Obesity Trend in Preschoolers Stabilizing

14.6% thats almost one in seven children being obese and its quite alarming. I've noticed that many families don't cook proper meals anymore, it all has to be quick and convenient and there lies the problem, most micro-wave meals are loaded with calories, they use unhealthy fats preparing them and they contain far too much salt. It can be done to cook a quick, tasty and healthy meal but it needs some effort. I think its an effort worth to be made.
http://www.womansindex.com

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It would be interesting to know what the "baseline" is for childhood obesity. Let's face it, there have always been obese kids, at least in recorded human history. When I was a kid, most of the obese kids I knew had parents just like mine (in fact, one of my sisters probably qualified as obese, though the other 5 of us were skinny). Different kids come into the world with different appetites, food likes and dislikes, energy levels, eating efficiency, etc. I have one daughter who is quite skinny, and another who would be quite rotund if I wasn't a "militant mama." So I think we should first of all acknowledge that chubbiness isn't purely a matter of parenting.

To the extent it's manageable, part of the problem is societal. For example, the idea that tots need to have a "sippy" of juice at hand all the time is just wrong, and everyone knows it, yet you don't see any reduction in advertising "healthy fruit juice for healthy kids," and every picture that is supposed to represent an ideal toddler life includes a sippy cup. And who came up with the idea that toddler food equates to chicken nuggets? How did that become nearly universal and why is it so difficult to change this? And finally, the general lack of backbone in today's generation of parents is a culprit. If my kids want ice cream or candy, too bad. No. It's not anyone's birthday. Would you rather share an apple or an orange?

Eating healthy vs. unhealthy really isn't about cooking in my opinion. I rarely cook during the summer, and only lightly cook during the winter. We have picnics including whole, organic fruits, vegetables, cheese, nuts, whole grain breads and cereal bars, etc. Or if we eat at home, it's carefully chosen organic boxed or canned foods, fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, whole-grain bread, fat-free milk, etc. Sometimes they have still-frozen cut veggies for a "treat." If we go out to eat, I order a grown-up meal and share it, rather than ordering off the kiddy menu for them. None of this is difficult; it's just a different mindset. To those who think my kids are deprived, I just point out how well they eat and how happy and healthy they are.

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If this posts 3 times it's because PD has some problem going on . . .

It would be interesting to know what the "baseline" is for childhood obesity. Let's face it, there have always been obese kids, at least in recorded human history. When I was a kid, most of the obese kids I knew had parents just like mine (in fact, one of my sisters probably qualified as obese, though the other 5 of us were skinny). Different kids come into the world with different appetites, food likes and dislikes, energy levels, eating efficiency, etc. I have one daughter who is quite skinny, and another who would be quite rotund if I wasn't a "militant mama." So I think we should first of all acknowledge that chubbiness isn't purely a matter of parenting.

To the extent that it's manageable, part of the problem is societal. For example, the idea that tots need to have a "sippy" of juice at hand all the time is just wrong, and everyone knows it, yet you don't see any reduction in advertising "healthy fruit juice for healthy kids," and every picture that is supposed to represent an ideal toddler life includes a sippy cup. And who came up with the idea that toddler food equates to chicken nuggets? How did that become nearly universal and why is it so difficult to change this? And finally, the general lack of backbone in today's generation of parents is a culprit. If my kids want ice cream or candy, too bad. No. It's not anyone's birthday. Would you rather share an apple or an orange?

Eating healthy vs. unhealthy really isn't about cooking in my opinion. I rarely cook during the summer, and only lightly cook during the winter. We have picnics including whole, organic fruits, vegetables, cheese, nuts, whole grain breads and cereal bars, etc. Or if we eat at home, it's carefully chosen organic boxed or canned foods, fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, whole-grain bread, fat-free milk, etc. Sometimes they have still-frozen cut veggies for a "treat." If we go out to eat, I order a grown-up meal and share it, rather than ordering off the kiddy menu for them. None of this is difficult; it's just a different mindset. To those who think my kids are deprived, I just point out how well they eat and how happy and healthy they are.

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My son is going to the first grade and I have to say I don't see ANY obese children in his class of 22 kids. One of the boys I coached on his soccer team can be considered obese but there aren't many children in our area who are obese. That said, I do live in an upper middle class neighborhood in Hawaii (considered a healthy state) and if you walk around the shopping center here your will not see a high percentage of obese people in general.

For the most part (a generalization on my part here) if you look at the parents you will see all that you need to know about the child. If a kid is overweight there is a good chance that it's the lifestyle and nutritional choices of the parents that are the cause. Obese children have large parents a good percentage of the time. The article doesn't mention that people in America in general are becoming more obese. There are those kids that may be overweight and have skinny parents but if you look into the psychology of the parent feeding the child, the weight problem may become apparent. (for some parents, food = love for their children) This article is NOT addressing of that small percentage of children that have a physical ailment (i.e. a glandular disorder) causing obesity and neither am I.

Look to the parent for answers about the kids. If my son was obese (which he is not), I'd look at myself and figure out what I was doing to cause the problem. This would have to include MY eating habits, MY lifestyle (things I do in my spare time) and how I am feeding my child.

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I'll start off by saying that yes, we need to have our kids eat better and healthier. There is something to the body type/genetics link. Out of the gate, my daugter as been in the 90% percentile for weight (as a 8lb 7oz newborn). She was breastfed exclusively for 6 months and supplementally until she was 1. She's stayed on that trajectory up until her last appointment at 2 years old where she is now around 35 lbs and 36 or so inches. My pediatrician says that on the "chart" she is considered obese. We asked him what to do differently and he said nothing. She eats the same things that my older son does (plenty of veggies and fruits, water and skim milk only - no juice, limited sweets and fast food, etc). She will thin out, in fact she is already starting to. But I guess she would be one of the problem children mentioned in this study. Ages two to four is awfully young to label kids.

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