Noticing very chunky young kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody cares about your rant op. Kids and parents are aware of these issues and do not need a horrible person posting about it.

That clearly isn’t true based on the number of posters making so many excuses about why their kids are big, but it couldn’t possibly be their fault and there is just nothing they could do about it.

Pssst--some of us arguing that there are multiple causes of the obesity epidemic don't have overweight kids.

You might want to examine why you're so eager to cast blame on your fellow parents.

Can you please examine why you’re so eager to make excuses for people who have a problem that you apparently don’t have? Is it virtue signaling? Does it make you feel like a superior human being to treat other able-bodied adults as though they are just naturally incompetent, therefore the question of personal responsibility is off the table?

Because while you may feel that you are being extremely nice and supportive, what you are actually doing is condescendingly infantilizing others. Low expectations, indeed.

It is not making excuses to point out that multiple things can be true at the same time. Are poor nutrition and lack of exercise part of it? OF COURSE! Is the government also responsible for subsidizing certain crops so that manufacturers engineer crap foods that aren't good for us so they can increase profits? Also true! Do manufacturers spend millions of dollars in lobbying fees to avoid having to be straightforward about what's in the products they sell? Yes!

I could go on, but you seem to be concerned with only one of these factors when they're all part of the problem.

Assuming all factors mentioned in this thread are equal contributors to the issue (they’re not, of course, but let’s pretend that’s the case) you need to then ask yourself which of these factors (if any) are within an individual’s ability to control (e.g. what and how much food you CHOOSE to give your children at home and how much exercise you make your children do). Those are the ONLY things worth worrying about at individual level. Complaining about food manufacturers and schools and birthday parties and the government doesn’t accomplish anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody cares about your rant op. Kids and parents are aware of these issues and do not need a horrible person posting about it.

That clearly isn’t true based on the number of posters making so many excuses about why their kids are big, but it couldn’t possibly be their fault and there is just nothing they could do about it.

Pssst--some of us arguing that there are multiple causes of the obesity epidemic don't have overweight kids.

You might want to examine why you're so eager to cast blame on your fellow parents.

Can you please examine why you’re so eager to make excuses for people who have a problem that you apparently don’t have? Is it virtue signaling? Does it make you feel like a superior human being to treat other able-bodied adults as though they are just naturally incompetent, therefore the question of personal responsibility is off the table?

Because while you may feel that you are being extremely nice and supportive, what you are actually doing is condescendingly infantilizing others. Low expectations, indeed.

It is not making excuses to point out that multiple things can be true at the same time. Are poor nutrition and lack of exercise part of it? OF COURSE! Is the government also responsible for subsidizing certain crops so that manufacturers engineer crap foods that aren't good for us so they can increase profits? Also true! Do manufacturers spend millions of dollars in lobbying fees to avoid having to be straightforward about what's in the products they sell? Yes!

I could go on, but you seem to be concerned with only one of these factors when they're all part of the problem.

Assuming all factors mentioned in this thread are equal contributors to the issue (they’re not, of course, but let’s pretend that’s the case) you need to then ask yourself which of these factors (if any) are within an individual’s ability to control (e.g. what and how much food you CHOOSE to give your children at home and how much exercise you make your children do). Those are the ONLY things worth worrying about at individual level. Complaining about food manufacturers and schools and birthday parties and the government doesn’t accomplish anything.

And what you seem to miss is that a kid can be chunky due to environmental issues and insulin resistance and other stuff even while eating whole foods and not eating out regularly or having treats regularly. They will likely be less heavy than they would be if the parents gave the cheetos/upf type foods versus real food/non-upf but again, eating healthily and being active DOES NOT = SKINNY.

-not the PP you were agruing with but you seem entrenched in the idea that fat=fault and ONLY at personal/individual-level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody cares about your rant op. Kids and parents are aware of these issues and do not need a horrible person posting about it.

That clearly isn’t true based on the number of posters making so many excuses about why their kids are big, but it couldn’t possibly be their fault and there is just nothing they could do about it.

Pssst--some of us arguing that there are multiple causes of the obesity epidemic don't have overweight kids.

You might want to examine why you're so eager to cast blame on your fellow parents.

Can you please examine why you’re so eager to make excuses for people who have a problem that you apparently don’t have? Is it virtue signaling? Does it make you feel like a superior human being to treat other able-bodied adults as though they are just naturally incompetent, therefore the question of personal responsibility is off the table?

Because while you may feel that you are being extremely nice and supportive, what you are actually doing is condescendingly infantilizing others. Low expectations, indeed.

