Low priority but still a concern: my kids are going to gain weight
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Anonymous
No, I’m just realistic. I send my kids out for an hour daily to bike ride and we take neighborhood walks. I don’t have time to also persuade them to do “dance parties.” Free weights or squeezing in jump rope sessions are better ideas. Anyway, my point was that during this time of inactivity, American kids will just have to slightly moderate their food intake to beat the chub. |
Anonymous
For real. My boys are putting away SO much food because they're active from 8am-5pm. I'm worried about feeding them! |
Anonymous
| Now is a good time to self reflect and think about what habits you want to create and what you want to break when it comes to health. I want to keep my kids from the doctors office as much as possible so doctors can focus on pandemic victims. That means keeping junk food out of the house, insisting on exercise, and good mental health. |
Anonymous
OP’s kids aren’t going to become obese enough in this interval to compromise their health outcomes from coronavirus. So if that is what she is worried about, she should just be reassured and no need for all the shared angst. |
Anonymous
| My kids address outside almost all day lately |
Anonymous
*play, not address |
Anonymous
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My kids are naturally slim and I'm finding that they just are eating less since they are slightly less active, but I know I've gained weight and that's because I'm bored snacking. So if you have kids that tend to do that, just set them up on a schedule and don't let them eat outside of that unless its from a limited plate of cut veggies or something. You can frame it as a budgeting thing, or a "lets not make more trips to the store" and not a weight thing.
As for being active, mine are learning to skateboard, and I also bought them Just Dance which they like to play. I bought a trampoline but its not here yet. My kids aren't super interested in just "playing outside" without their friends, maybe its an age thing, so having some sort of new thing to do whether thats a pair of new skates, new tree swing, skateboard, basketball hoop etc that they can focus on as a new "skill" helps. |
Anonymous
No, the willingness to allow ourselves and our kids unmitigated access to crappy, processed foods and lack of movement (read: to be fat) - and then at risk with diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular issues, and compromised immune systems is what's unreal. |
Anonymous
No, it's the fat phobia. Thanks for trying, though. |
Anonymous
My teen took up running. Was never a runner. Now running and walking 10+ miles a day. Wish I was as inclined! |
Anonymous
http://www.annclinlabsci.org/content/41/2/107.full https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-consequences/health-effects/ And, specifically related to the current COVID situation, see the following quote (and read the article for information about diabetes and cardiovascular disease): "Obesity and Lung Function/Respiratory Disease Excess weight impairs respiratory function via mechanical and metabolic pathways. The accumulation of abdominal fat, for example, may limit the descent of the diaphragm, and in turn, lung expansion, while the accumulation of visceral fat can reduce the flexibility of the chest wall, sap respiratory muscle strength, and narrow airways in the lungs. (32) Cytokines generated by the low-grade inflammatory state that accompanies obesity may also impede lung function. Asthma and obstructive sleep apnea are two common respiratory diseases that have been linked with obesity. In a meta-analysis of seven prospective studies that included 333,000 subjects, obesity increased the risk of developing asthma in both men and women by 50 percent. (33)" These are EXACTLY the comorbidities that put people "at risk" with this virus, and they are all VERY controllable with diet. Not sure what to tell you, if you don't think that maintaining a healthy weight and immune system through proper nutrition and activity levels is important. But go right ahead with your fat shaming narrative... |
Anonymous
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To anyone who thinks they can't get exercise in a house, I present to you my mother. Granted, she has almost unnatural motivation, but she is 65 years old and lives in a 1-bedroom apartment. Every day she gets in 12,000 steps. She isn't even leaving her apartment. She literally walks laps around the place.
Then she runs stairs, because their building has 11 floors. They have zero exercise equipment in their apartment, but they're making it work. Point is, get creative. There are ways to stay active. |
Anonymous
DP. We're talking about kids who are temporarily prevented from going to PE class or organized sports. A few months of changed routine will not cause obesity, asthma, sleep apnea, and impaired lung function. It's far phobia. |
Anonymous
No... It's people who care about their health and the health of their kids - and setting their kids up with good habits. Not sliding into an eat-because-I'm-bored/don't-exercise-because-I-"can't" habit that then becomes hard to break. People have a phobia about contracting this virus - which can kill them. Why is it that we don't have the same concern with weight gain/overweight/obesity - which can, and does, kill us? |
Anonymous
If only you had control over what was in your house for your kids to eat! |