Child obesity 'a form of neglect'

[Vraille Darkfang]

Is it Neglect?

If your kid has a Milk Allergy & you have him drink a glass of Milk every day, is that neglect.

Obesity is a really, really, really complex Medical Issue (one of the top 5 Chronic, DEADLY conditions of today).

The Equation is Simple:

Calories In < Calories Out, you lose weight.

It defining Calories In, Calories Out & even the < where the trick.

Every body is different in who it processes the food it takes in. A lot of money goes into legitimate studies every year to find out how different people process different foods.

This doesn't even touch things like allergies, Blood Pressure & other health issues.

But that vast majority of it can be summed up in a Study done along the border several years ago.

Of a Tribe of Indians (very similar genetic make-up) those living in the US were Chronically Obese. Those living in Mexico were pretty average.

Every day the vast majority of Americans make Poor Food Choices. And (the trick) is they make them on a constant basis over a long period of time.

A Mountain Dew a Weeks OK. 6 Mt Dew's a Day is the problem.

By & large Americans WANT to make poor choices, even when presented with an Alternative.

My wife has some pretty bad food allergies (corn being the biggie, it must be in 95% of procesed foods), so we really read labels & pay attention to what we buy & eat.

Most people don't. They want a Magic Pill that lets them stuff their face & sit on their rears. Watch TV for an hour, you'll see what I mean.

It takes work, but in can be done (in most cases, there are those whose obesity is more medical than anything).

Of, watch the Biggest Loser Series. Tubs of 300+ lbs of Lard who lose hundreds of lbs.


PS Guess which of the Following translates (potentially) to Corn on US labels:


