Noticing very chunky young kids

[Anonymous]

In many families eating fast food is the norm today.

We supplied free food at my work place. The free food was fresh fruit, salad makings, and cooked chicken, precooked shrimp and hard boiled eggs. The fruit we offered was bananas, apples, mangos, avocados, and citrus fruit, and sometimes blueberries depending on the season.

Even though the food was fresh and free only two of our workers routinely ate the free food for lunch. Both were older women. One was a woman who was age 68. The other was a Haitian American woman who was 63.

All of our other workers ignored the free food and routinely brought fast food to eat for lunch or called door dash to bring them fast food for lunch.

Many Americans have not been raised on fresh fruit and unprocessed foods and have been raised on fried fast food and prefer the taste of fried fast foods even if unprocessed foods are offered for free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All the posters who are saying something along the lines of, “I let my kids eat whatever they want and they are still thin, I don’t understand how it’s possible for any kid to be overweight or obese” are in for a rude awakening when your kids head off to college. Armed without any substantive nutritional knowledge, 99% of the time these are the people who end up really struggling with their weight as adults.

I would kind of describe my family that way, but I think a lot of well-off/well-educated families just naturally have patterns where they eat meals together as a family, they have time to cook real food, days have structure and routine, kids go to bed at a specific time. Our kids go to camps in the summer where they are supervised and there are "snack times." We have healthy food in the pantry and the fridge along with junk food, and kids are used to eating both. My kids never drank a lot of soda or juice and now as older kids, 2 of the 3 largely prefer milk and water, even when offered soda. It is a much different reality from families that don't have any of these habits or patterns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the posters who are saying something along the lines of, “I let my kids eat whatever they want and they are still thin, I don’t understand how it’s possible for any kid to be overweight or obese” are in for a rude awakening when your kids head off to college. Armed without any substantive nutritional knowledge, 99% of the time these are the people who end up really struggling with their weight as adults.

I would kind of describe my family that way, but I think a lot of well-off/well-educated families just naturally have patterns where they eat meals together as a family, they have time to cook real food, days have structure and routine, kids go to bed at a specific time. Our kids go to camps in the summer where they are supervised and there are "snack times." We have healthy food in the pantry and the fridge along with junk food, and kids are used to eating both. My kids never drank a lot of soda or juice and now as older kids, 2 of the 3 largely prefer milk and water, even when offered soda. It is a much different reality from families that don't have any of these habits or patterns.

+1

We have 3 teens ages 13-16 and junk food in the house most of the time (potato chips, ice cream etc) and it usually lasts quite awhile. My kids actually choose fruit, dinner leftovers, yogurt, cheese etc for snacks most of the time. We also cook a lot, both DH and I love to cook- and have always involved the kids in that. All 3 are able to cook simple meals and often do. Two of my three are athletes and are mindful about healthy eating and nutritious diet for sports performance. All three are on the skinny side currently. Oldest DS is trying hard to gain weight for his sport so is constantly cooking and eating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two aspects to consider.

-Pregnant women in their 30s are now usually insulin resistant (but pass their diabetes screenings), their breast milk is full of hormone disrupters, and both mother and child are pumped with antibiotics at birth, further disrupting gut flora. All this sets the stage for weight gain. Then comes all the circadian disruption.

-This region is woefully behind when it comes to child nutrition norms. Elite travel teams eat cvs ice cream sandwiches as team snack. Artsy preschools have no plastic toys but serve generic goldfish.

I think the obsession with food allergies has led to more unhealthy ultra processed food in preschools. My kid loves nuts, but can't bring them to school, so he brings goldfish instead. God forbid you bring a peanut butter sandwich, instead it's processed chicken nuggets or fish sticks. He can't even bring hummus because of sesame allergies. If people would food their kids these things in infancy it would greatly eliminate these allergies later and allow for more nutritious foods for everyone in schools.

Food allergies are not caused by parents. But thanks for your sympathy and understanding.

Many allergies would never develop if parents fed their infants nuts. The evidence is pretty clear on that. Bad advice from the APA for years was a huge contributor. Not all allergies, but many. See the study on Ashkenazi Jews in Israel and outside Israel. Israeli parents routinely feed their infants a snack with peanut powder. Very low rates of peanut allergies later. The same genetic population outside of Israel feeds their babies like the rest of America. Much higher rates of peanut allergies in childhood.

That’s great. But we did everything we were told and our child still has allergies. So stuff it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bringing a peanut butter sandwich to preschool these days is received like you're bringing a bomb into the school. Instead the schools are full of ultraprocessed, factory made, "edible" products, not real food, which are destroying kids' health.

You can literally bring a sun nut butter sandwich and it's the same thing. Excuses excuses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the same boat OP. We don’t withhold much of anything, they get a treat after dinner, and they have very low BMI. I don’t understand how children can become so overweight. It’s tragic and the parents should have to attend mandatory child nutrition classes.

I cook from scratch, don’t stock junk food but don’t withhold healthy food, have occasional treats, etc etc, and I have one 15th %ile kid who eats like a bird and one 90th %ile kid who will have thirds of chicken and rice and salad. It’s complicated.

So…don’t give them so much food? What’s complicated? No one needs “thirds.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two aspects to consider.

-Pregnant women in their 30s are now usually insulin resistant (but pass their diabetes screenings), their breast milk is full of hormone disrupters, and both mother and child are pumped with antibiotics at birth, further disrupting gut flora. All this sets the stage for weight gain. Then comes all the circadian disruption.

-This region is woefully behind when it comes to child nutrition norms. Elite travel teams eat cvs ice cream sandwiches as team snack. Artsy preschools have no plastic toys but serve generic goldfish.

