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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - British researchers who tried to show why overweight mothers tend to have overweight children said on Monday they had filled in one small piece of the puzzle.
Are fat moms to blame for fat kids? Answer unclear - Yahoo! News (broken link)
Or genetics. I'm fat and the last time I ate crap was when I was on a road trip in middle school and that was all that was available. My whole dad's side of the family is large and they eat very healthy- celiac disease and insulin resistance makes weight issues prevalent regardless of what we eat.
Have you ever noticed, that for whatever reason (bad eating habits, genetic reasons) overweight kids have at least one overweight parent? I noticed that when I was a kid- it was like you could predict what a child's parents would look like, cause a truly obese child would always (and I never saw an exception to this) have at least once parent who was also obese (not just plump or a little overweight).
So I thought - even as a child - it was either something inherited or the way the family ate (or in some cases - both factors).
As an adult, I have looked around and it seems to still hold true - if I see an overweight child . . . there is almost always an overweight parent.
I also have noticed that usually, very active families do not have overweight parents or kids.
I myself have put on weight since there are no kids at home . . . and feel that even tho my diet has not changed, my activity level has. I was much much more active when I had kids at home.
I have a friend who is morbidly obese. Her father died early due to complications of his obesity, and she lost a lot of weight after his death, but then put it back on. She has 2 kids and the oldest went off to college and blew up to a size that shocked me last time I saw her.
Back to the mother, she seems to have a very addictive, unhealthy relationship with food. She's told me that when she's upset, she'll start hitting drive throughs. She also has always forced her kids to eat everything on their plate when eating out, and even took the remainder of my food last time I ate out with her because she couldn't stand the thought of me not finishing what was too much food for me.
I would imagine there's something genetic going on with her (her mother and sister are thin, father was big) but it seems to be combined with poor eating habits and an addiction. This seems to be passed on to her kids too.
Most people with weight problems simply take in too many calories compared to what they burn. A few can point to medical reasons as the cause of their weight, but the percentage of those is relatively small compared to the ones that simply cannot push away from the table.
Fat parents breed fat kids. If the adult cannot control what they put in their mouth, or does not choose to stock the house with healthful food, how can the children fare any better?
Yes, fat parents are to blame for their fat children.
In general as well, Americans don't like to exercise. And it's setting a horrible example to the children who seem to get lazier and lazier.
Lives are busy these days with often times two working parents who come home, juggle the kids, get dinner, etc. and use the excuse that there is just never any time for exercise. Women are especially martyrs in this area. They put everyone and everything else first. But in the long run, a happy, healthy mom who can get in at least 30 minutes to herself for some sort of exercise, will benefit the WHOLE family.
I have a very good friend who has 5 children ages ranging from 12 to 2. We've talked about this and she makes it a point to get in her exercise every day. She says the older she gets, the more she needs it to relieve stress, control emotions, and is helping her get through menopause. She manages to find the time - don't know how, but she does.
For many, without a doubt, food is an addiction. But that's not an excuse. People need to get up and get moving.
Fat parents are usually always to blame for fat children. They set the example by instilling poor eating and dietary habits to thier kids.
Lazy parents can be blamed as well. These are the parents who instead of preparing a wholesome meal for their kids, prefer to head to McDonalds for instand Happy Meals for the kids.
Fast food places in general are ughhh...gross to me. If we have to go to one because we are traveling or something, we always go to subway.
Those commercials for I think Carl's Jrs or something along those lines are repulsive - people shoving those big sloppy burgers in their face and then shoving fries in before they've even chewed the burger. I guess it's suppose to be appealing......
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