WTF is up with all the obese kids in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have actually noticed that lots of the white teen girls I see at Tysons are actually quite chunky these days and they don't seem to mind. They are wearing skin tight clothes and short shorts in the summer so I was thinking that the mind shift had started to change and amongst kids there was more "chubby acceptance"

I agree. I'm the PP that posted how obesity crosses racial/socioeconomic lines. I see obese kids of all races and backgrounds at my diverse neighborhood school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do the people talking about 'food deserts' and obese people as 'victims' of poverty really think they are doing anyone a favor. By victimizing obese people, it's almost like you're saying they're hopeless. If you're poor, it's inevitable that you will he fat and diabetic. Is that the message that you're trying to send? Let the parents off the hook because they're poor, single moms?

No, I don't think that's what people are saying. I for one think systemic change is in order. We need to help make change happen. We can't just continue to demonize fat people as lazy and irresponsible. There's so much more to it. A good example is some WIC programs have vouchers that are worth 1.5 times their value if recipients bring them to farmer's markets. Innovative programs, like community gardening, nutrition education, etc. need to be made a priority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
A good example is some WIC programs have vouchers that are worth 1.5 times their value if recipients bring them to farmer's markets.

That is a FANTASTIC idea. A win, win for everybody.

I don't think we're trying to demonize fat people. I think it's a matter of personal responsibility. You're not fat because you're poor. You're fAt because you make poor choices.

It's a disservice to say 'You're fat because you're poor.'. That make people think they have no control obey their obesity. Yes, I know there can be medical reasons for obesity, so I am not talking about those people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

God you sound like a patronizing, smug ass. You really embody the worst of the chattering classes. You "actually know personally several people in the District who live like this" ? I'm sure they feel sorry that they know you. "Little wire cart" ? You've obviously never used one. Do you just tell people what to do based on your warped observation? It's obviously not from real life experience. You make me sick.

sorry you feel that way, sweetie. seriously, don't you have a quiz to study for? so you can eventually graduate and get out there and get some real life experience that's not paid for by your parents or a stipend?

I do have my own little wire cart, and I recommend one for you once you graduate and move to your own suitably sustainable community that is within walking / transit distance from stores. xoxo

Yeah, there are lots of "sustainable" communities for poor people in DC. Did you not forget that access to decent stores was how we got here to begin with?

[Anonymous]

Yeah, there are lots of "sustainable" communities for poor people in DC. Did you not forget that access to decent stores was how we got here to begin with?

Really? then why are all the moms and children I see in Columbia Hts. / Mt. Pleasant fat? They have "access" up the wazoo to Target (10 pm) Harris Teeter (11 p.m.) and I think a Safeway too. Plus some of the best farmers markets in the city (MtP).

Yet they all look like bowling balls, and their toddlers are sucking red liquid from bottles. Hm. Is someone chaining up the lettuce and dried beans so as to keep it away from these women and kids?

[Anonymous]

I was a single mom for 10 years before I remarried. I lived in DC with my son (5 yrs old when we moved) in a small apt for 5 years before meeting my second DH. We cooked at home, walked everywhere, learned to love the metro, used a cart for groceries and made it fun. I dont buy the single mom excuse card at all. Kids mimick you when you eat or cook so why is it that now being single or living on a smaller wage is an excuse to teach them things that will inevitably harm their health? I know we all do the best we can do but we also need to prioritize better. I have a hard time believing that a single mom who excuses herself from modeling good nutrition for her kids would change her ways once she was no longer single or living with a larger salary. I know dual income families that feed their kids crap and they dont have a problem with resources - so to me, this is not a marital status or income issue. This is a complacency issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a single mom for 10 years before I remarried. I lived in DC with my son (5 yrs old when we moved) in a small apt for 5 years before meeting my second DH. We cooked at home, walked everywhere, learned to love the metro, used a cart for groceries and made it fun. I dont buy the single mom excuse card at all. Kids mimick you when you eat or cook so why is it that now being single or living on a smaller wage is an excuse to teach them things that will inevitably harm their health? I know we all do the best we can do but we also need to prioritize better. I have a hard time believing that a single mom who excuses herself from modeling good nutrition for her kids would change her ways once she was no longer single or living with a larger salary. I know dual income families that feed their kids crap and they dont have a problem with resources - so to me, this is not a marital status or income issue. This is a complacency issue.