I think the obsession with food allergies has led to more unhealthy ultra processed food in preschools. My kid loves nuts, but can't bring them to school, so he brings goldfish instead. God forbid you bring a peanut butter sandwich, instead it's processed chicken nuggets or fish sticks. He can't even bring hummus because of sesame allergies. If people would food their kids these things in infancy it would greatly eliminate these allergies later and allow for more nutritious foods for everyone in schools.

Food allergies are not caused by parents. But thanks for your sympathy and understanding.

Many allergies would never develop if parents fed their infants nuts. The evidence is pretty clear on that. Bad advice from the APA for years was a huge contributor. Not all allergies, but many. See the study on Ashkenazi Jews in Israel and outside Israel. Israeli parents routinely feed their infants a snack with peanut powder. Very low rates of peanut allergies later. The same genetic population outside of Israel feeds their babies like the rest of America. Much higher rates of peanut allergies in childhood.

That’s great. But we did everything we were told and our child still has allergies. So stuff it.

Anyone who sees an allergist knows there are no "clear" answers to these questions. PP is clueless.

[Anonymous]

This is why we need government regulation. It's everyone else's fault: the allergy kids, the poor parents, the rich parents who can't be bothered to cook, etc etc.

We need to take the guesswork out of it if we want to control obesity on a population level. But again, politicians have no incentive to make this happen. Michelle Obama tried and the pushback she got was horrific.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two aspects to consider.

-Pregnant women in their 30s are now usually insulin resistant (but pass their diabetes screenings), their breast milk is full of hormone disrupters, and both mother and child are pumped with antibiotics at birth, further disrupting gut flora. All this sets the stage for weight gain. Then comes all the circadian disruption.

-This region is woefully behind when it comes to child nutrition norms. Elite travel teams eat cvs ice cream sandwiches as team snack. Artsy preschools have no plastic toys but serve generic goldfish.

I think the obsession with food allergies has led to more unhealthy ultra processed food in preschools. My kid loves nuts, but can't bring them to school, so he brings goldfish instead. God forbid you bring a peanut butter sandwich, instead it's processed chicken nuggets or fish sticks. He can't even bring hummus because of sesame allergies. If people would food their kids these things in infancy it would greatly eliminate these allergies later and allow for more nutritious foods for everyone in schools.

Food allergies are not caused by parents. But thanks for your sympathy and understanding.

Many allergies would never develop if parents fed their infants nuts. The evidence is pretty clear on that. Bad advice from the APA for years was a huge contributor. Not all allergies, but many. See the study on Ashkenazi Jews in Israel and outside Israel. Israeli parents routinely feed their infants a snack with peanut powder. Very low rates of peanut allergies later. The same genetic population outside of Israel feeds their babies like the rest of America. Much higher rates of peanut allergies in childhood.

That’s great. But we did everything we were told and our child still has allergies. So stuff it.

Anyone who sees an allergist knows there are no "clear" answers to these questions. PP is clueless.

DP. It is pretty clear that the APA made a very bad mistake when they advised withholding peanuts from babies. Obviously early introduction is not foolproof but it's better than late introduction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bringing a peanut butter sandwich to preschool these days is received like you're bringing a bomb into the school. Instead the schools are full of ultraprocessed, factory made, "edible" products, not real food, which are destroying kids' health.

You can literally bring a sun nut butter sandwich and it's the same thing. Excuses excuses.

Yeah. Lack of time/money can't explain it all. I mean, why BUY your kid soda or juice, when water in this country is FREE?

[Anonymous]

That boy is mine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is why we need government regulation. It's everyone else's fault: the allergy kids, the poor parents, the rich parents who can't be bothered to cook, etc etc.

We need to take the guesswork out of it if we want to control obesity on a population level. But again, politicians have no incentive to make this happen. Michelle Obama tried and the pushback she got was horrific.

Just one more leg up for kids with educated and involved parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the same boat OP. We don’t withhold much of anything, they get a treat after dinner, and they have very low BMI. I don’t understand how children can become so overweight. It’s tragic and the parents should have to attend mandatory child nutrition classes.

I cook from scratch, don’t stock junk food but don’t withhold healthy food, have occasional treats, etc etc, and I have one 15th %ile kid who eats like a bird and one 90th %ile kid who will have thirds of chicken and rice and salad. It’s complicated.

What is complicated about this?? First off, because your kid is 90th percentile doesn’t mean he has high BMI, it’s how his weight is distributed relative to height. If he has high BMI, he is eating too much and you are responsible for making sure he cools it on the thirds or gets more exercise. Calories in calories out - IT IS NOT COMPLICATED FOR 8 YEAR OLDS

[Anonymous]

Let’s leave the subject of nuts. They are neither the cause nor the solution to this problem. I am one of the thin, lower-class-in the 80’s posters and I didn’t like nuts or peanut butter and neither was a regular part of my family’s diet. We ate lots of meat and carbs and canned/frozen veggies, but mostly home cooked food and no one in my family is large, even in older age. With minor adjustments this is still how I cook for my family and still thin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the same boat OP. We don’t withhold much of anything, they get a treat after dinner, and they have very low BMI. I don’t understand how children can become so overweight. It’s tragic and the parents should have to attend mandatory child nutrition classes.

I cook from scratch, don’t stock junk food but don’t withhold healthy food, have occasional treats, etc etc, and I have one 15th %ile kid who eats like a bird and one 90th %ile kid who will have thirds of chicken and rice and salad. It’s complicated.

What is complicated about this?? First off, because your kid is 90th percentile doesn’t mean he has high BMI, it’s how his weight is distributed relative to height. If he has high BMI, he is eating too much and you are responsible for making sure he cools it on the thirds or gets more exercise. Calories in calories out - IT IS NOT COMPLICATED FOR 8 YEAR OLDS

So your advice is that when a child is hungry, I should deny them healthy food? “Sorry honey, you’re fat.”