Hope I dont open a can of worms here... This week I read a interesting story in a magazine about a parent who's child is 10yrs old and being offered a Gastric Bypass.
She explains that this wasnt always the case and that a small baby was very overweight so he had to have a high caloried diet in order to gain weight. She went on to say that as he got older he would cry for food and say how hungry he was all the time. By time this child was 8yrs old he weighed more than 9st and suffered with numerous ailments. Worse by the time had reached his 10th birthday he was going to school in a wheelchair, weighing in at 13st 11lbs .
His mother also says "In 4 generations of my family we have 19 people who are clinically obese, Williams vast problems were also genetic".
This is the factor that question - Is obesity a genetic disorder? I didnt think so?
So I googled this mother to see what I could find out about her and as it turns out both this boy's parents have had weight loss surgery.
Children's development comes purely from parents and other surrounding influences - having suffering with a weight problem myself I will do everything in my power to stop my daughter becoming overweight. I didnt have overweight parents, in fact both my mother and sister suffered eating disorders so how do you explain that?
It is purely down to lifestyle choice? You choose what you eat and You choose what you feed you family. Feed your children junk - and this is all they will know.
You can read the full article here - http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/07/29/boy-who-was-14st-at-10-years-old-youngest-to-ever-have-weight-loss-operation-115875-21554743/ .
Hope I havent offended anyone with this post, I just felt that this mother was making an excuse as to why her 10yr old son resulted in something as severe as a Gastric Bypass.
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We live in a f*cked up world where some people's staple diet is composed solely of refined carbs and saturated fats, from candy bars to hamburgers, and where fruit & vegetables are considered alien life forms to be avoided at all costs.
ReplyDeleteIt's very sad and I blame on one hand the big food companies that market us crap from the youngest age and on the other hand lack of education about nutrition.
'Fast food nation' hit the nail on the head. It's sad, but most people are fat because they grew up seeing ads for sweets and fast food on tv and thinking that's what a normal diet is all about.
Gastric surgery solves the symptoms but not the disease. Obviously eating healthily and exercising are the real solution, but how many people who've had gastric surgery actually change their diets and lifestyle? I'm willing to bet most of them continue eating the same crap, just in smaller quantites, and feeding the same crap to their families. So yeah, no doubt even when you've had surgery, your kid has a big chance of growing up obese, eating all the wrong food.
Oops, sorry about the long comment, I obviously feel strongly about this, lol.
It's a strange, touchy subject isn't it?
ReplyDeleteBut one that obviously needs addressing.
Like you, not wanting to offend anyone.....
But, One thing that baffles me....
I have 4 children, all normal healthy birth weights.....one is slightly 'chunkier' that the others....and it worries me.
I watch what he eats, his portion size, his activity.
But how can a parent let their kids get to such a stage where they need surgery?? *baffled look*
The parent controls what goes in the childs mouth at least until they go to senior school, don't they?
At what stage do they stand there and think "humm, this may be an issue" ??
It coffuddles me badly. My lad is 7, he is active, runs about and is healthy, but he's just a little 'thicker set' than the others.
But I am already aware that he may well struggle with his weight like I do.
I am determined to sort that before he has a complex like I had all through my childhood.
Like above commenter, Sara, it's a subject I am passionate about aswell.
I am a teaching assistant and see, first hand, the issues that weight can bring, even at primary age.
i'm with you all on this one. like you say it's our own choice what we eat and (although i'm not a parent) i do believe it is a parent's responsibility to make sure their child is healthy and active.
ReplyDeletelike you've said, there must be a time when they think, hang on i think we need to keep an eye on so-and-so - and that shouldn't be when they're opting for surgery it should be before that!!
i know i'm overweight and always have been, and indeed my parents are both overweight, but i dont think it's genetic. i dont blame them but looking back to my childhood they could have made healthier choice. similarly, once i was at an independent age I should have made better choices too but didn't - and that's MY fault and no one else's.
it does 'bug' me when i see REALLY overweight people - like not even the biggest we have on the WW forums, but majorly overweight! and overweight children - like i said before why did they never say at some point, 'i need to do something'. that's why we're all here and doing WW and i see it as a no brainer really! and i think there's no excuse for getting so big or allowing your children to get so big which is why i'm doing something now so that if/when i do have children, i can set good examples for them.
sorry, long comment! great issue to be raised though :) xxx