It is not making excuses to point out that multiple things can be true at the same time. Are poor nutrition and lack of exercise part of it? OF COURSE! Is the government also responsible for subsidizing certain crops so that manufacturers engineer crap foods that aren't good for us so they can increase profits? Also true! Do manufacturers spend millions of dollars in lobbying fees to avoid having to be straightforward about what's in the products they sell? Yes!

I could go on, but you seem to be concerned with only one of these factors when they're all part of the problem.

Assuming all factors mentioned in this thread are equal contributors to the issue (they’re not, of course, but let’s pretend that’s the case) you need to then ask yourself which of these factors (if any) are within an individual’s ability to control (e.g. what and how much food you CHOOSE to give your children at home and how much exercise you make your children do). Those are the ONLY things worth worrying about at individual level. Complaining about food manufacturers and schools and birthday parties and the government doesn’t accomplish anything.

Louder for the people in the back

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are so many population-level annd environmental factors at play and it’s a vicious cycle.

While the government needs to do more, there is an element of personal responsibility too. Parents used to spend more of their free time cooking but now they spend it on Insta or TikTok because the take out / packaged food is “good enough”. Only those who prioritize nutrition make the effort. Cooking and eating at home 5-6 days a week needs to be more normalized.

AND we need to look at why people who do cook at home and are health obsessed STILL have kids who are overweight due to environmental factors messing with the gut and metabolism, particularly plastics and medications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are so many population-level annd environmental factors at play and it’s a vicious cycle.

While the government needs to do more, there is an element of personal responsibility too. Parents used to spend more of their free time cooking but now they spend it on Insta or TikTok because the take out / packaged food is “good enough”. Only those who prioritize nutrition make the effort. Cooking and eating at home 5-6 days a week needs to be more normalized.

AND we need to look at why people who do cook at home and are health obsessed STILL have kids who are overweight due to environmental factors messing with the gut and metabolism, particularly plastics and medications.

Never seen this. This is very uncommon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody cares about your rant op. Kids and parents are aware of these issues and do not need a horrible person posting about it.

That clearly isn’t true based on the number of posters making so many excuses about why their kids are big, but it couldn’t possibly be their fault and there is just nothing they could do about it.

Pssst--some of us arguing that there are multiple causes of the obesity epidemic don't have overweight kids.

You might want to examine why you're so eager to cast blame on your fellow parents.

Can you please examine why you’re so eager to make excuses for people who have a problem that you apparently don’t have? Is it virtue signaling? Does it make you feel like a superior human being to treat other able-bodied adults as though they are just naturally incompetent, therefore the question of personal responsibility is off the table?

Because while you may feel that you are being extremely nice and supportive, what you are actually doing is condescendingly infantilizing others. Low expectations, indeed.

It is not making excuses to point out that multiple things can be true at the same time. Are poor nutrition and lack of exercise part of it? OF COURSE! Is the government also responsible for subsidizing certain crops so that manufacturers engineer crap foods that aren't good for us so they can increase profits? Also true! Do manufacturers spend millions of dollars in lobbying fees to avoid having to be straightforward about what's in the products they sell? Yes!

I could go on, but you seem to be concerned with only one of these factors when they're all part of the problem.

Yes! You’ve nailed it! The government wants us to be fat!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is off the rails. It was answered early on that we have many environmental factors disrupting our endocrine systems nowadays. People are more interested in touting their virtue and ability to cook wholesome meals at any budget.

+1

Wholesome meals are nice but they, or their lack, aren't the reason that some kids are skinny and some kids are thick. It's partly genetics and food abundance (or a coping mechanism for abuse) but it's mostly an endocrine/metabolism issue caused by environmental factors, particularly pervasive antibiotics but also microplastics and probably others.

Agree and also, trauma and stress are huge determinants.

Holy cow you people are insane, no wonder we have the obesity epidemic we do. No, the average overweight elementary-aged kid has not been exposed to enough trauma, abuse, or “endocrine disrupters” in their 8 short years to cause their obesity. It’s the parents. Clearly! As evidenced by this thread.

Endocrine disrupters are everywhere. But the solution is the same (clean diet, minimize exposure generally).

Find me a study that endocrine disrupters are the cause of an entire very recent and new generation of childhood obesity. No one is denying they’re real, you are however vastly vastly overstating their impacts on children in an attempt to…what? Reduce your culpability as a parent? Shameful

I'm not sure why, except that you're so convinced of your own parental superiority, that you think every poster suggesting factors that may contribute to the obesity epidemic has overweight kids?

Pretty sure I'm not the only one who doesn't. But I hope your rants about "culpability" are making you feel better?

