"Health panel urges interventions for children and teens with high BMI"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is the day in day out overeating, whether of the nutritious food served at meals, the stuff eaten outside the home, and the stuff sneaked. That missing slice or three of whole grain bread, that missing cup I raw oatmeal, that apple or few...yes as a compulsive eating kid, I sneak ate raw oatmeal after school.

Being food police at a party likely makes revenge sneaking worse. And unless kid is daily party goer, it's not the problem.

Compulsive eaters often eat very abstemiously in public. We make up for it in private.

Lived experience.

Yep. Thank you for sharing this. Brings me back to my out of control tween/teen years when my mom was really trying to “help” me lose weight.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The way to disrupt the constant hunger is to work. Teens should be busy working or volunteering so that they aren't always eating. Mine works a FT summer job and does power washing on the weekends. He eats regular meals and has no time for snacking.

Mine could not be busier-- after school activities, two sports (one travel). Doesn't get home from school/camp until after 3 or 4, leaves for sports most night at 6. Still finds time to snack and overeat. (See all threads above about how they get fed at so many of these activities).

All these parents with kids who don't have eating issues are so certain it wouldn't happen to their kids. You are not better parents or better at helping your kids be healthy: you are lucky your kid has good genes.

If you know he’s overeating outside the home, feed him less at home. Have absolutely zero junk available at home. You can only control what you can control, but it sounds like you want to just throw up your hands and blame it all on bad luck or bad genes.

You're so smart-- you have all the answers-- no junk food and feed a kid less, why didn't I think about that?

Such smug parenting. I seriously -- truly-- hope you never have a child struggle with their weight. Though, I kind of wish more of you did because then you'd understand how hard it is.

Just do the math. Lower the calories and they will lose weight. You don't even need to do extra activity although it's always good to move more.

It's pretty easy to control a child's food choices up until they earn their own money (or someone gifts them a lot of it). The parents who give their kids huge allowances then complain that they buy junk food and high calorie Starbucks drinks. Stop giving them $25/week.

Ok, no it’s not. Kids that have a tendency to overeat, will overeat just about anything. You can’t have a carb free household. They can make their own food if they want to. Many teens have part time jobs and get money from relatives for birthday. They can offered plenty of Starbucks without your help. Again, a parent cannot control the food intake of a teen. They have to want to eat less overall and say to to the junk. If they don’t want to or can’t, you cannot make them

Go ahead. Let your 7 yr old overeat the cantaloupe. I promise it won't make her gain weight. Teens aren't getting jobs until 15 at the earliest. If you have provided 15 years of healthy foods in your home, the chance that they will become overweight after that is pretty low.

Actually it is sky high. Over 70% of adults are overweight. By the time your teen is adult, chances are they will be too

Maybe in certain demographics but not UMC teens. I work in a Title 1 school and I see those demographics every day. When I pick my kid up at his private HS, not even 1/3 of the kids are overweight.

70% of adults of all ages are fat. 70% of college kids are not fat, but you are probably assuring your kid to be fat their entire life if you let them enter their teens fat

No one is "letting" their kids be fat. We are all parenting in an age where unhealthy food is everywhere. Some kids' bodies know to stop at one slice of pizza at the camp pizza party, some kids crave two. Some kids don't think about food unless it's in front of them, some kids brains are always thinking about food. You are lucky if your kid is the former.

I am the parent of an overweight DD. I am thin, I work out pretty much every day. We don't have chips/soda in out house. We emphasize protein and complete nutrition...and still my kid is overweight. Yes she is overeating. Yes we are trying to help her. But it is not a failure of parenting. It is a failure of willpower, and if it was easy to overcome, 70 percent of Americans would not be overweight.

So, you’re sitting there and watching her overeat? Are you portioning the food out? Are you saying, “you’ve eaten enough?”

So you think PP should do that at the camp pizza party? Yikes.

It’s not the camp pizza party or the teacher handing out starbursts. It’s the daily day in day out of what these kids are eating at home and what they were taught about eating at home.

That particular poster said she did not keep junk in the house and served nutritious food. So is she supposed to smack the kids hand when they go for a Starburst or extra slice of pizza in public?

If she is telling the truth then she needs to stop serving *so much* nutritious food. Kids don’t get fat because of some starbursts here and there or the occasional pizza party. The poster you responded to had it right, it’s the day in, day out habits learned at home. This is not complicated.

DP. Except that it is. My binge eating as a kid began as a direct result of my mom tightly controlling portion sizes. Growing bodies want what they want.

Okay, I stand corrected. American fat kids are and have always been doomed to be fat and there’s not a damn thing their parents can do about it and it’s insane and smug to suggest that these parents even make an effort.

Thin children are thin purely due to the luck of the draw. There are no good/bad, responsible/irresponsible parenting decisions being made along the way. It’s out of our hands!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The way to disrupt the constant hunger is to work. Teens should be busy working or volunteering so that they aren't always eating. Mine works a FT summer job and does power washing on the weekends. He eats regular meals and has no time for snacking.

Mine could not be busier-- after school activities, two sports (one travel). Doesn't get home from school/camp until after 3 or 4, leaves for sports most night at 6. Still finds time to snack and overeat. (See all threads above about how they get fed at so many of these activities).

All these parents with kids who don't have eating issues are so certain it wouldn't happen to their kids. You are not better parents or better at helping your kids be healthy: you are lucky your kid has good genes.

If you know he’s overeating outside the home, feed him less at home. Have absolutely zero junk available at home. You can only control what you can control, but it sounds like you want to just throw up your hands and blame it all on bad luck or bad genes.

You're so smart-- you have all the answers-- no junk food and feed a kid less, why didn't I think about that?

Such smug parenting. I seriously -- truly-- hope you never have a child struggle with their weight. Though, I kind of wish more of you did because then you'd understand how hard it is.

Just do the math. Lower the calories and they will lose weight. You don't even need to do extra activity although it's always good to move more.

It's pretty easy to control a child's food choices up until they earn their own money (or someone gifts them a lot of it). The parents who give their kids huge allowances then complain that they buy junk food and high calorie Starbucks drinks. Stop giving them $25/week.

