Chubby Kids...

[Castlebound]

I don't think it's shallow or anti-intellectual to try to be healthy, but to obsess over other people's weight or judge them for not meeting your standards is pretty sad!
Food can be an addiction & just like alcoholic's are more likely to have children that drink too much, some food addicts have kids that eat too much.
There are parents with all kinds of addictions, some alot worse than food!

If you want to compare it to being an alcoholic that is just fine and dandy. I had a grandpa who was an alcoholic and right before he died of liver failure (big suprise! ) he was drinking a case of beer a day! His dad was an alcoholic and a few of his brothers were also. I got to see first hand what being an alcoholic did to his body and our family. Do you think it is fun to watch someone you love kill themselves because they won't get help? He died 15 years ago and I am still angery and sad that he chose alcohol over family or life. He knew it was killing him but he was too scared to try to stop. In my family several people don't drink alcohol at all and many of us drink but in moderation. I know that alcohol could be an issue for my kids so I've always talked about what my grandpa went through and what we as a family went through. We talk about too much of anything is bad and that our family will always need to be careful.

Change alcoholic to obese and you get the same story. You can't stop eating but you can be very mindful of what and how much you are eating. Nobody is saying that it is easy! The women on my dad's side of the family tend to be stout. I happen to take after them. My mom has these little twig bones and mine are bigger. My mom tends to look slim and I look curvy when I'm at a good weight and lumpy when I add too many pounds. The thing that always bothered me was that I have to eat less and exercise more than my mom just to be curvy and not lumpy. But I've decided that this is where the saying life isn't always fair comes in! Maybe some of you don't watch enough Discover channel, but it is proven that we are visual creatures. We do judge by looks first. So yes it is sad to see obese parents walking with their obese kids with a cart of junk food. The parents know where that path leads yet they take their kids on it anyway. The people on this board who say that they are obese or have had weight issues in the past say that they are trying to make smarter choices for their kids. I think that is great! They don't want their kids taking the obese path because they know where it leads.

 

[Castlebound]

Same for smoking, speeding, drinking, and so many other things. Why do we reserve our enmity for fat people?

So you have never saw someone chain smoking in a closed up car with kids in it and thought what an idiot? You have never had someone pass you on the road going a good 20 mph over the speed limit and cussed their stupidity? Have you never seen someone stumbling drunk and been revolted? I've seen and thought all of that. So I guess I spread around my enmity!

 

[mkingdomlvr]

So you have never saw someone chain smoking in a closed up car with kids in it and thought what an idiot? You have never had someone pass you on the road going a good 20 mph over the speed limit and cussed their stupidity? Have you never seen someone stumbling drunk and been revolted? I've seen and thought all of that. So I guess I spread around my enmity!

 

[pigletgirl]

Personally, I think its the parent responsibility to keep their child's weight in check. Now granted I understand that kids sneak food and eat unhealthy things when the parent isn't around, but what I AM talking about is having healthy food choices at home to encourage a healthy lifestyle. Diabetes and heart disease isn't something to fool around with!

 

[cteddiesgirl]

According to a study of national costs attributed to both overweight (BMI 25–29.9) and obesity (BMI greater than 30),

Personally, I don't agree with this. I'm easily over 30 pounds overweight. But I certainly don't think I'm morbidly fat. And I don't have to go to the 16W+ sizes. I'm just overweight.

This "rule" doesn't take into account people's bone structure. I know someone who's bones are very small, yet another person of the same height with large bones. They have quite a bit of differences in their weight.

I tend to think of obese as more about 50 pounds+ overweight.

 

[wvjules]

Originally Posted by mkingdomlvr
According to a study of national costs attributed to both overweight (BMI 25–29.9) and obesity (BMI greater than 30),

Personally, I don't agree with this. I'm easily over 30 pounds overweight. But I certainly don't think I'm morbidly fat. And I don't have to go to the 16W+ sizes. I'm just overweight.

This "rule" doesn't take into account people's bone structure. I know someone who's bones are very small, yet another person of the same height with large bones. They have quite a bit of differences in their weight.

I tend to think of obese as more about 50 pounds+ overweight.

BMI is not pounds; it is body mass index. You could be 30lbs over weight and not obese if you are tall. If you are short and 30lbs over weight than you could be obese.

 

[SteveInBrooklyn]

BMI is not pounds; it is body mass index. You could be 30lbs over weight and not obese if you are tall. If you are short and 30lbs over weight than you could be obese.

According to the BMI tables, most athletes would be considered overweight or obese, even if they have very low % of badyfat. I think BMI is another useless generalization.

 

[mkingdomlvr]

According to the BMI tables, most athletes would be considered overweight or obese, even if they have very low % of badyfat. I think BMI is another useless generalization.

Well, the CDC disagrees with you. Since they have access to much better medical information, I'll take their facts over your opinion.

 

[wvjules]

According to the BMI tables, most athletes would be considered overweight or obese, even if they have very low % of badyfat. I think BMI is another useless generalization.

My point was that the poster was confusing pounds with BMI. They aren't the same thing. I was just showing her the difference.

 

[SteveInBrooklyn]

Well, the CDC disagrees with you. Since they have access to much better medical information, I'll take their facts over your opinion.

They might not consider BMI a useless generalization, but I guarantee you they agree with me that an athlete with very low body fat and a lot of muscle would be considered overweight or obese by the current BMI calculation.

 

[crashbb]

Well, the CDC disagrees with you. Since they have access to much better medical information, I'll take their facts over your opinion.

