MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Went swimming today. There was this kid there who must have had a 50" waist and been at least 15 stone as a very apple like shape, being 4ft at the very most. Age wise he must have been 10-12yrs old.
Whose fault is this and should it be classed as child abuse if it's the parents fault?
Boy could float well though, so maybe it's not all that bad for him.
Is this the rainy day topic you threatened the other day?
Good he was swimming and not gaming.
Parents.
Jamie - no far from it. That one is a beauty. It wasn't raining today.
Its the advertising industry, supermarkets and fast food places to blame
Jamie - no far from it.
Phew!
parents
Depends.
M_F and his evil branding ways... nothing to do with the parents 😆 🙄
i blame the tories/labour/lib-dems/america/mtv/computer-games/websites that idolise super fat women personally
www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_ElXYzFX_w
That's nearly as funny as the one about gingas
TandemJeremy - Member
Its the advertising industry, supermarkets and fast food places to blame
It's his parents - I'd wager they are a pair of lard arses too.
Unless they're one of those comedy couples you see where the bloke is about 7.5 stone 'cos his obese mrs won't let him near the biscuit jar.
No, sorry - my mistake, it's genetic.
(actually TJ, I agree the industry is partially to blame, but the parents have to shoulder the majority)
It's because smoking isn't cool any more.
If children were allowed to smoke 40 a day then they would have no appetite and not become obese.
It's the parents though. Must be difficult having a child who wants to eat all the time, but surely they must see it happen over time and should take steps to stop what is happening. It's not as though that level of obesity occurs overnight is it?
Unless they're one of those comedy couples you see where the bloke is about 7.5 stone
AKA "feeders" or "unlucky"
(actually TJ, I agree the industry is partially to blame, [b][u]but the parents have to shoulder the majority[/b][/u]
+1
unless the kids got a job and is sneaking out spending his secretly earned money on lard then the parents should have the ability to say no to requests for fatty foods induced by advertising.
Parents and society
parents: letting kids eat poor nutritional food and not exercise
Society: for thinking its 'ok' to be fat
On the plus side, they are softer when you crash into them
I don't think its society. I mean, do you know anyone that thinks its ok to be fat? I don't. whether they are or not is another matter...
parents don't always feed their kids bad food because they don't care or are too lazy to prepare healthier food you know, a lot of the time they just can't afford higher quality healthier food, if the government or society really gave a shat as they claim to they'd stop telling us eat better and start helping us by making it affordable!. the next time you go shopping compare the prices between the low fat healthy options and the "value" options and you'll plainly see how much more it costs too eat healthily and therefore how unaffordable it is for those on low incomes.
On the plus side, they are softer when you crash into them
...and far less likely to run into the road in the first place.
mmb - thats rubbish
Its very easy to afford it. Healthy food is no more expensive - but you cannot get cheap healthy preprepared food - you need to cook it yourself
the next time you go shopping compare the prices between the low fat healthy options and the "value" options and you'll plainly see how much more it costs too eat healthily and therefore how unaffordable it is for those on low incomes.
used to think that, then i discovered how many meals you can make with "value" vegetables for cheaper 😉
Food that's bad for you is yummy though. I can make a prety knock out cury but take sways are really really nice and it's easy to eat loads of calories in a small portion doesn't feel like it, but you do then befre you know it..... Kaboom massive belly.
It's the parents for me.
low fat healthy options
low fat does not always mean healthy, in fact the craze for low fat diets has been quite unhealthy
don't get me wrong i'm not saying that it's not the parents fault, as with most problems there are several contributing factors and lazy parents are only part of the problem and i stand by what i say healthier food is more expensive.
If you add in a charge for your own time then healthy food is expensive. The raw ingredients are far from it though. You can eat healthily cheaply ver easily if you put a tiny wee bit of effort in.
I agree with mmb but also feel very strongly that Domestic Science (as it was called in my day 2K years ago) should be compulsory for more than one term. This was all my kids got.
Many parents haven't a clue about nutrition, we need to eat seasonally and know how to cook!
Food may be cheaper in real terms but for reasonable quality meat and poultry, ie anything that has not been intensively reared, is very expensive.