Ok, no it’s not. Kids that have a tendency to overeat, will overeat just about anything. You can’t have a carb free household. They can make their own food if they want to. Many teens have part time jobs and get money from relatives for birthday. They can offered plenty of Starbucks without your help. Again, a parent cannot control the food intake of a teen. They have to want to eat less overall and say to to the junk. If they don’t want to or can’t, you cannot make them

Go ahead. Let your 7 yr old overeat the cantaloupe. I promise it won't make her gain weight. Teens aren't getting jobs until 15 at the earliest. If you have provided 15 years of healthy foods in your home, the chance that they will become overweight after that is pretty low.

Actually it is sky high. Over 70% of adults are overweight. By the time your teen is adult, chances are they will be too

Maybe in certain demographics but not UMC teens. I work in a Title 1 school and I see those demographics every day. When I pick my kid up at his private HS, not even 1/3 of the kids are overweight.

70% of adults of all ages are fat. 70% of college kids are not fat, but you are probably assuring your kid to be fat their entire life if you let them enter their teens fat

No one is "letting" their kids be fat. We are all parenting in an age where unhealthy food is everywhere. Some kids' bodies know to stop at one slice of pizza at the camp pizza party, some kids crave two. Some kids don't think about food unless it's in front of them, some kids brains are always thinking about food. You are lucky if your kid is the former.

I am the parent of an overweight DD. I am thin, I work out pretty much every day. We don't have chips/soda in out house. We emphasize protein and complete nutrition...and still my kid is overweight. Yes she is overeating. Yes we are trying to help her. But it is not a failure of parenting. It is a failure of willpower, and if it was easy to overcome, 70 percent of Americans would not be overweight.

So, you’re sitting there and watching her overeat? Are you portioning the food out? Are you saying, “you’ve eaten enough?”

So you think PP should do that at the camp pizza party? Yikes.

It’s not the camp pizza party or the teacher handing out starbursts. It’s the daily day in day out of what these kids are eating at home and what they were taught about eating at home.

That particular poster said she did not keep junk in the house and served nutritious food. So is she supposed to smack the kids hand when they go for a Starburst or extra slice of pizza in public?

If she is telling the truth then she needs to stop serving *so much* nutritious food. Kids don’t get fat because of some starbursts here and there or the occasional pizza party. The poster you responded to had it right, it’s the day in, day out habits learned at home. This is not complicated.

Teens serve themselves. Are you supposed to go make them put back some of their mashed potato portions? Tell them go back and dump half the dinner? Lock the frig after a meal is served so they can’t help themselves to leftovers? It doesn’t even take gorging.

A few hundred extra calories is pretty easy to eat and if this is happening regularly, yes weight will be gained.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The way to disrupt the constant hunger is to work. Teens should be busy working or volunteering so that they aren't always eating. Mine works a FT summer job and does power washing on the weekends. He eats regular meals and has no time for snacking.

Mine could not be busier-- after school activities, two sports (one travel). Doesn't get home from school/camp until after 3 or 4, leaves for sports most night at 6. Still finds time to snack and overeat. (See all threads above about how they get fed at so many of these activities).

All these parents with kids who don't have eating issues are so certain it wouldn't happen to their kids. You are not better parents or better at helping your kids be healthy: you are lucky your kid has good genes.

If you know he’s overeating outside the home, feed him less at home. Have absolutely zero junk available at home. You can only control what you can control, but it sounds like you want to just throw up your hands and blame it all on bad luck or bad genes.

You're so smart-- you have all the answers-- no junk food and feed a kid less, why didn't I think about that?

Such smug parenting. I seriously -- truly-- hope you never have a child struggle with their weight. Though, I kind of wish more of you did because then you'd understand how hard it is.

Just do the math. Lower the calories and they will lose weight. You don't even need to do extra activity although it's always good to move more.

It's pretty easy to control a child's food choices up until they earn their own money (or someone gifts them a lot of it). The parents who give their kids huge allowances then complain that they buy junk food and high calorie Starbucks drinks. Stop giving them $25/week.

Ok, no it’s not. Kids that have a tendency to overeat, will overeat just about anything. You can’t have a carb free household. They can make their own food if they want to. Many teens have part time jobs and get money from relatives for birthday. They can offered plenty of Starbucks without your help. Again, a parent cannot control the food intake of a teen. They have to want to eat less overall and say to to the junk. If they don’t want to or can’t, you cannot make them

Go ahead. Let your 7 yr old overeat the cantaloupe. I promise it won't make her gain weight. Teens aren't getting jobs until 15 at the earliest. If you have provided 15 years of healthy foods in your home, the chance that they will become overweight after that is pretty low.

Actually it is sky high. Over 70% of adults are overweight. By the time your teen is adult, chances are they will be too

Maybe in certain demographics but not UMC teens. I work in a Title 1 school and I see those demographics every day. When I pick my kid up at his private HS, not even 1/3 of the kids are overweight.

70% of adults of all ages are fat. 70% of college kids are not fat, but you are probably assuring your kid to be fat their entire life if you let them enter their teens fat

No one is "letting" their kids be fat. We are all parenting in an age where unhealthy food is everywhere. Some kids' bodies know to stop at one slice of pizza at the camp pizza party, some kids crave two. Some kids don't think about food unless it's in front of them, some kids brains are always thinking about food. You are lucky if your kid is the former.

I am the parent of an overweight DD. I am thin, I work out pretty much every day. We don't have chips/soda in out house. We emphasize protein and complete nutrition...and still my kid is overweight. Yes she is overeating. Yes we are trying to help her. But it is not a failure of parenting. It is a failure of willpower, and if it was easy to overcome, 70 percent of Americans would not be overweight.

So, you’re sitting there and watching her overeat? Are you portioning the food out? Are you saying, “you’ve eaten enough?”

So you think PP should do that at the camp pizza party? Yikes.

It’s not the camp pizza party or the teacher handing out starbursts. It’s the daily day in day out of what these kids are eating at home and what they were taught about eating at home.

That particular poster said she did not keep junk in the house and served nutritious food. So is she supposed to smack the kids hand when they go for a Starburst or extra slice of pizza in public?

