Kids getting fat

Re: relevant to the topic

And aside from it being unsightly I dont think its very healthy for them to be so exposed.

Well...okay, maybe so. But I think we're moving into the realm of "You'll catch your death dressed like that" as opposed to discussing the serious health implications for the adults of our future and the junk food culture which has permeated across the seas and is now invading Irish youngsters lives more and more.

Obesity is now a very serious problem in the US and recognised as being a serious issue worldwide.

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Re

Ok, wee understand that a large proportion of children in Ireland are obese , however so too are many adults and the bad habits of the junk food adults has impressed itslef onto the younger generation.
As far as i am concerned we have a diabolicle diet in Ireland and have done for many years , it is frightingly akin to the US foodchain ands our young and our aludts are very suseptibel to US Style food Marketing.
But even when i go to Tesco's i look into other people's baskets and think my god what on earth are you eating.
Over 85% of the av shopping trolley is processed food.
The body is not desigined to eat fod which has been processed , I laught when i hear people stating they are on a diet, when all they are doing is eating microwaved processed , sugar + salt soaked , E numbered junk.

Cancer rates in Ireland are on the up and so too heart disease , pass the crisps anyone?
 
Re: Re

As far as i am concerned we have a diabolicle diet in Ireland and have done for many years
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I'd agree that a great many people in Ireland now have a diabolicle diet. However, I think this has happened more recently. The food we buy is riddled with chemicals and has been bastardised to a shocking extent. Mass produced carrots contain a fraction of the nutrients that their organic cousins have. Lettuce is regularly sprayed with pesticides in its lifetime. Now we can look forward to frankenfoods from America.

There are a few people living in Ireland who are over 100 years old. (Can't have been too bad a diet back then.) I doubt many of us will be alive in 70-100 years time.
 
Re: Re

> Mass produced carrots contain a fraction of the nutrients that their organic cousins have. Lettuce is regularly sprayed with pesticides in its lifetime. Now we can look forward to frankenfoods from America.

Does anybody have any links to objective and authoritative evidence that mass produced and/or GMO foods are significantly nutritionally inferior to ogranic alternatives? I tried but couldn't sort the wheat from the chaff.
 
Re: Re

> Does anybody have any links to objective and authoritative evidence that mass produced and/or GMO foods are significantly nutritionally inferior to ogranic alternatives?

Or indeed less safe than ORGANIC? I'm aware of the counter argument that organic foods can, in fact be less safe than mass produced foods, in cases where the use of organic fertilisers (e.g. manure) result in higher than normal levels of e-coli and the like.

Rather than focusing on the types of fresh fruit and veg that people eat (organic versus mass produced versus GMO even) surely it's more to the point that people in general often simply don't eat enough of these and other non processed foods in the first place?

An apple a day (organic or mass produced - both washed to take remove toxins etc.) is better than a mars bar for example...?
 
Re: Re

From "The Little Black Dress Diet" by Michael Van Straten (pages 54-55):
The book gives the source as being 'Official Government Tables'. The book is published in the UK, so I assume it's the UK Government.
 
I'm dubious about the claims that organic foods are necessarily and significantly safer or more nutritious that mass produced foods or even GMOs. There are obviously other issues to consider (taste, cost - including hidden environmental costs etc.) with each of these but from browsing around it seems to me that neither the UK nor US Governments (FDA) have concluded that organic foods are "better" in these respects. Perhaps somebody can point/link to objective and authoritative online information on this topic? I must read up on it more extensively one of these days...
 
I don't have time either to do much research into this.

However, I have bought organic veg in the past (which was expensive), and I would notice the difference. I went to a farmers' market which sold organic produce and the first thing I noticed was that veg actually has a scent! Carrots smell like carrots. If you go into a supermarket to buy mass produced stuff, you won't smell the produce unless you hold it right up to your nose.

Organic fruit tastes much nicer than mass produced fruit. Pick an apple from a tree and you'll notice the difference.

Of course this is all subjective and YMMV.
 
