Three-year-old dies from obesity

Can we also please blame the fastfood cooperations who vehemently bombard our children with burger filled slogans......

Why is it that America, which also has the largest number of fastfood chains in the world, is also suffering from this epidemic?

Deep

Originally posted by ZeroDeep
Can we also please blame the fastfood cooperations who vehemently bombard our children with burger filled slogans......

Its still the parents place to ensure that the kids have all the facts. I rarely eat fast food because I prefer healty food that isn't going to clog my arteries. Subway is probably the place I frequent most, and I only go there a few times a month when I'm in a rush. As for burger bars - no thank you.

True, we are not obligated to eat these so called heathly alternatives provided by clever marketing by our freinds at macdonalds, but it has become almost a western tradition.

I will put partial blame on these chains.....for now.

Deep

If there was only a way to somehow give starving people in other countries just a little bit of all the food we North Americans have in abundance.
This is only going to increase, most will either be obese or starving.

When a baby is born, perhaps the nurses should give the parents information on food and nutrition.

Hi Spectre,

This is a sad story.
I can relate in a way. I have a nephew, who was raised on Fast food
by his useless mother. He had never eaten green beans, or squash, or most other veggies.
He's pushing 500 pounds right now.
But now, he lives with us, and is going to college.

He "hides" his eating habits from us, because he now knows it's not right to eat so much, like a foodaholic.

MY wife and I are working with him, teaching him to drink bottled water instead of Soda. How to cook, instead of driving to the nearest Burger King. There is a lot of unlearning to do, as the bad habits die hard.

I wonder who taught the parents of this 3 year old such bad habits?
Previous bad parenting, or were they self taught?

hi, spacedoubt. Very sorry ot hear about your nephews troubles. That is going to be a long, hard road to travel. It is good that he has you and your familly for support I can't blame him for skipping the squash (and eggplant), but I am in favor of other "good for you" foods. Best of luck to you all.

I told my mom about this story and guided her to the article. Bad move on my part. I knew she would be concerned but I underestimated the response. She started crying; she was so upset by it. Apparently, there is a child in their church who is in very similar shape and the outlook is grim. The kid is about five years old, 200lbs, diabetic, and hypertensive. The story was familiar: bad parenting, fast food diet, & lack of healthcare. Poverty was the excuse, but I can't accept that. McD's might have $.39 hamburger specials, but that stuff is way more expensive than buying staple food at the grocery store. And, there are state and federal to provide for children in need. Of course it is easy for me to criticize since I don't have all the details.

Well, that's my rant on the subject. I don't feel any better, though.

OH Lardy Lardy!

I saw the Documentary "supersize me" Last night.
Michael Moore wishes he was this good.

While the movie IS humorous, and is worth the money just for the laughs, It helps to explain how some cultures have gotten to this point.

The downward spiral of this Man's health really freaked me out.
He basically gained 1 pound per day in body weight. Not to mention the affects on his liver, even his thought processes (addiction via natural brain opiates).

I highly recommend this documentary to everyone, especially readers of this thread.

Now, to be honest, I sat through this flick with a large buttered popcorn, and 32 oz soda (not diet).

Before we crucify that childs parents lets make sure that there wasn't some other medical condition that contributed to his/her obecity.

I believe I read some where that about 60% of americans have a slight irregularity in thier thyroid.... so minimul that most doctors would not treat it if they even found it. Changes in your thyroid can cause weight loss and gain.

When you take a small irregularity and then combine it with the diet that most Americans have you then have a big problem.

I also read somewhere that the federal government's food chart that they use is better suited for fattening pigs than for keeping humans healthy.

Who hasn't be beaten over the head since childhood with that food groups chart telling us we need 6 portions of this and 4 portions of that every day to reamin healthy ? I blame the federal government as much as anyone because they promoted that so strongly.

However I do agree that people get less excercise than they did... the washing machine the tractor... airplanes, cars, mixers, even gas ovens have all contributed to keep us off our feet, cool and dry, while the work/excercise is being done by a machine. Ever occur to any one that sweating is a good thing and helps rid the body of toxins ? But who these days wants a job where they will sweat in the process lol

I think the first step toward a healthy america would be for the federal government to rethink thier dang food chart and stop stuffing the children in our schools with a diet based on that chart. A problem with weight almost always starts in early child hood...

On another note: Fast food restaurants became popular when women first left the homes to work. Less time for cooking. So in a way you can almost blame obecity on the fact that women were forced out into the work force in order to make ends meet. omg don't everyone jump me on this one I know not every woman is forced to work but a good majority of them are these days... I'm just throwing this out for thought.