If she is telling the truth then she needs to stop serving *so much* nutritious food. Kids don’t get fat because of some starbursts here and there or the occasional pizza party. The poster you responded to had it right, it’s the day in, day out habits learned at home. This is not complicated.

DP. Except that it is. My binge eating as a kid began as a direct result of my mom tightly controlling portion sizes. Growing bodies want what they want.

Okay, I stand corrected. American fat kids are and have always been doomed to be fat and there’s not a damn thing their parents can do about it and it’s insane and smug to suggest that these parents even make an effort.

Thin children are thin purely due to the luck of the draw. There are no good/bad, responsible/irresponsible parenting decisions being made along the way. It’s out of our hands!

There were always overweight children-- kids who drank soda starting when they got it in their baby bottles, latchkey kids who came home right after school and whose parents brought home McDonalds after a long shift at work.

What you're missing is there are also kids -- like mine-- who play two travel sports, have had McDs exactly once, who are fed healthy foods and are still overweight. Maybe she would be a healthier weight back when they weren't offered snacks all the damn time. When I was growing up we had orange slices as a snack at literally every soccer game. At her last tournament they had oreos, gatorade and granola bars. Could I have approached her and said, "Hey don't eat any of that!" Of course. Do I think that will really make things better? No.

So many of you think, I would never let my child be overweight. And I envy you. Because it's not that simple. And your judgment comes across.

[Anonymous]

Haven't read the entire thread, but it's not all what you eat, genetics come into play as well. And are we really good to ignore the fact that kids/teens don't go outside or play outside nearly as much as we did. They're aren't given as much freedom and that is related by screens

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The way to disrupt the constant hunger is to work. Teens should be busy working or volunteering so that they aren't always eating. Mine works a FT summer job and does power washing on the weekends. He eats regular meals and has no time for snacking.

Mine could not be busier-- after school activities, two sports (one travel). Doesn't get home from school/camp until after 3 or 4, leaves for sports most night at 6. Still finds time to snack and overeat. (See all threads above about how they get fed at so many of these activities).

All these parents with kids who don't have eating issues are so certain it wouldn't happen to their kids. You are not better parents or better at helping your kids be healthy: you are lucky your kid has good genes.

If you know he’s overeating outside the home, feed him less at home. Have absolutely zero junk available at home. You can only control what you can control, but it sounds like you want to just throw up your hands and blame it all on bad luck or bad genes.

You're so smart-- you have all the answers-- no junk food and feed a kid less, why didn't I think about that?

Such smug parenting. I seriously -- truly-- hope you never have a child struggle with their weight. Though, I kind of wish more of you did because then you'd understand how hard it is.

Just do the math. Lower the calories and they will lose weight. You don't even need to do extra activity although it's always good to move more.

It's pretty easy to control a child's food choices up until they earn their own money (or someone gifts them a lot of it). The parents who give their kids huge allowances then complain that they buy junk food and high calorie Starbucks drinks. Stop giving them $25/week.

Ok, no it’s not. Kids that have a tendency to overeat, will overeat just about anything. You can’t have a carb free household. They can make their own food if they want to. Many teens have part time jobs and get money from relatives for birthday. They can offered plenty of Starbucks without your help. Again, a parent cannot control the food intake of a teen. They have to want to eat less overall and say to to the junk. If they don’t want to or can’t, you cannot make them

Go ahead. Let your 7 yr old overeat the cantaloupe. I promise it won't make her gain weight. Teens aren't getting jobs until 15 at the earliest. If you have provided 15 years of healthy foods in your home, the chance that they will become overweight after that is pretty low.

Actually it is sky high. Over 70% of adults are overweight. By the time your teen is adult, chances are they will be too

Maybe in certain demographics but not UMC teens. I work in a Title 1 school and I see those demographics every day. When I pick my kid up at his private HS, not even 1/3 of the kids are overweight.

70% of adults of all ages are fat. 70% of college kids are not fat, but you are probably assuring your kid to be fat their entire life if you let them enter their teens fat

No one is "letting" their kids be fat. We are all parenting in an age where unhealthy food is everywhere. Some kids' bodies know to stop at one slice of pizza at the camp pizza party, some kids crave two. Some kids don't think about food unless it's in front of them, some kids brains are always thinking about food. You are lucky if your kid is the former.

I am the parent of an overweight DD. I am thin, I work out pretty much every day. We don't have chips/soda in out house. We emphasize protein and complete nutrition...and still my kid is overweight. Yes she is overeating. Yes we are trying to help her. But it is not a failure of parenting. It is a failure of willpower, and if it was easy to overcome, 70 percent of Americans would not be overweight.

So, you’re sitting there and watching her overeat? Are you portioning the food out? Are you saying, “you’ve eaten enough?”

So you think PP should do that at the camp pizza party? Yikes.

It’s not the camp pizza party or the teacher handing out starbursts. It’s the daily day in day out of what these kids are eating at home and what they were taught about eating at home.

That particular poster said she did not keep junk in the house and served nutritious food. So is she supposed to smack the kids hand when they go for a Starburst or extra slice of pizza in public?

If she is telling the truth then she needs to stop serving *so much* nutritious food. Kids don’t get fat because of some starbursts here and there or the occasional pizza party. The poster you responded to had it right, it’s the day in, day out habits learned at home. This is not complicated.

Teens serve themselves. Are you supposed to go make them put back some of their mashed potato portions? Tell them go back and dump half the dinner? Lock the frig after a meal is served so they can’t help themselves to leftovers? It doesn’t even take gorging.

A few hundred extra calories is pretty easy to eat and if this is happening regularly, yes weight will be gained.

Then stop making too much food for dinner. I make enough for our family—we generally have no to a small half serving of leftovers. If we have a lot for some reason, I’ll pack it up after everyone gets their portion and say it’s for lunch or dinner the next day.

But, yes, if my kids were to fill a serving platter with spaghetti, or take 2 baked potatoes, or two steaks I’d tell them to put it back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The way to disrupt the constant hunger is to work. Teens should be busy working or volunteering so that they aren't always eating. Mine works a FT summer job and does power washing on the weekends. He eats regular meals and has no time for snacking.