Any posters without overweight kids who are nevertheless coming up with these absurd excuses are most likely your typical disingenuous virtue-signalers.

As opposed to, you know, scientists.

I am a scientist. With an understanding of statistics and uncertainty analysis. Many of you are concentrating on the variables that are essentially in the noise and ignoring the glaringly obvious variable (which is clearly the overall number of calories consumed).

Why are you ignoring the people who tell you their kids are not overeating calories, are not eating junk, but are overweight when they hit puberty, even though they weren't overweight before puberty?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are so many population-level annd environmental factors at play and it’s a vicious cycle.

While the government needs to do more, there is an element of personal responsibility too. Parents used to spend more of their free time cooking but now they spend it on Insta or TikTok because the take out / packaged food is “good enough”. Only those who prioritize nutrition make the effort. Cooking and eating at home 5-6 days a week needs to be more normalized.

+1. People need to cook at home, mostly from scratch. It almost doesn’t even matter what you cook, as long as it isn’t super processed. It doesn’t need to be organic or vegetarian or dairy free. My rule of thumb is that if my mom or grandma wouldn’t make it or eat it, then I won’t either.

+2. These 2 posts and other ones like it are most of the answer.

My grandma literally suspended canned meat in green jello.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reason for this societal problem is on display in this thread. Nothing but denial, excuses, and blame-shifting.

You are reading negativity into people searching for reasons.

I do not believe most of the respondents on this thread are sincerely searching for reasons. Unless you mean reasons why it’s not their fault?

If your kid is overweight he’s eating too much. You can talk about chemicals and sports and medications and ultra processed versus organics until the cows come home, but if you’re avoiding looking at the actual number of calories consumed it’s most likely because you KNOW your kid is just eating too much.

Wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are so many population-level annd environmental factors at play and it’s a vicious cycle.

While the government needs to do more, there is an element of personal responsibility too. Parents used to spend more of their free time cooking but now they spend it on Insta or TikTok because the take out / packaged food is “good enough”. Only those who prioritize nutrition make the effort. Cooking and eating at home 5-6 days a week needs to be more normalized.

+1. People need to cook at home, mostly from scratch. It almost doesn’t even matter what you cook, as long as it isn’t super processed. It doesn’t need to be organic or vegetarian or dairy free. My rule of thumb is that if my mom or grandma wouldn’t make it or eat it, then I won’t either.

+2. These 2 posts and other ones like it are most of the answer.

My grandma literally suspended canned meat in green jello.

Were she and her kids overweight?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are so many population-level annd environmental factors at play and it’s a vicious cycle.

While the government needs to do more, there is an element of personal responsibility too. Parents used to spend more of their free time cooking but now they spend it on Insta or TikTok because the take out / packaged food is “good enough”. Only those who prioritize nutrition make the effort. Cooking and eating at home 5-6 days a week needs to be more normalized.

AND we need to look at why people who do cook at home and are health obsessed STILL have kids who are overweight due to environmental factors messing with the gut and metabolism, particularly plastics and medications.

Never seen this. This is very uncommon.

+1. I can't think of a family like this either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have two kids, one has always been slim despite eating a ton (and she’s a girl), and the other (a boy) packed on a ton of weight between ages 9-12 and finally is slimming down by 14. Both kids eat healthy foods, not picky, we don’t drink soda or eat out a lot. His metabolism is just more like mine (sorry, son).

Some of his friends pound soda and spend all their money eating junk at the snack bar all summer and after school and are stick thin. He’s my kid who happily snacks on cucumbers after school.

You can judge all you want, but you have zero clue how everyone is actually eating.

No, we don't know how everyone is eating. We do know there is no obesity in POW camps, so it definitely is linked to eating, no matter what you believe about genetics.

It’s obviously calories in calories out, because of physics, but how many calories actually go out is incredibly complicated because the metabolism is not an engine. And how many calories go in depends on large powder on how hungry the kid is, which owes a great deal to hormones, not just activity level. All of these things can be influenced by genetics (though they’re definitely not entirely heritable — one reason physical activity is healthy is because it can alter those hormone levels even if it doesn’t burn a lot of calories.)

Its obviously part of the equation but its not a 1+1=2 when insulin resistance and other factors come into play. What lowers one persons response to glucose wont reduce anothers. Some people respond best to weights others to walking. I have to track my sugars and walking for 20min after every meal has insignificant reduction but weight training for 20-30 min 1x causes a 16-18-hour reduction across the board when compared to the same meals in a previous day where I didnt weight train.

