health

As with adults, no easy way to address weight with children

13 Comments
By CANDICE CHOI

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13 Comments
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Its not the kids, its the adults that are the problem. Just as soon as the adults start preparing healthful meals for the whole family and making sure the family gets enough daily exercise, the weight problems of the kids disappears.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Guilt and blame are not good motivators for change," 

Fair enough, doesn't mean parents shouldn't tackle the problem head-on and tell the kid he's eating too much crap, not exercising enough etc.

The 'parents shouldn't be too direct' fluffy approach is imo part of the problem. If mum and dad don't feel comfortable addressing the pbm who will?!

Stop buying his/her fave cookies, peanut butter etc and start running, cycling, playing footy etc with the kid.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

If the children are younger then this is simply a matter of the parents needing to take charge and set a good example themselves. Insist on serving and eating a healthy well balanced diet and limit junk food and snacks.

Overeating teens are harder to handle but it can be done.

Whether it's overweight kids, teens or adults it is not fat shaming to confront the problem by bringing it up and suggesting solutions as long as it is done respectfully and sympatheticly. Obesity kills, so you might be saving your child or loved one from chronic sickness and an early grave.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

When I was working in primary care you'd often get children in whose chronic health problems, like diabetes and asthma, were exacerbated by being very overweight. When you would try and discuss the issue with the parents they would often go ballistic, refusing to accept that weight was the issue, in fact many parents would not even acknowledge their child was over weight. Parents often underestimate how much or little they feed their child and how over/underweight they are. Ask any health care professional that works with kids, they'll tell you similar stories.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

as for adults, they,re adults, they can make their own choices. as for children, they,re the future so we need to take care of them and it,s never too late for that. change always need to start at home, parents, family members. education also means teaching them how to have a healthy lifestyle - being able to take care of themselves (their health). at school, same thing. schools and families need to genuinely care about children, that means to make some rules; school lunch for example. at home, parents need to stop buying bad food (at least everyday or almost everyday). also children need to get used to physical exercise, so make some kind of schedule, whether at school or anywhere with family and friends. also, enough with sitting all day long playing games or watching tv (Pokemon Go is a good idea). they,ll get used to it (everyday, little by little), they,ll become more healthy/active. if nobody does anything until they,re pre-teens, then it,s too late to change their lifestyle.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

It's a simple one that Japan does, but get them to walk to school. Do not build communities where children cannot do this due to freeways in the way.

Unless it's fake and bulked up with palm oil and sugar, I doubt "peanut butter" is making kids fat. It's a healthy food that should be at least 95% nuts.

As other commenters point out, the problem is likely to be more poor diet than insufficient activity. Its much easier to watch what you eat than do some crappy snack food's worth of running. It will be much further than most people think.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Tough love is what is required

1 ( +1 / -0 )

It's simple---eat less.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Very very simple : kids are kids, they shall ask before eating anything and same with money about how it can be spent.

No food or money in excess, no overweight.

I always say (sorry for the picture) : you never saw any obese prisoner in any concentration camp.

Parents (or very close family) are the guilty ones,

My parents would never buy junk food in excess (or hide it very well ! Learned that when older).

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Supermarket Trolleys should also be smaller.

Unhealthy items getting far more discounts than the heathier ones, making it easier to choose between two.

Because of above two, people keep putting the unhealthy foods full of trolley. I was shocked when i saw these as normal in UK. Everything seem like double.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

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