Mine could not be busier-- after school activities, two sports (one travel). Doesn't get home from school/camp until after 3 or 4, leaves for sports most night at 6. Still finds time to snack and overeat. (See all threads above about how they get fed at so many of these activities).

All these parents with kids who don't have eating issues are so certain it wouldn't happen to their kids. You are not better parents or better at helping your kids be healthy: you are lucky your kid has good genes.

If you know he’s overeating outside the home, feed him less at home. Have absolutely zero junk available at home. You can only control what you can control, but it sounds like you want to just throw up your hands and blame it all on bad luck or bad genes.

You're so smart-- you have all the answers-- no junk food and feed a kid less, why didn't I think about that?

Such smug parenting. I seriously -- truly-- hope you never have a child struggle with their weight. Though, I kind of wish more of you did because then you'd understand how hard it is.

Just do the math. Lower the calories and they will lose weight. You don't even need to do extra activity although it's always good to move more.

It's pretty easy to control a child's food choices up until they earn their own money (or someone gifts them a lot of it). The parents who give their kids huge allowances then complain that they buy junk food and high calorie Starbucks drinks. Stop giving them $25/week.

Ok, no it’s not. Kids that have a tendency to overeat, will overeat just about anything. You can’t have a carb free household. They can make their own food if they want to. Many teens have part time jobs and get money from relatives for birthday. They can offered plenty of Starbucks without your help. Again, a parent cannot control the food intake of a teen. They have to want to eat less overall and say to to the junk. If they don’t want to or can’t, you cannot make them

Go ahead. Let your 7 yr old overeat the cantaloupe. I promise it won't make her gain weight. Teens aren't getting jobs until 15 at the earliest. If you have provided 15 years of healthy foods in your home, the chance that they will become overweight after that is pretty low.

Actually it is sky high. Over 70% of adults are overweight. By the time your teen is adult, chances are they will be too

Maybe in certain demographics but not UMC teens. I work in a Title 1 school and I see those demographics every day. When I pick my kid up at his private HS, not even 1/3 of the kids are overweight.

70% of adults of all ages are fat. 70% of college kids are not fat, but you are probably assuring your kid to be fat their entire life if you let them enter their teens fat

No one is "letting" their kids be fat. We are all parenting in an age where unhealthy food is everywhere. Some kids' bodies know to stop at one slice of pizza at the camp pizza party, some kids crave two. Some kids don't think about food unless it's in front of them, some kids brains are always thinking about food. You are lucky if your kid is the former.

I am the parent of an overweight DD. I am thin, I work out pretty much every day. We don't have chips/soda in out house. We emphasize protein and complete nutrition...and still my kid is overweight. Yes she is overeating. Yes we are trying to help her. But it is not a failure of parenting. It is a failure of willpower, and if it was easy to overcome, 70 percent of Americans would not be overweight.

So, you’re sitting there and watching her overeat? Are you portioning the food out? Are you saying, “you’ve eaten enough?”

So you think PP should do that at the camp pizza party? Yikes.

It’s not the camp pizza party or the teacher handing out starbursts. It’s the daily day in day out of what these kids are eating at home and what they were taught about eating at home.

That particular poster said she did not keep junk in the house and served nutritious food. So is she supposed to smack the kids hand when they go for a Starburst or extra slice of pizza in public?

If she is telling the truth then she needs to stop serving *so much* nutritious food. Kids don’t get fat because of some starbursts here and there or the occasional pizza party. The poster you responded to had it right, it’s the day in, day out habits learned at home. This is not complicated.

DP. Except that it is. My binge eating as a kid began as a direct result of my mom tightly controlling portion sizes. Growing bodies want what they want.

Okay, I stand corrected. American fat kids are and have always been doomed to be fat and there’s not a damn thing their parents can do about it and it’s insane and smug to suggest that these parents even make an effort.

Thin children are thin purely due to the luck of the draw. There are no good/bad, responsible/irresponsible parenting decisions being made along the way. It’s out of our hands!

Nope, there are definitely positive things parents can do, but tightly controlling portions and restricting calories on a growing body isn’t it. I already said many pages back, you can build up their confidence around things that have nothing to do with the appearance of their body, keep them busy and active, and get them moving as much as possible. Move with them if you need to. Go for long walks if they don’t like sports. DCUM doesn’t like to believe that regular, vigorous movement will make you lose weight, but it was the one thing that made a difference for me. Not just because it burned calories, but because it made me feel strong and confident and like my body was actually worth taking good care of. Not a single reproving glance from my parents or awkward conversation about their concern about my weight gain could ever have had the same effect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The way to disrupt the constant hunger is to work. Teens should be busy working or volunteering so that they aren't always eating. Mine works a FT summer job and does power washing on the weekends. He eats regular meals and has no time for snacking.

Mine could not be busier-- after school activities, two sports (one travel). Doesn't get home from school/camp until after 3 or 4, leaves for sports most night at 6. Still finds time to snack and overeat. (See all threads above about how they get fed at so many of these activities).

All these parents with kids who don't have eating issues are so certain it wouldn't happen to their kids. You are not better parents or better at helping your kids be healthy: you are lucky your kid has good genes.

If you know he’s overeating outside the home, feed him less at home. Have absolutely zero junk available at home. You can only control what you can control, but it sounds like you want to just throw up your hands and blame it all on bad luck or bad genes.

You're so smart-- you have all the answers-- no junk food and feed a kid less, why didn't I think about that?

Such smug parenting. I seriously -- truly-- hope you never have a child struggle with their weight. Though, I kind of wish more of you did because then you'd understand how hard it is.

Just do the math. Lower the calories and they will lose weight. You don't even need to do extra activity although it's always good to move more.

It's pretty easy to control a child's food choices up until they earn their own money (or someone gifts them a lot of it). The parents who give their kids huge allowances then complain that they buy junk food and high calorie Starbucks drinks. Stop giving them $25/week.

