So, your kids a fatty... BMI = TMI on report cards?

Originally posted by Sherlock Holmes
Somebody needs to do something about fat children, if their parents aren't willing to.

We have restrictions on children drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and having sex, because they aren't considered mature enough to make an informed decision to partake in these activities, or because the activities may be harmful to them. Yet, when it comes to unhealthy, fat-oozing food; they are allowed to unrestrictedly stuff their faces with it, and their parents have no legal obligation to feed them any semblance of a healthy diet.

I think that a lot of it is down to some parents just being completely lazy, It's far easier ordering takeaways, going to fast-food shops, and eating pre-packaged meals. If more parents made the effort to cook healthy meals for their children and watch their children's dietary intake then there wouldn't be a child obesity ''epidemic''.

There's nothing wrong with children having junk-food as a treat, but to use it as the staple family meal or ''go to'' food option is just completely irresponsible, neglectful and unfair.

edit on 6-5-2011 by Sherlock Holmes because: (no reason given)

I totally agree! I'd like to mention that when I was weaning my children I used to buy a couple of jars of baby food a month (always the vegetable ones mind) and I still remember my horror at seeing options such as 'burger chips and beans' for babyfood! I mean, really?! I personally think THAT should be dealt with too. Only allow healthy versions such as fish, peas and potatos to be produced. BOTH of my kids love fruit and veg and enjoy tons of exercise and I am proud of that when I shouldn't be, it should be the norm not the exception.

I bought my daughter, who is 7, a pair of shorts the other day (size 6-7yrs) and they are enormous on the waist. It seems that everywhere is promoting that it's OK for kids to be fat. NO, IT'S NOT! Parents who feed their children crap all the time are slowly killing them, why aren't they being pulled up for endangering a childs life?!
I completely agree with the premise of the BMI on the reports but it should instead be a private letter to the parents so as to avoid the child being caused emotional damage.
Oh, and I don't care HOW busy or over worked you might be, it takes about 20 minutes to cook spaghetti bolognaise. Or about 30 mins to prep and cook potatoes, veg and a small chop. No time at all if you care about your kids health!

Sorry for the longish post, this is just something I feel strongly about.

reply to post by ScorpioRising


Actually is not that they are promoting been bigger as in clothing, is that Obesity in the US is a way of life now, slim people will not be the norm withing a few more years as we are becoming the most fattest nation in the world per capital along with diabetes.

It has taken only one generation to get us to this point, for many children now obesity is just something they are born into.

Sad.

blah, I've been saying for years that for many people it is not JUST what you eat, or how much you eat that can make a person overweight.

Science if finally proving this, by finding that humans have basically THREE different types of gut.

The team of researchers also showed that certain strains of bacteria -- varying in concentration in the three gut types -- boost the likelihood of obesity, a finding that could shed light on why some people have a harder time losing weight than others.

So those who like to bash on people who are overweight, grow up, get a clue, and stop bashing people who are overweight.

google news gut type or here is one link.

www.redorbit.com...

Originally posted by marg6043
reply to post by ScorpioRising

 

Actually is not that they are promoting been bigger as in clothing, is that Obesity in the US is a way of life now, slim people will not be the norm withing a few more years as we are becoming the most fattest nation in the world per capital along with diabetes.

It has taken only one generation to get us to this point, for many children now obesity is just something they are born into.

Sad.

Good point. I was raised by a mum who worked long hours but she ALWAYS made time to ensure myself and two brothers where fed good healthy food no matter how tired she was. People are just plain lazy these days. It is, as you said, sad.

(also, this is in the UK too so it's a spreading problem unfortunately)

reply to post by amazed


It was a time when fat was the way the rich showed their wealth, today is too much abundance top with refined crap, high fructose and GMOs.

It's getting to be too many people meddling in matters they are not qualified to address and the inclusion of body fat measurements on report cards is evidence of such. To be honest I don't see how doing this will help the child, it will only serve as a source of embarrassment which could make things worse for the child. Last time I checked schools were in the business of educating, which if you look at their own test results you would see they're failing the children big time. Guess the logic of the school is, "so what if Johnny can't read or can add one plus one just as long as his bodyfat is in the normal range we've done our job".

reply to post by gemineye


I actually know people personally that do have medical issues and this causes weight gane, and I know you know I was not pointing fingers at those people... This would be excused with a simple doctors note.

Just so you know, I actually don't agree with my own side of this very argument. I was playing devils advocate this whole time.

I personally think if the government can control our lives because of group medical plans we shouldn't be enforcing nation wide obama care!!!!

If we can't smoke or be fat because it will effect others health coverage, we shouldnt push this mandatory health care to begin with...

EVERYBODY LISTEN!!! if they can control our weight and our ability to smoke... Next it will be alcohol, then motor cycles, mountain climbing, kayaking, cliff diving, etc... We won't be able to have sports cars, get tattoos, boob implants, the list goes on and on!!! This post was a joke to see how many people would really agree with me!