Acetic acid
Alcohol
Alpha tocopherol
Artificial flavorings
Artificial sweeteners
Ascorbates
Ascorbic acid
Astaxanthin
Baking powder
Barley malt* (generally OK, but can be contaminated)
Bleached flour*
Blended sugar (sugaridextrose)
Brown sugar* (generally OK if no caramel color)
Calcium citrate
Calcium fumarate
Calcium gluconate
Calcium lactate
Calcium magnesium acetate (CMA)
Calcium stearate
Calcium stearoyl lactylate
Caramel and caramel color
Carbonmethylcellulose sodium
Cellulose microcrystalline
Cellulose, methyl
Cellulose, powdered
Cetearyl glucoside
Choline chloride
Citric acid*
Citrus cloud emulsion (CCS)
Coco glycerides (cocoglycerides)
Confectioners sugar
Corn alcohol, corn gluten
Corn extract
Corn flour
Corn oil, corn oil margarine
Corn starch
Corn sweetener, corn sugar
Corn syrup, corn syrup solids
Corn, popcorn, cornmeal
Cornstarch, cornflour
Crosscarmellose sodium
Crystalline dextrose
Crystalline fructose
Cyclodextrin
DATUM (a dough conditioner)
Decyl glucoside
Decyl polyglucose
Dextrin
Dextrose (also found in IV solutions)
Dextrose anything (such as monohydrate or anhydrous)
d-Gluconic acid
Distilled white vinegar
Drying agent
Erythorbic acid
Erythritol
Ethanol
Ethocel 20
Ethylcellulose
Ethylene
Ethyl acetate
Ethyl alcohol
Ethyl lactate
Ethyl maltol
Fibersol-2
Flavorings*
Food starch
Fructose*
Fruit juice concentrate*
Fumaric acid
Germ/germ meal
Gluconate
Gluconic acid
Glucono delta-lactone
Gluconolactone
Glucosamine
Glucose*
Glucose syrup* (also found in IV solutions)
Glutamate
Gluten
Gluten feed/meal
Glycerides
Glycerin*
Glycerol
Golden syrup
Grits
High fructose corn syrup
Hominy
Honey*
Hydrolyzed corn
Hydrolyzed corn protein
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose
Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose pthalate (HPMCP)
Inositol
Invert syrup or sugar
Iodized salt
Lactate
Lactic acid*
Lauryl glucoside
Lecithin
Linoleic acid
Lysine
Magnesium fumarate
Maize
Malic acid
Malonic acid
Malt syrup from corn
Malt, malt extract
Maltitol
Maltodextrin
Maltol
Maltose
Mannitol
Methyl gluceth
Methyl glucose
Methyl glucoside
Methylcellulose
Microcrystaline cellulose
Modified cellulose gum
Modified corn starch
Modified food starch
Molasses* (corn syrup may be present; know your product)
Mono and di glycerides
Monosodium glutamate
MSG
Natural flavorings*
Olestra/Olean
Polenta
Polydextrose
Polylactic acid (PLA)
Polysorbates* (e.g. Polysorbate 80)
Polyvinyl acetate
Potassium citrate
Potassium fumarate
Potassium gluconate
Powdered sugar
Pregelatinized starch
Propionic acid
Propylene glycol*
Propylene glycol monostearate*
Saccharin
Salt (iodized salt)
Semolina (unless from wheat)
Simethicone
Sodium carboxymethylcellulose
Sodium citrate
Sodium erythorbate
Sodium fumarate
Sodium lactate
Sodium starch glycolate
Sodium stearoyl fumarate
Sorbate
Sorbic acid
Sorbitan
Sorbitan monooleate
Sorbitan tri-oleate
Sorbitol
Sorghum* (not all is bad; the syrup and/or grain CAN be mixed with corn)
Starch (any kind that's not specified)
Stearic acid
Stearoyls
Sucrose
Sugar* (not identified as cane or beet)
Threonine
Tocopherol (vitamin E)
Treacle (aka golden syrup)
Triethyl citrate
Unmodified starch
Vanilla, natural flavoring
Vanilla, pure or extract
Vanillin
Vegetable anything that's not specific*
Vinegar, distilled white
Vinyl acetate
Vitamin C* and Vitamin E*
Vitamins*
Xanthan gum
Xylitol
Yeast*
Zea mays
Zein
Adhesives and gummed papers (envelopes, stamps, stickers, tapes)
Body powders
Bounce dryer sheets
Breath spray and candies
Charcoal briquettes
Chicken
Coffee, instant
Condiments (mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup)
Contact lens solutions
Cream
Dairy products (cottage cheese, cheese, sour cream)
Fresh fruit/vegetables that are coated with wax (which can be derived from corn)
Frozen fruit (blueberries, cranberries)
Frozen vegetables
Hair products (spray, mousse and gels)
Herbal Essence products
Lotion (including those that contain Vitamin E)
Margarine
Meat products (hot dogs, sausage)
Milk - some brands (it could be the container; organic is safest)
Orange juice
Paper containers (boxes, cups, plates)
Peanut butter
Pesticide powders
Pickles
Plastic containers (food containers, cups, plates)
Pork
Rice, enriched (some brands only, e.g. Riceland)
Ricotta cheese
Salad dressings
Soaps and dishwashing detergents
Suntan lotions
Teas
Tomato products
Toothpaste
Tuna fish


If you answered "All of the Above" You are a WINNER!!!!

 

[Style]

So yeah, the equation is pretty simple: if you perpetrate or condone behavior that harms your kids, you're being abusive. Snip snip, end of problem.

Interested to see the recognition of this as a big issue in the USA. I took a trip to the States last year and saw grossly fat kids being wheeled about the place by equally obese parents. One poor kid asked his father for a drink of water from a fountain. His dad snapped at him: "There's no way I'm walking back 50 yards just to get you a drink of water. Have some gatorade and quit complaining!"

Another time I was at a parade, waiting for the procession to appear. A family the size of large whales were standing next to me. In a truly wonderful moment I overheard the mother say to her daughter "Sweetie, please help your brother cross his legs." When a kid is too fat to cross his own legs, we have truly entered the land of the mad.

So naturally I shot them all. For their own good, of course.

I've heard some folks in the UK call for a fat tax - you know, a tax levied on lard. Sounds like a fine idea to me. Or we could hunt them and render their bodies down to make candles or something. Y'think?