Ok, no it’s not. Kids that have a tendency to overeat, will overeat just about anything. You can’t have a carb free household. They can make their own food if they want to. Many teens have part time jobs and get money from relatives for birthday. They can offered plenty of Starbucks without your help. Again, a parent cannot control the food intake of a teen. They have to want to eat less overall and say to to the junk. If they don’t want to or can’t, you cannot make them

Go ahead. Let your 7 yr old overeat the cantaloupe. I promise it won't make her gain weight. Teens aren't getting jobs until 15 at the earliest. If you have provided 15 years of healthy foods in your home, the chance that they will become overweight after that is pretty low.

Actually it is sky high. Over 70% of adults are overweight. By the time your teen is adult, chances are they will be too

Maybe in certain demographics but not UMC teens. I work in a Title 1 school and I see those demographics every day. When I pick my kid up at his private HS, not even 1/3 of the kids are overweight.

70% of adults of all ages are fat. 70% of college kids are not fat, but you are probably assuring your kid to be fat their entire life if you let them enter their teens fat

No one is "letting" their kids be fat. We are all parenting in an age where unhealthy food is everywhere. Some kids' bodies know to stop at one slice of pizza at the camp pizza party, some kids crave two. Some kids don't think about food unless it's in front of them, some kids brains are always thinking about food. You are lucky if your kid is the former.

I am the parent of an overweight DD. I am thin, I work out pretty much every day. We don't have chips/soda in out house. We emphasize protein and complete nutrition...and still my kid is overweight. Yes she is overeating. Yes we are trying to help her. But it is not a failure of parenting. It is a failure of willpower, and if it was easy to overcome, 70 percent of Americans would not be overweight.

So, you’re sitting there and watching her overeat? Are you portioning the food out? Are you saying, “you’ve eaten enough?”

So you think PP should do that at the camp pizza party? Yikes.

It’s not the camp pizza party or the teacher handing out starbursts. It’s the daily day in day out of what these kids are eating at home and what they were taught about eating at home.

That particular poster said she did not keep junk in the house and served nutritious food. So is she supposed to smack the kids hand when they go for a Starburst or extra slice of pizza in public?

If she is telling the truth then she needs to stop serving *so much* nutritious food. Kids don’t get fat because of some starbursts here and there or the occasional pizza party. The poster you responded to had it right, it’s the day in, day out habits learned at home. This is not complicated.

DP. Except that it is. My binge eating as a kid began as a direct result of my mom tightly controlling portion sizes. Growing bodies want what they want.

Okay, I stand corrected. American fat kids are and have always been doomed to be fat and there’s not a damn thing their parents can do about it and it’s insane and smug to suggest that these parents even make an effort.

Thin children are thin purely due to the luck of the draw. There are no good/bad, responsible/irresponsible parenting decisions being made along the way. It’s out of our hands!

Nope, there are definitely positive things parents can do, but tightly controlling portions and restricting calories on a growing body isn’t it. I already said many pages back, you can build up their confidence around things that have nothing to do with the appearance of their body, keep them busy and active, and get them moving as much as possible. Move with them if you need to. Go for long walks if they don’t like sports. DCUM doesn’t like to believe that regular, vigorous movement will make you lose weight, but it was the one thing that made a difference for me. Not just because it burned calories, but because it made me feel strong and confident and like my body was actually worth taking good care of. Not a single reproving glance from my parents or awkward conversation about their concern about my weight gain could ever have had the same effect.

I mean... science literally says that its a careful balanced diet and restricted calories that will help you lose weight.

The reasons for exercise are numerous and especially beneficial for children, but they necessitate extra calories. And won't cause anyone to lose weight.

Despite your impression, your weight loss was due to your diet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The way to disrupt the constant hunger is to work. Teens should be busy working or volunteering so that they aren't always eating. Mine works a FT summer job and does power washing on the weekends. He eats regular meals and has no time for snacking.

Mine could not be busier-- after school activities, two sports (one travel). Doesn't get home from school/camp until after 3 or 4, leaves for sports most night at 6. Still finds time to snack and overeat. (See all threads above about how they get fed at so many of these activities).

All these parents with kids who don't have eating issues are so certain it wouldn't happen to their kids. You are not better parents or better at helping your kids be healthy: you are lucky your kid has good genes.

If you know he’s overeating outside the home, feed him less at home. Have absolutely zero junk available at home. You can only control what you can control, but it sounds like you want to just throw up your hands and blame it all on bad luck or bad genes.

You're so smart-- you have all the answers-- no junk food and feed a kid less, why didn't I think about that?

Such smug parenting. I seriously -- truly-- hope you never have a child struggle with their weight. Though, I kind of wish more of you did because then you'd understand how hard it is.

Just do the math. Lower the calories and they will lose weight. You don't even need to do extra activity although it's always good to move more.

It's pretty easy to control a child's food choices up until they earn their own money (or someone gifts them a lot of it). The parents who give their kids huge allowances then complain that they buy junk food and high calorie Starbucks drinks. Stop giving them $25/week.

Ok, no it’s not. Kids that have a tendency to overeat, will overeat just about anything. You can’t have a carb free household. They can make their own food if they want to. Many teens have part time jobs and get money from relatives for birthday. They can offered plenty of Starbucks without your help. Again, a parent cannot control the food intake of a teen. They have to want to eat less overall and say to to the junk. If they don’t want to or can’t, you cannot make them

Go ahead. Let your 7 yr old overeat the cantaloupe. I promise it won't make her gain weight. Teens aren't getting jobs until 15 at the earliest. If you have provided 15 years of healthy foods in your home, the chance that they will become overweight after that is pretty low.

Actually it is sky high. Over 70% of adults are overweight. By the time your teen is adult, chances are they will be too

Maybe in certain demographics but not UMC teens. I work in a Title 1 school and I see those demographics every day. When I pick my kid up at his private HS, not even 1/3 of the kids are overweight.

70% of adults of all ages are fat. 70% of college kids are not fat, but you are probably assuring your kid to be fat their entire life if you let them enter their teens fat

No one is "letting" their kids be fat. We are all parenting in an age where unhealthy food is everywhere. Some kids' bodies know to stop at one slice of pizza at the camp pizza party, some kids crave two. Some kids don't think about food unless it's in front of them, some kids brains are always thinking about food. You are lucky if your kid is the former.