I could of course try and convince people about how much cheaper and healthier it is to eat pheasant, partridge, rabbit etc purchased from their local farmers market.
cinnamon girl has it right there, educate and teach skills and that will go a long way.
Some kids have bigger appetites than others its just the way they're made. Left to their own devices they'll seek out cake and biscuits.
Last Year our youngest was obese according to the Wii Fit and getting self concious about his weight, so we made an effort to get healthy snacks, which is actually harder than you might think, and to get out the house playing sports every day. Perfect excuse for a new mtbs too 🙂
Problem went away, but could easily have been twice bad by now if we were ignorant or lazy?
Still eats like a horse though.
educate children to appreciate how and where food comes from.
personally I blame the food manufacturers and supermarkets for preying on an area of society that struggle financially and therefore take the 'cheaper and unhealthy' options available to them.
What some of these people fail to understand is that they could buy and cook cheaper cuts of meat to a healthy and tasty alternatives, which Mr oliver and Whittingstall regularly demonstrate.
What does grate me is the people who say healthy food is expensive, but are quite happy to spend a fortune on fags. "ooh a chicken costs £6.00 how expensive, fags for a fiver, bargain"
Healthy food isn't expensive.
Provided the kid has no medical reason to be so obese, such as thyroid problems. His parents are to blame and no one else. Advertising, food costs and Marketing are not. Providing healthy food is not significantly more expensive than fatty foods, exercise is also free.
educate and teach skills and that will go a long way
yep, couldn't agree more; of course parents can do this as part of, erm, parenting 🙄
Food may be cheaper in real terms but for reasonable quality meat and poultry, ie anything that has not been intensively reared, is very expensive
Hmmm, I've been reading a few articles recently, and I'd say the jury's still out on whether organic food is better for you than non-organic food; might be better for the environment or the chicken (if it's free range as well) not neccessarily us.... but until that's decided one or the other I'd say it was better to eat a cheap chicken plus tatties ane peas cooked yourself than cheap ready meals.
A diet of cheap processed food full of trans fats and a more sedantary lifestyle don't help.
It doesn't necessarily have to be organic, perhaps from a local farm where welfare standards matter.
As regards chicken, well, if you had seen where battery chickens are kept, the lack of daylight, inadequate ventilation etc., you would not eat them!
the government for lack of nannying
A roasted battery chicken would still be better than a fast food chicken in terms of nutrition. I agree 100% with c-g that good healthy living should be taught in schools, along with understanding tax & respecting other people.
On the flip side my properly fed, active 9 year old nephew has raised concern at school for having a faint six pack and biceps.
It doesn't necessarily have to be organic, perhaps from a local farm where welfare standards matter.As regards chicken, well, if you had seen where battery chickens are kept, the lack of daylight, inadequate ventilation etc., you would not eat them!
Both those statements are good reasons to buy organic, free range produce in terms of the welfare of the animal; but it doesn't neccessarily equate to a healthier food for us in terms of nutrition.
What I, and others, are trying to say is that it is possible to eat healthily when on a budget, it is just that it probably won't be organic free range or nor does it have to be.
I'm going for the parents.
In terms of depressing sights... the fat family queuing at a drive-thru McDonalds for Sunday lunch has to be up there with in-patients smoking at the hospital doors.
One of the major causes of obesity in the western world is the industrialisation of food production.
Food manufacturers try and make things 'more-ish' by increasing the fat, sugar and salt content of food.
That a 10 year old kid has become (apparently literally) a model consumer in their eyes and its all his (or his parents) fault?
Also now that women no longer 'know their place' people generally have less time to cook the convenience stuff has taken over. Which, yes that's right, is full of fat, sugar and salt...
We are going to hell in a hand basket.
The sooner we give up on 'civilisation' as a failed experiment and return to the stone age the better I say....
But surely the food manufacturers should be brought into line? Advertising on TV at kids programme times should be controlled surely?
I don't want a nanny state but it seems as though some people are getting away quite lightly (see what I did there?). Yes, parents need to be responsible too but so do the manufacturers.
The sooner we give up on 'civilisation' as a failed experiment and return to the stone age the better I say....
^^^^LOL
however;
people generally have less time to cook
Not wishing to come across as smug, but both me and my wife work full time, have two teenage kids, yet are able to cook dinner every night, well pretty much, it is not difficult and generally takes around 30-40mins
I am not in advertising and I said so yesterday!