Religion leads to war so you can't go to church.

Sports lead to injury, so no more...

Candy leads to diabetes, so no more...

I can go on and on, wake up people!!!

Originally posted by RicoMarston

Originally posted by Michelle129th
LOL...if they start putting my kid's BMI on his report card, then I shall make my own report card for my kids to send back to the school staff...and perhaps even the people at the school board. There are many overweight, coffee drinking, cigarette smoking unhealthy people in the education profession. I guess if it's fair for them to point it out to my child, I'll point it out to them

Michelle

is your child obese?

I have 5 boys, and 4 of them are far too thin, one can eat anything and is so thin he looks like he's starving, two of them are 6 2, the others still growing. One is overweight and he loves junk food alot. Though he is always encouraged to choose healthy foods, and treats are bought several times a month, some of those times alligning to birthdays and holidays. Our standard food is fruit, vegetables and simple foods.

There is no way anyone would be allowed to shame him or put him down. We've got a trampoline and a game that he has to work out to, and encourage excercise and walks when its not raining, in addition, instead of forcing him to go on diets that don't work encourage him to separate his starches and proteins in meals and then do some moderate movement, such as the dance game, to speed up the metabolism process. When he shoots up, he'll thin out more, and in a survival situation he'll survive more than the skinny high metabolism kids, and he's alot healthier than his brother who eats very little trying to look like a twig.

Encourage healthy eating on excercise, and never lable anyone, ever, just be Love with everyone, because everything in this world is a trap, and we're called to see through it. Looks, status, money, income, promotion, wars, starvation, greed, its all a trap. Every official story has 100 loopholes. Weight is nothing. Stop judging others or trying to control them and just promote health without putting others down.

But be careful of the traps. Diets and calorie restrictions upset your metabolism and create more weight problems they have a counterbalance. Also, fats that come in laboratories are not good for you. Choose butter, and especially cold pressed olive oil and coconut oils, whole foods, and heritage foods, fruit and vegetables, and avoid overprocessed foods. Excercise moderately and do not mix starches and proteins. If tacos and speghetti, which is a good meal, is yearned for, then one traditional meal a week, say Sunday. But you'll notice it stays in your system longer.

Basically your body has two types of digestive juices, acids and alkalines. When you eat a protein an acid is produced. When you eat a starch an alkaline is produced. In a chemistry they cancel each other out and then nothing is digesting your foods, this leads to disease and metabolism disorders. Its also hard on the liver.

So eat fruit as often as possible by itself. it will go through your system fast, 20 minutes or so, and has its own digestive enzymes.

And eat starch with veggies. Eat meat with veggies. But don't eat sandwiches with meat, or meat and potatoes except as an occasional treat. Weight loss!

My main problem being that the old school BMI calculations are laughably rudimentary. Also, BMI calculations for kids are sketchy at best because kids naturally fluctuate wildly and develop at different rates.

Also, being underweight is just as dangerous as being overweight, and this just seems like something that would drive a lot of young girls over the edge into anorexia and such.

reply to post by marg6043


What's both interesting and a little funny is that you mention "thin isn't the norm anymore". Thin by nature is both unhealthy and was statistically never the norm. Even beauty was only recently and temporarily obsessed with this ultra thin look.

The body naturally stores fat cells to keep us warm, supply adequate bursts of energy when necessary, etc... Also the foods people avoid to maintain this "healthy" abnormal skinny stature prevent necessary chemicals from being properly balanced in ones brain leading to higher depression rates, mood swings, and unhappy people.

This is my theory as to why heavy comedians are no longer funny when they get fit lol (not scientifically based)

Now don't think I'm saying obese is healthy either, either extreme has negative effects on our cardiovascular system, emotional state, well being etc...

It's recently been proven even body builders don't live as long! (will supply link later, can't find at moment... But I know I saw a study that broke this down and the "why's" involved.

reply to post by sparda4355


I think it's dumb, but I don't think it's really a horrible idea in terms of people being offended...I mean come on...

reply to post by ScorpioRising


I commend and admire the way that you have chosen to raise your children as healthily as possible. I can imagine that it's not as easy as it sounds !

I'm not a parent, but I imagine that the number one reason why a child eats unhealthily and becomes overweight is because of the laziness of his or her parents.

It's so much easier and less time-consuming to give a child a pre-packaged meal or fast-food. The problem being that the quicker and easier the meal is to prepare, then the more fatty and unhealthy it is likely to be.

Originally posted by ScorpioRising
Oh, and I don't care HOW busy or over worked you might be, it takes about 20 minutes to cook spaghetti bolognaise. Or about 30 mins to prep and cook potatoes, veg and a small chop. No time at all if you care about your kids health!