But I would have never known that if I didnt have to track and record and look at data.

And obese children are already on the path of an impaired metabolism and glucose response. Which is why it's a concern, rather than "fat-shaming".

Chicken and egg.

[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:This thread is off the rails. It was answered early on that we have many environmental factors disrupting our endocrine systems nowadays. People are more interested in touting their virtue and ability to cook wholesome meals at any budget.

+1

Wholesome meals are nice but they, or their lack, aren't the reason that some kids are skinny and some kids are thick. It's partly genetics and food abundance (or a coping mechanism for abuse) but it's mostly an endocrine/metabolism issue caused by environmental factors, particularly pervasive antibiotics but also microplastics and probably others.

Agree and also, trauma and stress are huge determinants.

Holy cow you people are insane, no wonder we have the obesity epidemic we do. No, the average overweight elementary-aged kid has not been exposed to enough trauma, abuse, or “endocrine disrupters” in their 8 short years to cause their obesity. It’s the parents. Clearly! As evidenced by this thread.

Endocrine disrupters are everywhere. But the solution is the same (clean diet, minimize exposure generally).

Find me a study that endocrine disrupters are the cause of an entire very recent and new generation of childhood obesity. No one is denying they’re real, you are however vastly vastly overstating their impacts on children in an attempt to…what? Reduce your culpability as a parent? Shameful

I'm not sure why, except that you're so convinced of your own parental superiority, that you think every poster suggesting factors that may contribute to the obesity epidemic has overweight kids?

Pretty sure I'm not the only one who doesn't. But I hope your rants about "culpability" are making you feel better?

Any posters without overweight kids who are nevertheless coming up with these absurd excuses are most likely your typical disingenuous virtue-signalers.

As opposed to, you know, scientists.

I am a scientist. With an understanding of statistics and uncertainty analysis. Many of you are concentrating on the variables that are essentially in the noise and ignoring the glaringly obvious variable (which is clearly the overall number of calories consumed).

No, calories are obvious. But why are kids consuming more calories now? Bigger bodies need more calories, but which came first, the bigger body needing more calories or the more calories growing the body bigger? When and why does it start? These questions, this is called science. Asking questions and looking for answers, that may or may not fit with what you might be expecting. (Doesn't sound like you're curious about this. That's fine, you don't have to be. Other people are. But you don't have to denigrate the investigation. Just leave it to others.)

DP but are you drunk or something at 10 in the morning? LOL at now coming up with “bigger bodies” - you have blamed everything (trauma, abuse, endocrine disrupters, hormones, antibiotics, BIGGER BODIES!) imaginable other than you know, basic nutrition. The CDC growth chart has literally never changed since its inception. Kids are bigger and fatter because you’re feeding them wrong. This does not require deep science, but it’s there for morons like you.

And what about the kids who aren't fed wrong who are also becoming overweight? If we just keep denying this problem, there will never be a solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are so many population-level annd environmental factors at play and it’s a vicious cycle.

While the government needs to do more, there is an element of personal responsibility too. Parents used to spend more of their free time cooking but now they spend it on Insta or TikTok because the take out / packaged food is “good enough”. Only those who prioritize nutrition make the effort. Cooking and eating at home 5-6 days a week needs to be more normalized.

AND we need to look at why people who do cook at home and are health obsessed STILL have kids who are overweight due to environmental factors messing with the gut and metabolism, particularly plastics and medications.

Never seen this. This is very uncommon.

+1. I can't think of a family like this either.

NP: I know several families like this actually. Almost always, one or both parents are genetically prone to be heavier or have a history or being overweight (and often are working very hard to fight genes, often with good success)…yet have passed those genes to their child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are so many population-level annd environmental factors at play and it’s a vicious cycle.

While the government needs to do more, there is an element of personal responsibility too. Parents used to spend more of their free time cooking but now they spend it on Insta or TikTok because the take out / packaged food is “good enough”. Only those who prioritize nutrition make the effort. Cooking and eating at home 5-6 days a week needs to be more normalized.

AND we need to look at why people who do cook at home and are health obsessed STILL have kids who are overweight due to environmental factors messing with the gut and metabolism, particularly plastics and medications.

Never seen this. This is very uncommon.

+1. I can't think of a family like this either.

NP: I know several families like this actually. Almost always, one or both parents are genetically prone to be heavier or have a history or being overweight (and often are working very hard to fight genes, often with good success)…yet have passed those genes to their child.

Yes of course. I thought we were talking about families where this wasn't the case. I know plenty of families where the parents are not overweight (and weren't) but the kids are and it's due to diet and lifestyle.