I am the parent of an overweight DD. I am thin, I work out pretty much every day. We don't have chips/soda in out house. We emphasize protein and complete nutrition...and still my kid is overweight. Yes she is overeating. Yes we are trying to help her. But it is not a failure of parenting. It is a failure of willpower, and if it was easy to overcome, 70 percent of Americans would not be overweight.

So, you’re sitting there and watching her overeat? Are you portioning the food out? Are you saying, “you’ve eaten enough?”

So you think PP should do that at the camp pizza party? Yikes.

Or if there are siblings who aren’t overweight? Should she single out the one with a weight issue and let the thin kids eat as much as they want?

If your kid had a broken leg, would you let them go skiing with their sibling?

People seem to have alot of weird feels around food. There is nothing wrong with somebody who is overweight eating a single piece of pizza and a side salad.

Gosh, ya think? Look, you clearly have never been an overweight child or had one. You seem to think this is very simple, but it is far, far from it. Food and eating and weight are all incredibly twisted up in emotions and feelings of self worth, especially for girls. You have to tread very, very carefully.

Wrong. I went through puberty fat. I have been up and down my whole life. I was as fat as 207lbs in my 20s. I think I had obstetric complications from being fat. I am not happy with my parents putting their divorce and careers before feeding us properly. I think it is child abuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The way to disrupt the constant hunger is to work. Teens should be busy working or volunteering so that they aren't always eating. Mine works a FT summer job and does power washing on the weekends. He eats regular meals and has no time for snacking.

Mine could not be busier-- after school activities, two sports (one travel). Doesn't get home from school/camp until after 3 or 4, leaves for sports most night at 6. Still finds time to snack and overeat. (See all threads above about how they get fed at so many of these activities).

All these parents with kids who don't have eating issues are so certain it wouldn't happen to their kids. You are not better parents or better at helping your kids be healthy: you are lucky your kid has good genes.

If you know he’s overeating outside the home, feed him less at home. Have absolutely zero junk available at home. You can only control what you can control, but it sounds like you want to just throw up your hands and blame it all on bad luck or bad genes.

You're so smart-- you have all the answers-- no junk food and feed a kid less, why didn't I think about that?

Such smug parenting. I seriously -- truly-- hope you never have a child struggle with their weight. Though, I kind of wish more of you did because then you'd understand how hard it is.

Just do the math. Lower the calories and they will lose weight. You don't even need to do extra activity although it's always good to move more.

It's pretty easy to control a child's food choices up until they earn their own money (or someone gifts them a lot of it). The parents who give their kids huge allowances then complain that they buy junk food and high calorie Starbucks drinks. Stop giving them $25/week.

Ok, no it’s not. Kids that have a tendency to overeat, will overeat just about anything. You can’t have a carb free household. They can make their own food if they want to. Many teens have part time jobs and get money from relatives for birthday. They can offered plenty of Starbucks without your help. Again, a parent cannot control the food intake of a teen. They have to want to eat less overall and say to to the junk. If they don’t want to or can’t, you cannot make them

Go ahead. Let your 7 yr old overeat the cantaloupe. I promise it won't make her gain weight. Teens aren't getting jobs until 15 at the earliest. If you have provided 15 years of healthy foods in your home, the chance that they will become overweight after that is pretty low.

Actually it is sky high. Over 70% of adults are overweight. By the time your teen is adult, chances are they will be too

Maybe in certain demographics but not UMC teens. I work in a Title 1 school and I see those demographics every day. When I pick my kid up at his private HS, not even 1/3 of the kids are overweight.

70% of adults of all ages are fat. 70% of college kids are not fat, but you are probably assuring your kid to be fat their entire life if you let them enter their teens fat

No one is "letting" their kids be fat. We are all parenting in an age where unhealthy food is everywhere. Some kids' bodies know to stop at one slice of pizza at the camp pizza party, some kids crave two. Some kids don't think about food unless it's in front of them, some kids brains are always thinking about food. You are lucky if your kid is the former.

I am the parent of an overweight DD. I am thin, I work out pretty much every day. We don't have chips/soda in out house. We emphasize protein and complete nutrition...and still my kid is overweight. Yes she is overeating. Yes we are trying to help her. But it is not a failure of parenting. It is a failure of willpower, and if it was easy to overcome, 70 percent of Americans would not be overweight.

So, you’re sitting there and watching her overeat? Are you portioning the food out? Are you saying, “you’ve eaten enough?”

So you think PP should do that at the camp pizza party? Yikes.

It’s not the camp pizza party or the teacher handing out starbursts. It’s the daily day in day out of what these kids are eating at home and what they were taught about eating at home.

That particular poster said she did not keep junk in the house and served nutritious food. So is she supposed to smack the kids hand when they go for a Starburst or extra slice of pizza in public?

If she is telling the truth then she needs to stop serving *so much* nutritious food. Kids don’t get fat because of some starbursts here and there or the occasional pizza party. The poster you responded to had it right, it’s the day in, day out habits learned at home. This is not complicated.

Teens serve themselves. Are you supposed to go make them put back some of their mashed potato portions? Tell them go back and dump half the dinner? Lock the frig after a meal is served so they can’t help themselves to leftovers? It doesn’t even take gorging.

A few hundred extra calories is pretty easy to eat and if this is happening regularly, yes weight will be gained.

People dont like it, but weight watchers (or another formal program) is the cure for this

[Anonymous]

I really don't understand how this thread is going.

Don't fill your house with junk food—fill it with healthy stuff.

My kids can go into the fridge at any time and get a bowl of cherries, cucumbers, a glass of milk, a slice of cheese, etc.

Always a big bowl of apples, bananas and oranges. Summertime there's endless watermelon.

No juice, no candy, no cookies, and they're welcome to look in the cabinets, but there's no junk food. Peanut butter crackers is the worse they can do, and I've taught them to follow the serving size.

It's not hard to provide your kids with a kind open-door policy that allows them to make food choices and consume as much as their growing bodies need but also not be a psycho.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The way to disrupt the constant hunger is to work. Teens should be busy working or volunteering so that they aren't always eating. Mine works a FT summer job and does power washing on the weekends. He eats regular meals and has no time for snacking.