[Edited on 29-5-2004 by Chevy]

Child obesity worse than thought, study suggests

A US study released this week indicates increased risk of obesity-related health problems among children. Link

The report, released Thursday,
indicates 40% of students in Arkansas are overweight or at risk of becoming so. Currently, the U.S. government estimates that 30% of the nation's kids are overweight or on their way to being too heavy.

Weight Report Card - The state will send letters home to parents this summer. If the child is overweight, parents will be advised to ask their doctor whether it is a problem, Thompson said.

more sources:
Reuters
Detroit News

In UK, children with any health problems who are monitored at hospitals, usually in special children's units, have their height/weight recorded at each visit, whatever they are suffering from. This doesn't seem to have helped the 3 year old in this thread. Was she never seen by health professionals? I appreciate we don't know the full story here, but there definately appears to be something wrong with a system that allows this to happen.

Originally posted by Chevy
I believe I read some where that about 60% of americans have a slight irregularity in thier thyroid.... so minimul that most doctors would not treat it if they even found it. Changes in your thyroid can cause weight loss and gain.
[Edited on 29-5-2004 by Chevy]

If its 60%, I wouldn't call that irregular, maybe a mutation or genetic trend.

I'd say that most people are looking for a medical excuse. Take gastro-intestinal bypass surgery. It proves that its all about will power. It forces the patient to eat less, thus they lose weight. If they would opt out of the surgery and just force themselves to eat as much as the surgery would allow; its safe to assume that they would lose the same amount of weight. Medical or not, you cannot gain more weight than the amount of food you eat.

I don't know exactly how things are in the U.K., but if the parents were over here, I would hope that they would be charged with criminally neglegent homocide. On the flip side, they would definitely be charged if they had not fed him enough.

A 15-month-old child in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia weighs 55 pounds and is gaining nearly 5 pounds a month!

"But my child is hungry and cries if he doesn't get full. Oh we're so helpless."
These people would probably let their kids smoke if they whined about it enough.

I just heard on the radio (BBC Radio 4's Today Programme) that this 3 year olds death was actually caused by a genetic defect now some good scientists have seen the evidence. I don't have a link but will post one if I find one and if someone hasn't already done that.

[edit on 9/6/04 by Hyperen]

I found a link and can be found on my thingy here. www.abovetopsecret.com...

I found it, Hyperen. Here is a link to the BBC story featuring the debate over the original findings. Obesity death claim is disputed

Having read the follow-on article, I can see only subtle changes that the report makes. The child still died from complications of obesity at three years of age. Having an underlying genetic disorder that may have caused the weight problem seems to shift the balance a bit towards a failure of the medical system. But, to have a child in that condition smacks of neglect. I am sure it didn't happen overnight and a child that age ithat is constantly hungry would hardly be something to ignore.

[edit on 9-6-2004 by Spectre]

I've seen Maury;some things are just ridiculous. The parents think their over weight child is so cute and they'll feed him/her anything he/she wants, but they are really killing the child and ruining their lives.

Yes, Spiked has an article claiming that the cause was a genetic disorder and that the media sensationalized it: Spiked-health: Choking on the facts.

I read in one of the local papers and heard it on a radio station a few days after this death that obesity is over taking smoking as a number 1 killer.

Someone i know said this 'since smokers get there cigs taxed people who are obese and could change but dont should get taxed too' as they are costing our health serivice money.

In my opinion it is becoming to easy for parents to take there kids to mcdonalds etc to give them a ready quick meal rather than preparing one due to work and/or other commitments. I think children are alslo more inclined to play computer games tv rather than kicking a ball about or riding a bike to name a few.

Rynaldo

Originally posted by rynaldo82
Someone i know said this 'since smokers get there cigs taxed people who are obese and could change but dont should get taxed too' as they are costing our health serivice money.

It occurs to me that it may be in the Government's interest to keep us fat and cancer ridden, at least we'll die before they have to pay us our pension, thereby saving money.

Don't know about our overseas friends but the UK government has so much vested interest in food manufacturing groups, cigarette taxes etc, that I doubt there will be much political will to combat the problems. Also, school playing fields are being sold off, housing estates have 'No Ball Games' signs up everywhere, there's widespread media led hysteria about paedophiles and the dangers to children. I'ts no wonder kids aren't allowed to run and play football etc, outside like they used to.

All these things considered, what about our sedentary lifestyles and modern labour saving devices, surely it was only a matter of time before the calorie intake exceeded the energy expended in everyday life. Are we reaping the whirlwind?

From the BBC article:

"Some may say the parents are responsible, but if a child is demanding food it can be very difficult to refuse it."

Excuse me while I grab a bucket and barf. That is the lamest excuse I have ever heard in my whole entire life. Ok, fair enough, your kid is screaming for food..give them fruit!! Uuuuugh, that just makes me sick.

Poor kid. The parents should be tried for child abuse.

-Becs