What's your level of formal education? No snark, just curious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a single mom for 10 years before I remarried. I lived in DC with my son (5 yrs old when we moved) in a small apt for 5 years before meeting my second DH. We cooked at home, walked everywhere, learned to love the metro, used a cart for groceries and made it fun. I dont buy the single mom excuse card at all. Kids mimick you when you eat or cook so why is it that now being single or living on a smaller wage is an excuse to teach them things that will inevitably harm their health? I know we all do the best we can do but we also need to prioritize better. I have a hard time believing that a single mom who excuses herself from modeling good nutrition for her kids would change her ways once she was no longer single or living with a larger salary. I know dual income families that feed their kids crap and they dont have a problem with resources - so to me, this is not a marital status or income issue. This is a complacency issue.

You obviously speak English and know how to get around.

That is not always the case for many single mothers of the students I teach. Furthermore, I, too, would like to know your education level.

Being a single mother is not the same as being a victim; I agree. However, you must realize that you have advantages over many single moms.

[Anonymous]

I agree. There are single moms in this city who have high levels of education and value that for their kids over many other things. They will move mountains to make sure their children receive a fabulous education. They also tend to make a high income. I don't think you can compare these single mothers to the ones who receive public assistance or with lo levels of education who work multiple jobs to make ends meet. It's apples and oranges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was a single mom for 10 years before I remarried. I lived in DC with my son (5 yrs old when we moved) in a small apt for 5 years before meeting my second DH. We cooked at home, walked everywhere, learned to love the metro, used a cart for groceries and made it fun. I dont buy the single mom excuse card at all. Kids mimick you when you eat or cook so why is it that now being single or living on a smaller wage is an excuse to teach them things that will inevitably harm their health? I know we all do the best we can do but we also need to prioritize better. I have a hard time believing that a single mom who excuses herself from modeling good nutrition for her kids would change her ways once she was no longer single or living with a larger salary. I know dual income families that feed their kids crap and they dont have a problem with resources - so to me, this is not a marital status or income issue. This is a complacency issue.

You obviously speak English and know how to get around.

That is not always the case for many single mothers of the students I teach. Furthermore, I, too, would like to know your education level.

Being a single mother is not the same as being a victim; I agree. However, you must realize that you have advantages over many single moms.

I'm also a teacher in Columbia Heights. I teach Pre-K. The children in my classroom have parents who speak primarily Spanish. The parents are first immigration immigrants, and I know for a fact that some of them don't have legal papers. I also have parents who speak Arabic and Farsi. I speak Spanish so I can communicate verbally with my parents, but it was a rude awakening for me to realize that some of them don't know how to read. Never mind English; they don't know how to read Spanish! The written word means very little or nothing to them. Somehow I doubt whether they are obsessing over whether the label on the fruit cocktail bottle says "high fructose corn syrup" or whether there are trans-fats in the crackers.

Our program serves three meals a day and the food is very healthy. Half of it goes in the trash because the kids won't eat it (like asparagus, boiled spinach, blanched green beans, etc); I doubt this fact, however, is very different from other schools. I hope that my parents are feeding their children healthy native foods at home like beans, plantains, and tortillas, but I don't know if this is the reality for many of them. I think the quick option is the hot dog cart or Five Guys. Fortunately we have a huge enclosed playground so the kids get to really run at outdoor time.

[Anonymous]

Oops... above I mean "first generation." Sorry.

[Anonymous]

This has to be the only country in the world where we make a relationship between economic and social hardship and gluttony.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This has to be the only country in the world where we make a relationship between economic and social hardship and gluttony.

It is not about glutony and personally, I don't think it is about economics and social hardship in a strict sense either. However, I do thinks that mostly it has to do with ignorance. The more well educated people are, odds are they are more aware of the importance of nutritious meals, modeling and shaping their children's food habits since a young age, reading labels, etc.

Usually, the level of education of a person is directly correlated with their wealth but you can have people that are very rich but really ignorant about food and nutrition and the opposite as well. People that are very well educated and informed but for a variety of reasons don't make much money or even live in poverty - they are still likely to make better food choices.

[Anonymous]

This thread is insanely depressing. I like to pretend there are not people as ignorant and cold hearted as some of you clearly are.

[Anonymous]

Last time I checked Giant, Safeway, Harris Teeter, Food Lion, and all various other iterations of grocery stores carry canned vegetables for under a dollar a can so yeah I think even on food stamps, WIC, etc that one can healthy if they choose.