How depressing?

[Greedyfly]

Things are surely getting out of hand with childhood obesity now?

I find this a really sad reality, I can't imagine how unhappy children must be when they are this size?

Don't kids get bullied enough?

http://www.dailymail....tml?ito=feeds-newsxml

[woofgang]

indeed and it is sad but why make things worse for these children by making them go to school in clothing that is different from their peers?

[Greedyfly]

I am not suggesting that Woof, just that everyone I know got bullied in some way or another and to have you children be that big and not do anything about it (I know not all parents are this way, and that some children have health issues causing weight) is just ridiculous. Why cause your children more heartache growing up when they have everything else to contend with. All you have to say is no! And give them a better diet!

[LoftyLottie]

And just to add to it ,1/3 of British pet dogs are now officially overweight as well. Soon it will be cats, rabbits, even goldfish.............. and there will be no room left on our island. ;o)

[Greedyfly]

lol lottie. My kitty eats like a horse and is dead skinny bless him - he is young though. I am sure he will start to pork out when he gets older like us humans!?

[LoftyLottie]

Trouble is Greedyfly, when you look at these children, most of them have overweight parents, siblings, grandparents, etc. etc. They seem to accept it as normal. It's unbelievable. Don't these parents actually see it themselves. They never look particularly unhappy about it - and just look at what they put in their supermarket trolleys.

[LoftyLottie]

The most worrying thing isn't the appearance or the bullying, it's how they are damaging their health and reducing their life expectancy.

[Greedyfly]

Indeed. I am at the moment a bit overweight, I do have a poor diet because of my picky eating and obviously due to ankle restraints this last year exercise has been last on the agenda. Sitting on your bum for nearly a year will have an effect!

But I am now up and about walking and when I am stronger I will be exercising more and regularly to get my weight down for fear of heart problems etc... How people do not know or care about their health and the effect it will have on their children I will never understand!

[ummmm]

I have two skinny kids and one chubby one. I struggle to get him clothes and he's nowhere near obese.

The fact is....these kids need to wear clothes so clothes need to be made in their size. How much comfort eating do you think they would do when they realise there are no clothes to fit them.

[woofgang]

I know a family with two kids, one is a beanpole the other is quite chunky...both dancers, swimmers, active kids same diet, same up bringing and Mum and dad are both careful about health and eating.

[LoftyLottie]

I think there is a difference between obese and chunky though Woofgang. Not everybody can be thin and some people will always be stocky. Obese is something quite different though in my opinion. Obese is like the kid on Greedy's link. People come in different shapes and sizes and this should be respected, but in some families obesity is so very obviously caused by over indulgence and a lazy lifestyle.

I do agree with ummmm though. Clothes need to be made in larger sizes so that the overweight kids aren't 'different' from their peer group. People have got 'bigger' in general. I am amazed at some of the really tall, well built young girls I see around nowadays. I was 5'10" (actually I have shrunk to 5' 8" ish in recent years) and was considered a very tall girl. Nowadays many youngsters tower above me and are twice the width I was (but not fat).

[naomi24]

Lottie's right. That's the problem with official statistics - one size cannot possibly fit all, and it shouldn't be expected to. There was a recent case of a perfectly normal, healthy little boy who was 2lbs over the figure on the official chart, and was classified as 'obese'! What nonsense!

Having said that, I think it's very sad to see a genuinely fat child (and by that I don't mean chunky or well built). Invariably they are fed on junk food and are the product of fat parents who also live on junk food. I have a sneaking suspicion that when these people look in a mirror, they never look past their face.

[askyourgran]

I think the younger generation are naturally taller and heavier than they used to be.
We have a friend who is tall 6'.2" with size 13 shoes. His son is almost 7' with size 15-16 shoes. Manufacturers should be made aware that the same size does not fit all. 25 years ago I had trouble finding clothes and shoes to fit my daughter. She was much taller than a lot of her classmates at 13 years old. It was a nightmare finding school clothing for her even then.

[cazzz1975]

there is too much faith put in the merits of BMI, as a result normal sized people are being classed as overweight. personally I have not noticed a massive increase in obese children.

[LoftyLottie]

I agree totally with you about BMI Cazz and about waist measurements too. I have always had a big waist even when I was stick thin. It's my shape and unless I take a hacksaw out and chisel away at my bones there is very little I can do. My waist/hip ratio would indicate that I am prone to heart disease as I haven't got an hourglass shape.

I must admit though, I am noticing a lot of obese kids about these days - particularly boys.