you might be able to buy more of one specific item, it a few items singularly for the same as the pot, but the pot could be more fruits and the right portion size.
 
£2.15 doesn't buy a single chicken breast let alone enough healthy food to feed 4.

Where do you buy your chicken breast? You can buy a chicken breast, never mind frozen pieces to the same weight, for about a pound. In Asda. Not exactly exotic shopping. Of course if I wanted a nice plump fresh chicken breast I'd pay a little more (maybe as much as 1.50 avg) but you're comparing the worst **** food with the highest quality - that makes no sense. nutrition isn't about how it looks in the packet.

Also if you had a small chicken pie, a sensible portion of chips and some frozen peas I wouldn't say that was a ridiculously bad meal. The problem comes when you pile up that kilo of chips, eat it with 4 rounds of white bread+marg then break out the chocolate rolls after.

For feeding 4 people for £2.15 though I'd probably look at bean chilli, tin of toms, some paste, cumin, chillis, tins of mixed of beans - not hard for under £2 and probably more protein than your pie and baked beans. Could bring that right down of course using dried beans, but prep time require planning on that score.
 
What exactly is wrong with that?
A lot of fruit is wasted when bought whole. Yes you might be able to buy more of one specific item, it a few items singularly for the same as the pot, but the pot could be more fruits and the right portion size.

:p I'm not even going to bother to answer that I'm just going to laugh loudly. :p
 
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