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. I'd like to blame the thyroid disorder, but if I'm going to be honest with myself, I can't. Whenever I've gained weight at any point in my life, pre or post thyroid diagnosis, it's because I'm overeating.
Me too Lucy. I'm not big, but I know when I'm eating too much. I can't blame it on the thyroid. I would love too, tho.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kaykay
No, I don't judge the parents. I think the causes of obesity are not as simplistic as many believe. Therefore, I think there are some factors within a parent's control and some factors outside it. Parents can of course, encourage good eating habits, encouraging the child to pursue an active lifestyle, etc. but I think controlling someone else's weight, even that of child is often not as easy as it might appear. (Before we "judge," as with many things, it might be helpful to have walked in that parent's shoes for awhile.)
Agree. To answer the question, nope I don't judge other people's weight--and that includes parents or their children. And when I do see the bigger kids at the pool, or riding their bike, or playing sports I do everything in my power to encourage that healthy behavior. I don't know a single parent who either wants to be overweight or have an overweight child. We should be supporting each other instead of judging. Incidentally, my children are "normal" weight. Whatever that means.
Yes, I judge the fat kid and parent. The parents see their kid is overweight. You see these parents and the kid sliding around with chips and soda in hand.
I'm not sure on the born obese theory. I have seen children resemble their parents and they're big in the same areas. It looks like a smaller vision of the parent. It could be some truth in it.
My cousin is overweight. She's trying hard to keep the weight off. My family are thin people. My cousin favor her father's side. His family is big or obese. When she was younger, my aunt told her to watch your eating habits. You have your father's genes.
You know it isn't really the way you portray it. I have three kids. I keep NO JUNK in the house. They are all really different body types. The thinnest child is the biggest eater.
DS#1-16 years old. 5'7", 150 lb. He is a gym rat and looks great. He is heavy, but very very muscular. Very fit child. He eats his share of cheeseburgers but doesn't really eat chips or candy.
DS#2-14 years old. 5'9", 125 lb. SO SKINNY. He eats like a pig and does not do lots of exercise. Plays piano, drums, saxophone. He eats all the time and never seems to get full.
DS#3-11 years old. 4'11'', 113 lb (down from 117). Very chubby. Plays football, lacrosse. Active. Likes food but eats healthy. Eats little junk food. He needs to get to 110 to play football on the 110 lb team. His goal is to get to 105. I feel bad for him. It's not like this child sits on his butt all day every day and eats nothing but Doritos. He plays sports all the time (he's outside now) eats salad while his brothers eat burgers and he's still pretty chubby.
I'm guilty of judging if I see obese parents eating junk with equally obese children. But, I have two sisters with thyroid issues, and my heart breaks for them. Even with medication, and careful diets, they will never be thin.
I have three sons. The oldest and youngest are physically perfect specimens of muscle. The middle one needed medication for a tic disorder while he was in elementary school, and the weight piled on. He was so proud of himself for losing 10 pounds this summer, but he will probably never be an ideal weight. Because of him, I am much more aware that weight is sometimes NOT something people can control.
I'm the one in my family who could stand to lose some weight. And I'm working very hard at doing just that. But it is hard - and I'm an adult. Losing just 1 pound a week means cutting out or exercising off 3500 calories a week or an average of 500 calories a day. To lose 2 pounds a week, that means cutting out/burning off 7000 calories a week or 1000 calories a day. I'm making progress though (yay!) and am determined to keep it up.
I feel for kids (and adults) who are struggling with weight issues, it's no fun.
And I do worry somewhat about the way I might be judged by "society" or, worse, that being an overweight mom might reflect negatively on my children - "They come from a fat mother," etc. Ugh. All the more reason to get this weight off and keep it off.
Last edited by springfieldva; 07-30-2010 at 03:52 PM..
You know it isn't really the way you portray it. I have three kids. I keep NO JUNK in the house. They are all really different body types. The thinnest child is the biggest eater.
DS#1-16 years old. 5'7", 150 lb. He is a gym rat and looks great. He is heavy, but very very muscular. Very fit child. He eats his share of cheeseburgers but doesn't really eat chips or candy.
DS#2-14 years old. 5'9", 125 lb. SO SKINNY. He eats like a pig and does not do lots of exercise. Plays piano, drums, saxophone. He eats all the time and never seems to get full.
DS#3-11 years old. 4'11'', 113 lb (down from 117). Very chubby. Plays football, lacrosse. Active. Likes food but eats healthy. Eats little junk food. He needs to get to 110 to play football on the 110 lb team. His goal is to get to 105. I feel bad for him. It's not like this child sits on his butt all day every day and eats nothing but Doritos. He plays sports all the time (he's outside now) eats salad while his brothers eat burgers and he's still pretty chubby.
I think it all boils down to how efficient a person's body is at storing calories.
Your DS#2 stays thin because he is active and his body is inefficient at storing calories - there are times when he probably consumes more calories than his body needs, but his body does not store those calories as fat.
In comparison to his brothers, DS#3 isn't consuming nearly as much as they do but he is still taking in more calories than his body needs. However, unlike his brothers, his body is an efficient fat storer. He gains weight easily.
I think it all boils down to how efficient a person's body is at storing calories.
Your DS#2 stays thin because he is active and his body is inefficient at storing calories - there are times when he probably consumes more calories than his body needs, but his body does not store those calories as fat.
In comparison to his brothers, DS#3 isn't consuming nearly as much as they do but he is still taking in more calories than his body needs. However, unlike his brothers, his body is an efficient fat storer. He gains weight easily.
I get that. I just get a little upset at those who would say that parents of overweight kids are terrible parents because their kids are overweight. My son is not ENORMOUS, but he is on the chubby side. We are not terrible parents because he struggles with his weight.
I have no problem with "chubbier" kids and I do understand 100% that some people have thyroid problems, their bodies are better at storing fat, etc. But there is such no excuse for THIS type of of obesity.
Agree. To answer the question, nope I don't judge other people's weight--and that includes parents or their children. And when I do see the bigger kids at the pool, or riding their bike, or playing sports I do everything in my power to encourage that healthy behavior. I don't know a single parent who either wants to be overweight or have an overweight child. We should be supporting each other instead of judging. Incidentally, my children are "normal" weight. Whatever that means.
no, but sometimes they don't do anything to control it either. My husband and I and our 2 kids are all thin. Always have been. His mother, step father, sister, and nephew (11yo) are all overweight. When we are all together and you look at how we eat, it isn't difficult to see the difference. I'm sad for my nephew because he hasn't been taught any better. He snacks on junk food all the time.
My thing is that a person doesn't pack on pounds over night. It takes a while to get that way. If I see it happening, I'm going to do something before it becomes a huge problem. Sometimes I look at people and wonder how they let it get that far.
do you think there is a genetic predisposition or do you think it is all environment (when an overweight parent has overweight kids)?
Less than 10% of these people can blame genetics. It's environment and the crap we've been duped into eating.
I work with these families all the time - it's almost 100% bad habits when it comes to the kids. You'll see an exception here and there, but if the parents do it, it usually filters down to the kids, too.
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