Actually the CDC itself states, very clearly, that BMI is not good as a single predictor for disease and that the correlation between BMI and "fatness" (their word) differs between groups (e.g. men/women, older/younger, athletes/sedentary people). The main reason that CDC uses BMI (rather than any of the direct measures) is simply because it much more feasible and provides a measure that for screening and when taken in consideration with other factors (as mentioned above or waist circumference, for example) works well.

 

[Deb in IA]

According to the BMI tables, most athletes would be considered overweight or obese, even if they have very low % of badyfat. I think BMI is another useless generalization.

Oh, good grief.

You know, StevieBoy, the vast majority of overweight/obese people are NOT professional athletes, WWF wrestlers, body builders, etc.

And the vast majority of fat kids do not have cancer, are on steroids, or have thyroid problems.

You can always find exceptions to just about every "rule", but most fat people are just plain fat.

 

[mkingdomlvr]

Oh, good grief.

You know, StevieBoy, the vast majority of overweight/obese people are NOT professional athletes, WWF wrestlers, body builders, etc.

And the vast majority of fat kids do not have cancer, are on steroids, or have thyroid problems.

You can always find exceptions to just about every "rule", but most fat people are just plain fat.

Thank you!!

 

[3jsmommy]

If you want to compare it to being an alcoholic that is just fine and dandy. I had a grandpa who was an alcoholic and right before he died of liver failure (big suprise! ) he was drinking a case of beer a day! His dad was an alcoholic and a few of his brothers were also. I got to see first hand what being an alcoholic did to his body and our family. Do you think it is fun to watch someone you love kill themselves because they won't get help? He died 15 years ago and I am still angery and sad that he chose alcohol over family or life. He knew it was killing him but he was too scared to try to stop. In my family several people don't drink alcohol at all and many of us drink but in moderation. I know that alcohol could be an issue for my kids so I've always talked about what my grandpa went through and what we as a family went through. We talk about too much of anything is bad and that our family will always need to be careful.

Change alcoholic to obese and you get the same story. You can't stop eating but you can be very mindful of what and how much you are eating. Nobody is saying that it is easy! The women on my dad's side of the family tend to be stout. I happen to take after them. My mom has these little twig bones and mine are bigger. My mom tends to look slim and I look curvy when I'm at a good weight and lumpy when I add too many pounds. The thing that always bothered me was that I have to eat less and exercise more than my mom just to be curvy and not lumpy. But I've decided that this is where the saying life isn't always fair comes in! Maybe some of you don't watch enough Discover channel, but it is proven that we are visual creatures. We do judge by looks first. So yes it is sad to see obese parents walking with their obese kids with a cart of junk food. The parents know where that path leads yet they take their kids on it anyway. The people on this board who say that they are obese or have had weight issues in the past say that they are trying to make smarter choices for their kids. I think that is great! They don't want their kids taking the obese path because they know where it leads.

I was merely agreeing with Steve that we should all try to be less judgemental of strangers & that people don't need to feel so down on themselves for being larger than average.
Why you got defensive over my statement about food addiction, I have no idea. Just like alcoholism is a disease I believe food addicts have a disease.
There is a 12 step program for over eaters, I don't disagree with anything you said.
Your issues with alcohol are with your family, I'm sure if you saw the average alcoholic parent in Walmart you wouldn't have a clue. So I don't think the argument applies to what I was saying. Heck there are people in my own family who would be shocked at one of my relatives addictions.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The Dis is a really interesting place.

This is a great topic for people to be talking and thinking about, however I suspect that had it been simply an "informational" type thread, it would have had few to no responses.

The fact that it was an emotionally charged subject was what got people to post.

Too bad we can't discuss this issue in an "informational" manner. I know everyone here cares about their kids and wants what's best for them.

 

[SteveInBrooklyn]

Oh, good grief.

You know, StevieBoy, the vast majority of overweight/obese people are NOT professional athletes, WWF wrestlers, body builders, etc.

And the vast majority of fat kids do not have cancer, are on steroids, or have thyroid problems.

You can always find exceptions to just about every "rule", but most fat people are just plain fat.

Why do you care? Why can't you just live and let live? Why be so judgmental?

 

[wvjules]

Why do you care? Why can't you just live and let live? Why be so judgmental?

Is this really coming from the poster that constantly referred to Gov Palin as a tranny, white trash, and various other names?

 

[SteveInBrooklyn]

I was merely agreeing with Steve that we should all try to be less judgemental of strangers & that people don't need to feel so down on themselves for being larger than average.
Why you got defensive over my statement about food addiction, I have no idea. Just like alcoholism is a disease I believe food addicts have a disease.
There is a 12 step program for over eaters, I don't disagree with anything you said.
Your issues with alcohol are with your family, I'm sure if you saw the average alcoholic parent in Walmart you wouldn't have a clue. So I don't think the argument applies to what I was saying. Heck there are people in my own family who would be shocked at one of my relatives addictions.

I too am wondering why people are getting so defensive, even hostile, when they are asked not to be so down on fat people. James Baldwin said "nothing is more desirable than to be released from an affliction, but nothing is more frightening than to be divested of a crutch." I think hatred is an affliction, but maybe it makes people feel better about themselves. I guess fat people are the last minority that people can criticize with impugnity, and people aren't going to give up their right to hate fat people without a fight.

 

[mkingdomlvr]

Is this really coming from the poster that constantly referred to Gov Palin as a tranny, white trash, and various other names?

 

[luvmy3]

Why do you care? Why can't you just live and let live? Why be so judgmental?

I believe she is a doctor, which would make me think she's concerned about what being overweight does to one's health, and how we can prevent obesity in ourselevs and our children. I can only hope all docs are so "judgemental"