I would suggest parents are to blame though - at that age he *shouldn't* have access to the money to buy the food himself so his parents must be allowing it.
Or he *could* have a medical problem.
parents do control what gets put into the mouths of their children as they buy it or cook it so ultimately the parents. Why this happens is a more complicated reason but parents can give their kids less or healthy stuff. it is not expensive to but vegatables I could eat healthily or a week on what you would pay for a nice roast
My little vegan kids certainly eat their veg and have no concept of McD'd . We went in once, every vegan child should have their first Mcpoo and on the way out the eldest asked in a very loud voice why everyone was fat. trying to prevent a conversation I ignored him ...he said is it because they eat unhealthy fatty food and dont excercise? he was 5 he had a point tbh.
Eat well excercise it is not rocket science so lack of education is not the sole reason plenty of fat middle class educated folk they just did it with better wine and nicer cheese.
he was 5 he had a point tbh.
At an age where he should know better than to be that rude in public. Skinny and ignorant. I blame the parents.
It's the parents.
Also now that women no longer 'know their place' people generally have less time to cook the convenience stuff has taken over.
Complete and utter bollocks of the highest order. I work full time and still manage to prepare most of the meals from scratch. There is a wonderful invention called "refrigeration". Look it up, you'll be impressed. To save you time from your obviously busy schedule, I'll summarise. You can cook up stuff at the weekend, i.e. curry, Bolognese, lasagne etc and either refrigerate (or "freeze") to be served up at a later date. From scratch, an omlette with either frozen or fresh veg, salad or sweetcorn can be knocked up in next to no time. Beans on toast is reasonably healthy. Frozen meals are for [i]exceptions[/i] only, not the norm.
Some people are bone-bloody-idle, end of. Fat kids? Parents' fault.
I'd estimate that one in five kids of pacific Island extraction are that size over here, the NZ health system is clogged woth obese cases from as early as 4 years old. Again education (or lack thereof) is to blame.
Parents.
I blame it on the car. That and all involved in the car industry. Particularly driving instructors.
parents fault, they should have some control over what their child eats. IMO it's verging on child cruelty, a child of the size the OP mentions will already have serious health issues, such as a massive risk of diabetes
Healthy food is cheaper than processed junk, as TJ says you just have to get off your lardy ass and prepare it. pretty much all my meals (we have pizza on friday as a treat, rock n roll!) are made from scratch from fresh ingredients. For me, my wife and my 8 month old son we spend 60 quid a week on food, could do it cheaper if we bought value brands
Unless the kid is doing the shopping and stocking the larder with junk food, parents/carers buying the food has to be the major factor; kid can't eat cake etc if it's not there to be eaten...
On the +ve side, going swimming will help to address the issue, if done regularly.
It may genuinely be a genetic thing though - who knows?
They don't seem to have genetic or glandular problems in many third world countries.
Personally I think the answer ia quite complex and there are several factors involved, for me;
I do blame it on sunshine
I do blame it on moonlight
I do blame it on good times
But I don't blame it on the boogie,
Which I think does contradict the common belief.
surely its the teachers fault? dont the schools have some responsibility to bring our kids up right?! us parents dont have time to cook dammit... how would we get our time on the X-box in at night if we had to spend time cooking vegetables! 😈
So to sum up, its everyone else's fault. Not mine. I guess that's a good summary to the UK in 2011.
I may not be expensive to eat a healthy diet, but you can eat an unhealthy diet cheaper.
I spend circa £20 on fruit a week to go with my pack lunch and the odd bit at home. I could by crisps a lot cheaper.
Vegetables are the same, they used to be a lot cheaper they are extortionate now.
But for the life of me I can not understand why anyone would consider a Macy D a treat !!!!
Bazzer
But for the life of me I can not understand why anyone would consider a Macy D a treat !!!!
That's because you don't understand how the magical and wonderful marketing machine works. 😈
Eating McDonalds will make you an athlete NOT fat see! 🙄
Ultimately its the parents.
