Child obesity - Your thoughts

elmarko1234 said:
Indeed.

Frozen chicken (you would think would have nothing in it except chicken) - look in Tesco's & you will notice it's got sugar/salt & is only 82% chicken.

This is common across the board.

I spend more on food since eating healthy than I did beforehand - eating a healthy variety of fresh fruit/vegetables with good quality meat isn't as cheap as eating cheap oven food.

It's utterly ridiculous that some people are claiming it's cheaper to eat healthy than it is to eat low quality cheap oven food (which has an incredibly low cost per meal).
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not to mention healthy and organic. we were buying organic everything before the wife gave up work to look after MiniMe. the costs at times were 10x that of a cheap alternative.

we do find we can share a organic chicken breast from our local butcher. they must be some big ass chickens.
 
People also seem to underestimate the genetic effect on weight loss.

From studies I've read (in this case on children who's parents suffered starvation during the WW2 in Poland) had a much higher obesity level than similar populations.

The effects of a mothers diet while the baby is inutero are believed to have epigenetic links, which in turn effect how likely a child is to become obese.

Another key study was on a child's ability at hyperbolic discounting, those lacking in this skill had a much greater propensity to become obese/get into trouble with the law/become depressed etc.

It's a complex social problem, one which isn't as simple as many on here are portraying.

krooton said:
Nutritionally it is roughly equal to those cheap pies, and cheaper too.

Eating healthy does not have to be expensive, but it does require people to get over their sugar/fat cravings and actually plan some meals.
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People underestimate the power of the addictive qualities of sugar/salt & fat.

Certain people have a greater predisposition to addiction, with sugar/food being one of the most common addictions it should be hardly surprising that obesity is common.

While genetics won't make you directly fat in most cases, it may give you a weakness to addiction which in turn will make you fat.

Once again, reality isn't as simple as some like to think.
 
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Omaeka said:
First and foremost responsibility as a parent is to keep your child healthy and happy, this involves the food you give them, and if somebody is too stupid to realize a bunch of greasy chips every day is going to harm their children, and don't bother to make sure their children get decent exercise then they shouldn't be let have children, people should seriously have to go through tests to see how they'd be as a parent, and if they are so god damn stupid or negligent that they'd let their kid do the above, then they should be black listed until their IQ improves. The fact stupid people are having stupid kids is the cause for the state this country is slowly falling into. If society is to blame, then the parents are to blame even more so for following said society when childhood obesity is so rife.

It's the stuff like all of this that should open the parents eyes, and if it doesn't then lol.
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You completely miss the point.

Fat people are not stupid people, people with fat children are not stupid people. You, instead of addressing a point or putting forward a logical argument just sat on your high horse and called them stupid.

You are exactly what is wrong with this thread and society.
 
Skyfall said:
You completely miss the point.

Fat people are not stupid people, people with fat children are not stupid people. You, instead of addressing a point or putting forward a logical argument just sat on your high horse and called them stupid.

You are exactly what is wrong with this thread and society.
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The majority of fat people are ignorant or lazy though. ;)
 
krooton said:
Nutritionally it is roughly equal to those cheap pies, and cheaper too.

Eating healthy does not have to be expensive, but it does require people to get over their sugar/fat cravings and actually plan some meals.
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But is it going to fill you up?

It's all well and good having a healthy meal, but if you're still hungry afterwards you'll start snacking, or you'll bulk up the healthy and nutritious part of your meal with bread/chips/etc, which are no good. Of course part of this is willpower, but when you can buy 1kg of chips for £1 or a lettuce for £1 - which do you think people are going to prefer to top up their meal?
 
Haggisman said:
If I'd sat down to dinner to be greeted with a sandwich and a glass of water, or a single slice of wafer thin chicken and a couple of chips when I was a kid, I'd have laughed and asked my mum what was actually for dinner :D
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different worlds, I'd have been kicked round the yard if I'd done that.

Would have kept me (and my mum) fit though :)
 
Too much consumption of carbohydrates, especially the refined ones. Take a leaf out of most animals diets : lean protein, healthy fats and fibre / greens.
 
Haggisman said:
But is it going to fill you up?
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chicken pie or chicken sandwich?

They will fill you up the same, you are eating avery similar volume of protein, carb and fat, in a fairly similar method (pastry baked flour and fat, bread baked flour with fat spread on after).

Edit: Obviously the pie will have some gravy in it, but the sandwich will be good for mopping up gravy too (only thing it will be good for with more margerine than chicken in it).
 
We're losing the sauna at our local leisure centre to make way for facilities designed to prevent and manage existing child obesity cases... and to extend the changing facilities. It devalues my monthly membership by removing yet another facility to tackle something that shouldn’t be a problem in the first place.

Preventing child obesity starts at home. Good parenting, common sense and exercise. Sometimes medical needs can cause weight gain, I understand this and is the exception to the rule.

My two pennies.
 
Heatsinked said:
We're losing the sauna at our local leisure centre to make way for facilities designed to prevent and manage existing child obesity cases... .
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Any idea what these facilities are? Intrigued what they think they need to prevent child obesity that any normal gym doesn't have anyway.
 
Haggisman said:
But is it going to fill you up?

It's all well and good having a healthy meal, but if you're still hungry afterwards you'll start snacking, or you'll bulk up the healthy and nutritious part of your meal with bread/chips/etc, which are no good. Of course part of this is willpower, but when you can buy 1kg of chips for £1 or a lettuce for £1 - which do you think people are going to prefer to top up their meal?
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Protein, carbs and fibre are what make you feel full.

A cheap pie might have the psychological effect of making you feel fuller than a sandwich, but if the nutritional stats are similar, the true impact on your stomach will be similar.

100g of cooked lentils will definitely keep you feeling fuller for longer than a cheap pie would. Hell, 100g of cooked porridge just with water (11p/100g) has more protein, better carbs, and more fibre than the pie, and will keep you fuller for longer.
 
Castiel said:
Indeed, but again often it is also a psychological barrier that people need to surmount as well as a physical one...I am simply saying that it is not really that simple to point and shoot in judgement at any given individual.
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I agree, however it's still important to nip it in the bud or accept or do something about it before your tip over that level. To get to the levels of obesity where your body is beyond help takes many many years of abuse.

Remember we're talking about kids too - there should be some onus on the parents to feed their children correctly and to ensure they are not over doing poor nutrition - as well as doing some form of activity. :)

Freakbro said:
Which is exactly what I was going to say.

And since we are talking about children, they don't come out obese, generally don't have access to feed themselves, so it is down to the parents to monitor and regulate the food intake *before* they get to such obese levels that medical intervention is necessary.

The principle of which applies equally to anyone who became morbidly obese. I put on weight easily when I eat the wrong foods, but when I feel too large I regulate my food intake and lose weight. I hit 16.5 stone last year, felt terrible about it so have now lost 3st....it's not rocket science
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Agreed. I'm quite fastidious about what I eat, but I find it interesting, and it's part of my lifestyle. I like feeling good, and having energy, and hitting the gym and being fit. It all comes in hand in hand with the correct nutrition and eat a well balanced diet.

As parents you are responsible for your child, I personally feel it's almost abuse to let them get obese. It impairs health, brain development, screws up your hormone levels and basically creates weaknesses in your body for the rest of your life.

Morba said:
That's actually quite sad lol. Shows how little chicken is actually in the pie :(
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And that's a case in point of why so many of these cheap foods are so poor - a chicken pie with hardly any chicken, mainly pastry and sauce. Calorific, but nutritionally inadequate.
 
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