Mine could not be busier-- after school activities, two sports (one travel). Doesn't get home from school/camp until after 3 or 4, leaves for sports most night at 6. Still finds time to snack and overeat. (See all threads above about how they get fed at so many of these activities).

All these parents with kids who don't have eating issues are so certain it wouldn't happen to their kids. You are not better parents or better at helping your kids be healthy: you are lucky your kid has good genes.

If you know he’s overeating outside the home, feed him less at home. Have absolutely zero junk available at home. You can only control what you can control, but it sounds like you want to just throw up your hands and blame it all on bad luck or bad genes.

You're so smart-- you have all the answers-- no junk food and feed a kid less, why didn't I think about that?

Such smug parenting. I seriously -- truly-- hope you never have a child struggle with their weight. Though, I kind of wish more of you did because then you'd understand how hard it is.

Just do the math. Lower the calories and they will lose weight. You don't even need to do extra activity although it's always good to move more.

It's pretty easy to control a child's food choices up until they earn their own money (or someone gifts them a lot of it). The parents who give their kids huge allowances then complain that they buy junk food and high calorie Starbucks drinks. Stop giving them $25/week.

Ok, no it’s not. Kids that have a tendency to overeat, will overeat just about anything. You can’t have a carb free household. They can make their own food if they want to. Many teens have part time jobs and get money from relatives for birthday. They can offered plenty of Starbucks without your help. Again, a parent cannot control the food intake of a teen. They have to want to eat less overall and say to to the junk. If they don’t want to or can’t, you cannot make them

Go ahead. Let your 7 yr old overeat the cantaloupe. I promise it won't make her gain weight. Teens aren't getting jobs until 15 at the earliest. If you have provided 15 years of healthy foods in your home, the chance that they will become overweight after that is pretty low.

Actually it is sky high. Over 70% of adults are overweight. By the time your teen is adult, chances are they will be too

Maybe in certain demographics but not UMC teens. I work in a Title 1 school and I see those demographics every day. When I pick my kid up at his private HS, not even 1/3 of the kids are overweight.

70% of adults of all ages are fat. 70% of college kids are not fat, but you are probably assuring your kid to be fat their entire life if you let them enter their teens fat

No one is "letting" their kids be fat. We are all parenting in an age where unhealthy food is everywhere. Some kids' bodies know to stop at one slice of pizza at the camp pizza party, some kids crave two. Some kids don't think about food unless it's in front of them, some kids brains are always thinking about food. You are lucky if your kid is the former.

I am the parent of an overweight DD. I am thin, I work out pretty much every day. We don't have chips/soda in out house. We emphasize protein and complete nutrition...and still my kid is overweight. Yes she is overeating. Yes we are trying to help her. But it is not a failure of parenting. It is a failure of willpower, and if it was easy to overcome, 70 percent of Americans would not be overweight.

So, you’re sitting there and watching her overeat? Are you portioning the food out? Are you saying, “you’ve eaten enough?”

So you think PP should do that at the camp pizza party? Yikes.

It’s not the camp pizza party or the teacher handing out starbursts. It’s the daily day in day out of what these kids are eating at home and what they were taught about eating at home.

That particular poster said she did not keep junk in the house and served nutritious food. So is she supposed to smack the kids hand when they go for a Starburst or extra slice of pizza in public?

If she is telling the truth then she needs to stop serving *so much* nutritious food. Kids don’t get fat because of some starbursts here and there or the occasional pizza party. The poster you responded to had it right, it’s the day in, day out habits learned at home. This is not complicated.

DP. Except that it is. My binge eating as a kid began as a direct result of my mom tightly controlling portion sizes. Growing bodies want what they want.

Okay, I stand corrected. American fat kids are and have always been doomed to be fat and there’s not a damn thing their parents can do about it and it’s insane and smug to suggest that these parents even make an effort.

Thin children are thin purely due to the luck of the draw. There are no good/bad, responsible/irresponsible parenting decisions being made along the way. It’s out of our hands!

There were always overweight children-- kids who drank soda starting when they got it in their baby bottles, latchkey kids who came home right after school and whose parents brought home McDonalds after a long shift at work.

What you're missing is there are also kids -- like mine-- who play two travel sports, have had McDs exactly once, who are fed healthy foods and are still overweight. Maybe she would be a healthier weight back when they weren't offered snacks all the damn time. When I was growing up we had orange slices as a snack at literally every soccer game. At her last tournament they had oreos, gatorade and granola bars. Could I have approached her and said, "Hey don't eat any of that!" Of course. Do I think that will really make things better? No.

So many of you think, I would never let my child be overweight. And I envy you. Because it's not that simple. And your judgment comes across.

Ok, this is absolutely batty. Your kid can have WATER and ONE oreo. You bring your own orange slices

Unless you're roofing all day in 90 degree heat you don't need gatoraid. If you feel you can't possibly live without the electrolytes there are sugar free electrolyte drink mixes

My husband was a Coke addict, started normalizing giving soda with every pizza until I flipped my s--t on him. Obvious first place to start is all caloric drinks other than skim milk

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really don't understand how this thread is going.

Don't fill your house with junk food—fill it with healthy stuff.

My kids can go into the fridge at any time and get a bowl of cherries, cucumbers, a glass of milk, a slice of cheese, etc.

Always a big bowl of apples, bananas and oranges. Summertime there's endless watermelon.

No juice, no candy, no cookies, and they're welcome to look in the cabinets, but there's no junk food. Peanut butter crackers is the worse they can do, and I've taught them to follow the serving size.

It's not hard to provide your kids with a kind open-door policy that allows them to make food choices and consume as much as their growing bodies need but also not be a psycho.

I am finding this is the way. I have to continue my b-----h campaign on my chubby hubby. If the kids know there are oreos in the house they will pester me until they are gone. If they're not there, they don't ask!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really don't understand how this thread is going.

Don't fill your house with junk food—fill it with healthy stuff.

My kids can go into the fridge at any time and get a bowl of cherries, cucumbers, a glass of milk, a slice of cheese, etc.