However as humans have evolved we are making life easier for our selves so we have to do less physical activity, whilst making foods that make us fatter.
a lot of the time they just can't afford higher quality healthier food
Nonsense. Maybe theyre not educated in where to look and how to cook it, but it is FAR cheaper to cook from half-decent quality fresh ingredients. Myself and my other half (neither of whome have small appetites) live happily off meals that cost 4-5 quid for 4-6 large portions. Stir fry, sausage jambowhatsit, mince dishes with fat fried off etc) We generally live off about £40 a week food budget (breakfast, evening meals and some lunches in that.) and not through trying, we buy what we need. We have some beers, we have some nice pre-made desserts, but not often. I really can't see how people spend so much unless they buy everything pre-made.
Coyote - Member
They don't seem to have genetic or glandular problems in many third world countries.
POSTED 2 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST
I think the point is that genetic disorders can cause massive weight gains from relatively small amounts of food. So is the solution to starve people if they have such disorders or manage it in sensible ways - ie letting them eat normal amounts but ensure they take exercise. Such as swimming.
Of course he MAY just be a bloater but let's not assume that.
Of course he might be a bloater who has decided he needs to do something about it and, if so, good on him.
mastiles_fanylionI think the point is that genetic disorders can cause massive weight gains from relatively small amounts of food.
Such as? I can't think of one. Its very simnple - you only get fat if you overeat. Calories in / calories out
there is a genetic disorder whereby people are always hungry - but they only get fat if they overeat. If they eat normal amounts they don't get fat.
You cannot get fat from a normal amount of food
its not as simple as 'parents to blame'. yes, in many cases, yes partially in many cases, but when, like me you have a daughter who is lardy (not as bad as the kid in question i hasten to add)and has no interest in exercise or doing anything even slightly active (like her mother) at all without a huge strop and fight what the f@ck can you do. if anyone has the answer please post because i don't know what to do.
cut down her calorie intake?
I think the point is that genetic disorders can cause massive weight gains from relatively small amounts of food
I don't think there are to be honest, IIRC all of the genetic "tendencies" identified actually are just appetite issues - i.e. you don't feel as full as someone else would when you actually are. I'm fairly sure there's no disorder that snaffles energy from the air and makes you store it as fat. If there were such a disorder that made you super-efficient at converting food to energy to store as fat, I'm sure athletes would like to know, but they can't store more than they take in.
but when, like me you have a daughter who is lardy (not as bad as the kid in question i hasten to add)and has no interest in exercise or doing anything even slightly active (like her mother) at all without a huge strop and fight what the f@ck can you do
Tough question. Maybe get the mother doing something first as she is old enough to realise the damage she's doing by being a poor role model. Make exercise a fun family day out? If it's not possible to make exercise a fun family event, fix what's up with your family dynamics/peoples self esteem first? Stop her eating as much, and if she moans tell her she needs to exercise before she can eat more - surely being a parent involves being the bad guy at times.
Let her walk to school.
Don't drive her around in a car.
Cut calorie intake.
Go out at the weekend as a family for a walk.
Find some physical activity she enjoys.
Have you tried any of the above?
Fair enough - must be my misunderstanding of how these genetic disorders effect weight.
surely being a parent involves being the bad guy at times.
Nail on the head.
Not having a go at gavtheoldskater as what I'm about to say might not apply; but it really gets me when parents\kids say 'jessica\mum\dad is my best friend' - we do not need to be our kid's best friend
Such as? I can't think of one. Its very simnple - you only get fat if you overeat. Calories in / calories outthere is a genetic disorder whereby people are always hungry - but they only get fat if they overeat. If they eat normal amounts they don't get fat.
You cannot get fat from a normal amount of food
Very true Teej. It's been proven that a healthy lifestye can overcome 'fat genetics'. Yes, there are a very few people that have glandular or other problems, but it is VERY few.
I'm overweight, becasue I like to eat a lot. But it's 90% home made and just sooooooo tasty!
Re: 'Not being able to afford healthy food' - It's utter, UTTER shite. The 2 of us live on about £40-50 a week including all our food including 10 packed lunches, the odd beer and me spending £30 every few weeks at the butchers. We can cook a healthy meal for pennies and it's rarely more than as few quid for the two of us. Mrs PP is veggie, but I won't eat battery chickens any more and my meat comes from a local butchers and is TOP quality. Fresh vegetables are dirt cheap!