Absolutely !

There's a lot of talk about the ''fast-paced modern society'', but really, that's largely bollocks. Working hours haven't changed that much over the last 20-30 years, and the ''fast-paced'' aspect of modern-society is largely optional. eg. tv, internet, video games etc.

As you say, it's not that much more of an effort for a parent to spend 20 minutes cooking a more healthy meal for their children.


People need to realise that children aren't a fashion accessory, nor are they a burden that you have to just provide the minimum requirements for.

Being a parent is the most important job that anyone can have, and the task will entail making sacrifices and extra effort for the betterment of your children.


As for you finding it hard to find a pair of shorts for your daughter: I think that's an example of dumbing down and lowering of standards in society. Rather than taking measures to combat the rise in the number of unhealthy and overweight children, society indulgently accepts them and increases the ''average'' size of clothes accordingly.

Anyway, ScorpioRising, I'm glad that there are still good, responsible parents like you who will raise the next generation expertly; the future's bright !

Originally posted by ~Lucidity
reply to post by oubliette

 

BMI is merely another tool in the toolkit we use to monitor the health of a human as a whole, not the be all, end all indicator of obesity. Combined with other indicators, in the hands of and with the results interpreted by a properly trained professional, it has some value in health monitoring. It also might give a person a target to aim for and improve upon if things as a whole do go awry. I don't see a huge issue here.

BMI is only good as a taget goal for clones.
its completly unrealistic.

reply to post by Sherlock Holmes


Thank you! You made my day believe it or not

AND your point is???? To join in and have a go at the fat kids eh? Oh yeah lets laugh at the fat kids. HAhahahahahahahahahah.

I am ashamed of you all who condone this. This is yet another tool of the NWO using the World Health Organisation (WHO) to kill more people.

Especially as you obviously haven't looked at how the BMI came about. The Middle East Indians were measured and the weight measurements put into a graph.
This is the problem with it; we in the Northern Hemisphere do not make any vitamin D in the winter and I mean none at all. We have to store what our body needs over winter in our bones, making us a heavier build and the build gets heavier the further north you get. Think of the Eskimos.
I have recalculated the BMI for Latitude 50 and above people and instead of multiplying by 703 you should x by 600.

Look at the paragraph 'Limitations and Shortcomings';
en.wikipedia.org...

Why am I so terse? I bet you are thinking 'we have a fatty here' NO I was anorexic as a twelve year old because someone called me fat, even though I was quite slim. I lost so much weight I could touch the inside of my ribs.
I now extremely dislike people who think you can take the mick out of fatties.
And if they had used the BMI then I would have just been anorexic, not the extreme type that I was. You see I have a high lean body mass and I have a weird body type that allows me to make muscle in half the time of normal people, so I have to be careful what exercise I do now.

After I had to eat normally, I did a daily one hour exercise regime and PE at school and trampolining and dancing. Horse riding, canoeing, Judo and helped landscape my Mum's garden three times, all as a teenager.
(I could lift 7 bricks and keep then in a horizontal line between my hands for 50 yards.)
Then when I was 13 I nearly died due to bronchitis I had three times that year.

Now I have a BMI that says morbidly obese, even though you can't 'pinch more than an inch' on my muscles.

I and my kids have adrenal problems now (due to aspartame poisoning) and water retention makes us look fat. My liver has been playing up (jaundiced) and my cheeks went puffy making me look fat too.
So instead of putting a high BMI on a report card, these kids should be sent to a Dr and examined for adrenal problems, especially if they drink soft drinks with aspartame in.

But that won't happen, as they are just fat and thick, so who cares eh? We should! because who will the WHO be after next???????
YOU!

You also couldn't have read the report in New Scientist, that says being a stone overweight means you live longer then a person who is normal or underweight. So in fact I think the tax that some states want on fat people, should be against skinny people, as they are more likely to leave dependents for the state to look after, when they die early.
So watch out skinnies, you could die earlier than your fat jolly friend, especially if you yo-yo diet.
So who is laughing now?

I say when schools have mastered teaching our children where we are again top of the world in education then come back to me and discuss screening kids for being over weight .

Originally posted by truthseeker1984
When will people realize that BMI is grossly outdated, and doesn't factor in physical build, muscle build, bone structure, etc.? If I were basing my "healthy weight" off of BMI, I would look anorexic. No joke.

Yeah, BMI is a joke - I've always been stocky let’s say now I am in mid-forties @ 69" and 215lbs my BMI is 31.8 obese. However, my last skin fold caliper reading my BF % was 14. Even having been retired from the Army for several years I can still run 3 miles in about 22 minutes and do 100 PU/SU in the 2 minutes allotted.

Half the guys in an SF unit have a BMI over 25 and I'd hardly call us fat/or out of shape.

The school should just stick to teaching and worry less about social engineering...