 

[JDJblatherings]

there is a huge difference between obese and morbidly obese. Becasue of jiggle abotu of charts a whole lot of people became instantly obese a few years back when they clearly weren't. Parents with fat kids aren't realyl hurtign the kids, but those with hugely fat kids are doing them no favors.

i used to weigh about 50 pounds more then i do now - i used to drink at least a liter of sode a day and ate a bag of chips almost every work day. For breakfast I'd eat one or teo can of corned beef hash with a half dozen eggs and wash that down with two glasses of milk, when i ate corn flakes i'd eat a whole serving bowl worth of them. For dinner i'd eat a whole family pack of chicken pieces or an entire pizza (every night not jusy occasionalyl for the hell of it). I put myself on an exrcise regime and the miracle diet of no more 4ths and 5ths and behold the weight slowly came off. I'm still obese according to assinine charts , I'm moderately muscular with a small paunch (not bad for pushing 40). I'm pretty happy where i am and no one guesses me to weigh as much as i do nor would they ever consider me to be fat.

People just have to be sensible and realisitic. Cut back on the soda (diet and non diet), eat till yuo are no longer hungry, you don't have to be full at every sitting. Vary your diet a lot and keep snacks to a minimum.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Given all the massive health consequences that childhood obesity has for children who simply aren't equipped to make these sorts of decisions for themselves, I think characterizing it as parental abuse is both accurate and fair.

Parental decisions that shave years off a child's life is what we're talking about here.

It also affects everyone who pays for health insurance and anyone who pays taxes. Your right to be a crappy parent stops at my wallet.

 

[sedarfairy]

I think most of our weight problems come from the convenience of fast food and our unwillingness to make necessary changes. Its mostly attitude. I agree with everything Danny said. I have a pre-diabetic problem. My father already is. I had to radically alter my diet. We don't eat white. Potatoes, refined sugars and cereals, rice, etc. When those changes were made in my dad's life, he melted 45 pounds off in a few months. It helps that both my children are health freaks. My oldest has been dancing competetively for 8 years now. She cleaned out our house of junk. My youngest is a long distance runner at the age of 10. I don't have to stay on them...they figured out quickly what combinations of food to eat, or not eat, in order to stay healthy. You would be hard pressed to find potato chips or candy, or doughnuts in our house. When they want something sweet we make treats using sugar free things, fruit, or even honey, a natural sugar. they eat chips made out of fruit and rice. Instead of processed meats, we cook our own. the sadness of skipping the happy meal is made up for by cooking together and then sitting down together around the table and laughing about our day.

to illustrate my point about attitude though, yesterday my daughter was on her second running session of the day, pounding out her 6th mile. a lady I knew stopped her car next to the track we were running on and waved me over to talk. When I got over to her car she shook her head and laughed..."Don't you ever let your kids sit down? I see them out here exercising all the time." thats the misconception so many people deal with. I don't force them to do these things...They have seen my dad, also a distance runner, and myself, an avid exerciser and track coach, exhibit these habits for years. We have to live the example for our kids.

 

[Style]

I think most of our weight problems come from the convenience of fast food and our unwillingness to make necessary changes. Its mostly attitude. I agree with everything Danny said. I have a pre-diabetic problem. My father already is. I had to radically alter my diet. We don't eat white. Potatoes, refined sugars and cereals, rice, etc. When those changes were made in my dad's life, he melted 45 pounds off in a few months. It helps that both my children are health freaks. My oldest has been dancing competetively for 8 years now. She cleaned out our house of junk. My youngest is a long distance runner at the age of 10. I don't have to stay on them...they figured out quickly what combinations of food to eat, or not eat, in order to stay healthy. You would be hard pressed to find potato chips or candy, or doughnuts in our house. When they want something sweet we make treats using sugar free things, fruit, or even honey, a natural sugar. they eat chips made out of fruit and rice. Instead of processed meats, we cook our own. the sadness of skipping the happy meal is made up for by cooking together and then sitting down together around the table and laughing about our day.

to illustrate my point about attitude though, yesterday my daughter was on her second running session of the day, pounding out her 6th mile. a lady I knew stopped her car next to the track we were running on and waved me over to talk. When I got over to her car she shook her head and laughed..."Don't you ever let your kids sit down? I see them out here exercising all the time." thats the misconception so many people deal with. I don't force them to do these things...They have seen my dad, also a distance runner, and myself, an avid exerciser and track coach, exhibit these habits for years. We have to live the example for our kids.

You should be proud of yourself - great stuff. Setting a solid example is what it is all about. Sounds like you have a wonderful family. My kids are very health conscious as well - little interest in sweets and treats and far happier to snack on an apple or a banana, and have juice of some kind with dinner instead of some carbonated crap. I count myself lucky.