People that claim this are either lazy, or just don't know how cheap and easy it is becasue they were borught up on takeaways and ready meals. They just don't know how easy uit is to do. Even I can do a nice spag bol from fresh ingredients (Not a jar of sauce) in 20 mins or so... including my own garlic bread! Mrs PP makes small pies. Veggie ones for her, meat for me. She makes 5-6 of each (And she's fast, cirtainly under an hour) and frezzes them. Whip one out of the freezer in the morning, come home, oven on, veg chopped, 25mins later we eat. That's 30 mins including making the pie.
But people just can't be bothered. if they put as much effort into cooking as they do moaning, they'd be OK. But they'd rather moan for 10 minutes about something than work for 5 on doing it!!!!!!
Sorry. Rant over. 🙂
+1 PeterPoddy
I want to start making pies this year...
[i]But surely the food manufacturers should be brought into line? Advertising on TV at kids programme times should be controlled surely?[/i]
I wouldn't hold your breath on this one.
[url] http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/nov/12/mcdonalds-pepsico-help-health-policy [/url]
I want Mrs PP pie recipes too!
They just don't know how easy uit is to do. Even I can do a nice spag bol from fresh ingredients (Not a jar of sauce) in 20 mins or so... including my own garlic bread! Mrs PP makes small pies. Veggie ones for her, meat for me.
I'm guessing from what you've written that there's just the two of you ? Time is much scarcer when you've a few kids to ferry around and look after. Cooking properly is time consuming as is shopping at smaller shops for decent ingredients. It's not all about the cost of food. It's hard to have the time to eat well, even more so when you both have to work.
it is poor to blame manufacturers for the purchases their customers make no one forces them to but the crap they make.
gav is it just the teenage years and being lazy or has she always been like this?
I have no great advice some people are different i have a friend who is happy to overeat and not exercise - he gets out of breath going up two flights of stairs but it does not bother him. People , even our kids, get to make their own choices you can only do your best/try but it is her choice good luck.
Its the advertising industry, supermarkets and fast food places to blame
I think this is what's wrong with our society, no one is encouraged to take any sort of responsibly for their own actions. So much easier to absolve yourself from blame and point the fingure at someone else so you can sleep easy at night. Of course the industry should take some responsibly but the but of the blame for fat kids lies pretty much with the parents.
Cooking properly is time consuming as is shopping at smaller shops for decent ingredients. It's not all about the cost of food. It's hard to have the time to eat well, even more so when you both have to work.
I've got an 8 month old, my and my wife both work, I do it. I Make all of Juniors meals on the weekend and freeze them, maybe make a fish pie and freeze that, we make quick meals every night, takes about 30 mins - 1 hour.
Time is much scarcer when you've a few kids to ferry around and look after. Cooking properly is time consuming as is shopping at smaller shops for decent ingredients.
Back in the 70s both my parents worked full time, we ate home cooked meals almost every night. It wasn't an issue.
Mind you my parents did not "ferry us around" we cycled / walked and got busses
+1 trailmonkey
The condescending nature of some here is quite funny. There are far more fundamental reasons than laziness when it comes to obesity. Yes, it is a factor. At the same time, I know a fair few people who are overweight who are certainly not lazy.
Why is there no outcry at McDonalds being the "official restaurant" of tge 2012 Olympics?
deadly Darcy such as?
It really is simple - if you eat more calories than you use you get fat - me I am at least 10 kg overweight
I agree parents are often responsible, but they can't be with their children 24 hours a day.I'm sure my mum and dad thought I was buying healthy school meals, not a couple of bars of chocolate, crisps and cherry coke!
I want Mrs PP pie recipes too!
Mostly meat to be fair. There's not many gaps in it! 🙂
Ham ends (Cheap) from the supermarket in a pie with a bit of parsley sauce is good. Stewing steak, bit of onion and mushroom.
You can get packs of small foil pie conatainers from Wilkinsons, which makes it easier.
I'm hungry now. 😉
Can we get a "healthy + cheap" recipes thread? I'm a pretty good cook (Tartiflette is my special) but inspiration is severly lacking. Usually end up buying something on my way home to eat which means something in a tin/box/carton.
"Can we get a "healthy + cheap" recipes thread"
Make that quick too !