Always a big bowl of apples, bananas and oranges. Summertime there's endless watermelon.

No juice, no candy, no cookies, and they're welcome to look in the cabinets, but there's no junk food. Peanut butter crackers is the worse they can do, and I've taught them to follow the serving size.

It's not hard to provide your kids with a kind open-door policy that allows them to make food choices and consume as much as their growing bodies need but also not be a psycho.

I am finding this is the way. I have to continue my b-----h campaign on my chubby hubby. If the kids know there are oreos in the house they will pester me until they are gone. If they're not there, they don't ask!

Thank you. You do the shopping, it's not hard to make sure there's plenty of good food that doesn't need to be policed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The way to disrupt the constant hunger is to work. Teens should be busy working or volunteering so that they aren't always eating. Mine works a FT summer job and does power washing on the weekends. He eats regular meals and has no time for snacking.

Mine could not be busier-- after school activities, two sports (one travel). Doesn't get home from school/camp until after 3 or 4, leaves for sports most night at 6. Still finds time to snack and overeat. (See all threads above about how they get fed at so many of these activities).

All these parents with kids who don't have eating issues are so certain it wouldn't happen to their kids. You are not better parents or better at helping your kids be healthy: you are lucky your kid has good genes.

If you know he’s overeating outside the home, feed him less at home. Have absolutely zero junk available at home. You can only control what you can control, but it sounds like you want to just throw up your hands and blame it all on bad luck or bad genes.

You're so smart-- you have all the answers-- no junk food and feed a kid less, why didn't I think about that?

Such smug parenting. I seriously -- truly-- hope you never have a child struggle with their weight. Though, I kind of wish more of you did because then you'd understand how hard it is.

Just do the math. Lower the calories and they will lose weight. You don't even need to do extra activity although it's always good to move more.

It's pretty easy to control a child's food choices up until they earn their own money (or someone gifts them a lot of it). The parents who give their kids huge allowances then complain that they buy junk food and high calorie Starbucks drinks. Stop giving them $25/week.

Ok, no it’s not. Kids that have a tendency to overeat, will overeat just about anything. You can’t have a carb free household. They can make their own food if they want to. Many teens have part time jobs and get money from relatives for birthday. They can offered plenty of Starbucks without your help. Again, a parent cannot control the food intake of a teen. They have to want to eat less overall and say to to the junk. If they don’t want to or can’t, you cannot make them

Go ahead. Let your 7 yr old overeat the cantaloupe. I promise it won't make her gain weight. Teens aren't getting jobs until 15 at the earliest. If you have provided 15 years of healthy foods in your home, the chance that they will become overweight after that is pretty low.

Actually it is sky high. Over 70% of adults are overweight. By the time your teen is adult, chances are they will be too

Maybe in certain demographics but not UMC teens. I work in a Title 1 school and I see those demographics every day. When I pick my kid up at his private HS, not even 1/3 of the kids are overweight.

70% of adults of all ages are fat. 70% of college kids are not fat, but you are probably assuring your kid to be fat their entire life if you let them enter their teens fat

No one is "letting" their kids be fat. We are all parenting in an age where unhealthy food is everywhere. Some kids' bodies know to stop at one slice of pizza at the camp pizza party, some kids crave two. Some kids don't think about food unless it's in front of them, some kids brains are always thinking about food. You are lucky if your kid is the former.

I am the parent of an overweight DD. I am thin, I work out pretty much every day. We don't have chips/soda in out house. We emphasize protein and complete nutrition...and still my kid is overweight. Yes she is overeating. Yes we are trying to help her. But it is not a failure of parenting. It is a failure of willpower, and if it was easy to overcome, 70 percent of Americans would not be overweight.

So, you’re sitting there and watching her overeat? Are you portioning the food out? Are you saying, “you’ve eaten enough?”

So you think PP should do that at the camp pizza party? Yikes.

It’s not the camp pizza party or the teacher handing out starbursts. It’s the daily day in day out of what these kids are eating at home and what they were taught about eating at home.

That particular poster said she did not keep junk in the house and served nutritious food. So is she supposed to smack the kids hand when they go for a Starburst or extra slice of pizza in public?

If she is telling the truth then she needs to stop serving *so much* nutritious food. Kids don’t get fat because of some starbursts here and there or the occasional pizza party. The poster you responded to had it right, it’s the day in, day out habits learned at home. This is not complicated.

DP. Except that it is. My binge eating as a kid began as a direct result of my mom tightly controlling portion sizes. Growing bodies want what they want.

Okay, I stand corrected. American fat kids are and have always been doomed to be fat and there’s not a damn thing their parents can do about it and it’s insane and smug to suggest that these parents even make an effort.

Thin children are thin purely due to the luck of the draw. There are no good/bad, responsible/irresponsible parenting decisions being made along the way. It’s out of our hands!

Nope, there are definitely positive things parents can do, but tightly controlling portions and restricting calories on a growing body isn’t it. I already said many pages back, you can build up their confidence around things that have nothing to do with the appearance of their body, keep them busy and active, and get them moving as much as possible. Move with them if you need to. Go for long walks if they don’t like sports. DCUM doesn’t like to believe that regular, vigorous movement will make you lose weight, but it was the one thing that made a difference for me. Not just because it burned calories, but because it made me feel strong and confident and like my body was actually worth taking good care of. Not a single reproving glance from my parents or awkward conversation about their concern about my weight gain could ever have had the same effect.

I mean... science literally says that its a careful balanced diet and restricted calories that will help you lose weight.

The reasons for exercise are numerous and especially beneficial for children, but they necessitate extra calories. And won't cause anyone to lose weight.

Despite your impression, your weight loss was due to your diet.

Bulls--t. I know somebody who did the Appalachian trail. Said he'd come into town and eat an entire pizza, then still be hungry, then he would eat 1/2 gallon of ice cream

My dad said end of basic training the drill sergeant had everyone line up then he put his hand in everyone's front of their pants to see who lost so much weight they needed a new uniform. This was the 1960s so there were hardly any fatties then, so normal weight kids lost that much weight!

10,000 steps is 300 or 400 calories