 

[sedarfairy]

You should be proud of yourself - great stuff. Setting a solid example is what it is all about. Sounds like you have a wonderful family. My kids are very health conscious as well - little interest in sweets and treats and far happier to snack on an apple or a banana, and have juice of some kind with dinner instead of some carbonated crap. I count myself lucky.

We haven't had anything carbonated in the house in about 4 years. It gets kind of embarrassing when we have company though. not many people want pomegranite blueberry juice.

by the way...read yesterday that people that have one soda a day are 83 % more likely to contract diabetes. people that eat fast food 2 times a week up their chances by 100 percent.

 

[Jeysie]

While eating habits *have* gotten out of hand lately, not all child obesity is a result of neglect.

I was a very odd child who *liked* (and still does like) healthy food... I would often eat my fruits and vegetables and hide my meat in the napkin. I liked milk and juice better than soda. And I was very active as a kid. Yet I was still always somewhat pudgy, simply because stockiness runs on my mom's side of the family.

I still have the same problem as an adult. I *don't* eat a lot of junk food, and usually eat decent food... yet I still can never lose weight. I get hungry every four hours, and it's much too expensive to keep enough fruits and vegetables in the house to keep my stomach from grumbling and my blood sugar out of my shoes. Usually it's the breads and cereals that are affordable and keep me full enough, yet it also piles on the sugar and calories...

I'm not near as active any more, either. I'm terrible at sports, and I find doing "plain old" weight-lifting, aerobics, etc. mind-numbingly boring. I like walking when I need to go somewhere, but other than a 20-minute walk to and from work each day, I don't have enough places that are within walking distance to go to so I can get in enough regular exercise.

So, *shrug*. Sometimes being obese isn't laziness or neglect or not knowing better. Sometimes it just *is*.

Peace & Luv, Liz

 

[Varianor Abroad]

neglectful parents should be sterilized to prevent them from doing any more harm to future children

Who here is a parent?

(I am by the way. I have a daughter who is slightly overweight. She has a mom who is overweight - but not morbidly obese - due to some physical ailments that developed. My daughter battles with us constantly about what she eats. We try to reason with her. Sometimes we win. Sometimes we don't. She still sneaks food, or eats too much of the wrong things or when her mom feels sorry convinces her to both go for ice cream.

My point? It's a problem. However, it's a slippery slope to start branding people neglectful and heading right for the punishment over weight while wielding the broad brush. Yes, there's probably some cases of people who are not treating their child right. They probably need counseling, or the child probably needs a stay at a home where they can help more.

I'm sure someday the courts will allow children to sue their parents over this. I'm sure that the children will get money. I doubt most of them will use it to lose weight.

To sum up: let's look for a better solution than labelling people as problems and punishing them out of hand.)

 

[sedarfairy]

Who here is a parent?

(I am by the way. I have a daughter who is slightly overweight. She has a mom who is overweight - but not morbidly obese - due to some physical ailments that developed. My daughter battles with us constantly about what she eats. We try to reason with her. Sometimes we win. Sometimes we don't. She still sneaks food, or eats too much of the wrong things or when her mom feels sorry convinces her to both go for ice cream.

My point? It's a problem. However, it's a slippery slope to start branding people neglectful and heading right for the punishment over weight while wielding the broad brush. Yes, there's probably some cases of people who are not treating their child right. They probably need counseling, or the child probably needs a stay at a home where they can help more.

I'm sure someday the courts will allow children to sue their parents over this. I'm sure that the children will get money. I doubt most of them will use it to lose weight.

To sum up: let's look for a better solution than labelling people as problems and punishing them out of hand.)

You have a very valid point. We have to keep in mind that children are just that, children. And sometimes genetic indicators play a huge factor in the way we are built. We give it credence when it comes to cancer or heart disease...we should also consider it here. I think neglect is an extreme term. Most of us do things that are dangerous at some point. Speeding, participating in hobbies such as white water rafting...(I'm experienced and still almost drown a few weeks ago). Technically, if we want to be so specific, taking any chance that could leave our kids orphans could be neglect. I don't think labels will solve anything. More education and less giving the reins of control over to children who aren't ready to make decisions about their well being would probably be a better step.