Yes - I agree that some organic produce can be tastier than mass produced stuff but I'm specifically interested in whether or not there is any scientific, objective and authoritative evidence that it is necessarily safer or more nutritious than mass produced (or even GMO alternatives). From what I've read there is no such authoritative evidence. So, returning to the point raised earlier, it seems that while many people need to consume less processed food and more fresh produce, there is no obvious reason (other than taste or environmental concerns) to prefer organic over mass produced fare.
 
Well from own personal experience, you have to place a large proportion of blame on the parents.

I have a four year old boy who is very tall for his age(taller than his 8 year old cousin) but was coming up at 5st 11lbs on the scales.

Something clicked with us one day about the size of him.We looked at his diet and saw that he was eating excessive amounts of bread during the day.Up to maybe 10 slices a day(thats 700-800 calories). We monitored his diet for 2 weeks to gage the number of calories he was getting and eventually brought him down to a little lower than it should be. 3 months on (he's 5 now) he is 5st 7lb and a little taller.
Over the next few months his weight will match what it should be for his height.
The message been that parents need to take responsibility for their children's diet.

If not then who?
 
I remember seeing a tv programme once where a child complained to her mother that there was no food in the house ... just ingredients! Is that a sign of our times ... when our food is so processed that unless it does exactly what it says on the tin, we don't eat it.
Another reason for children being so overweight is their lack of exercise. Parents must take some of the blame for this ... when is the last time you saw a family going for a walk/bike ride etc. We feel it's okay to push a buggy with a newborn ... who doesn't need the exercise .... but perhaps it's our frustration of the child being too slow ... too whiney etc. that prevents us getting them out and about!
 
Reasons to be portly......

Several causes for obesity.

Car usage up.
Unsupervised play outside not possible because of cars danger and perverts.
No one wants to coach kids in sports anymore because of the risk of being accused of child abuse.
Video games and other indoor interests have increased over previous times.
Richer parents, richer foods in the diet. More "junk".
Active sports not encouraged at play times in schools now because of insurance issues.
Central heating on all the time..less need for body to heat itself up. These calories get stored as fat.
Less manual labour, kids don't work as much as they used to in manual labour jobs. Less farm families and non-mechanised farm holdings than before. Less part-time jobs in family businesses which kept the self employed and their families trim and fit......
Less public open spaces left to run around in. All have been turned into building sites and public parks where ball games are restricted.( not eveyone likes to jog, esp. kids....)
 
Overweight kids

Savy, how did you find out what weight your kids should be? I've an 8 year old that in the last few months has been eating like a horse. She has grown taller but she is also getting bigger than she should be especially round her trunk. I know I could find out by going to my GP but I want to keep this fairly low key and not let her think she is fat.
 
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nothing wrong with your kid eating like a horse irish. Surely you need to look at what she's eating. A spare tyre on an eight year old is unhealthy.
 
kids growth rates

there are certain times during a child's development where they put on some spare weight as they will need the energy for the next growth spurt. Eg babies can get very pudgy looking - but they'll use the stored energy for learning to walk and will turn into lean 4 year olds; also before puberty - used to be called puppy fat.

I don't want to tread on anyone's toes, especially as I don;t know the full story, as for excessive bread - maybe he needs the intake but isn't getting it from the type of bread? White processed rather than brown soda bread? I wouldn't put a kid on a diet without monitoring energy output too, maybe the child needs more exercise. Not related to diets, I think why kids in America end up diagnosed with ADD and put on medication is becaused they have so much energy that has no outlet. As someone said above, kids can't be let out to play alone anymore in most parts of the city and adults just don't have the energy levels required.
 
bmi

You could try the vhi website to see if it gives information on healthy weights for kids. I know it has a BMI calculator but think it's only for adults. For all the reasons mentioned above it's pretty difficult to know when a kid has a weight problem if it's not a really extreme one. Also as mentioned above see if she's getting enough exercise and look at the type of food she's eating. In doing this it may help to look at your own diet and activity level. You probably do most of the shopping and cooking anyway so you already have a certain amount of control over the type of food generally available to her.
 
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