Are Parent's Really To Blame?

[LadyKay]

Alright I've been thinking again. I hear a lot about how kids today are too fat and who is to be blamed! While I agree that parents should take responsibility and think about what foods they are bringing into the household. And take a look at how many hrs a day they allow their kid to spend sitting on their butts watching tv or playing video games instead of doing something physical. I do wonder though if a parent happens to have a fat kid, is it really, truly the parent's fault. The reason I ask this is because I come from a very large extended family of aunts, uncles and many many cousins. Taking a look at my extended family I have cousins who are in the same family and one of them will be fat and one of them will be skinny. The same goes for my friends and their brothers and sister. I had a friend in high school who was very much over weight. Her sister though was very slim and skinny. Looking at this is seem to me that if the parents were fully to blame for having a fat kid, wouldn't all the kids in the family be fat? While I have seen whole families were the mother, father and all the kids are really overweight. I ask the question is is really because of how they live, or is it just that some kids inherit something that makes them put on the pounds while other kids do not. So anyway that is what I have been thinking about. Any thoughts?

[candyman]

I think the issue is far more complicated than anyone really thinks about. I am skinny and can really eat whatever the hell I want without gaining anything at all. I have been about 140lbs for years now with only minor fluctuations. However, my sister and most of my cousins can't do that...they gain weight quickly and both of my cousins went from abs to giant beer guts in under a year. One of them has parents that strictly maintain their diets and had him eating very healthy until he was of age to make his own decisions...then he started gaining weight.

I think this has to be a case by case thing...WAY too many factors are involved in this.

[Destroit]

Sometimes it's not always just parenting, it can also be genetics. I'm not the type at all to solely blame genetics, only because I know that is a slippery slope that will take the blame off of the individual (as few who are overweight/obese have an actual documented medical reason), but I will say that it does create a struggle for some people. My cousin Trisha, for instance, is one of those stupid lucky cunts people like me want to strangle because she could hit up a buffet five times a week and still be as thick around as my thigh. My metabolism is fairly decent for a female, I can actually eat a pretty hefty amount and still maintain a somewhat decent weight, and if I stick to an hour of cardio a day I can eat almost as much as I want like my cousin. My Boshy (mom) on the other hand would probably have to run on a treadmill for a week just to work off a milkshake.

Although some struggle more than others, unless you have a valid excuse though as to why you CAN'T lose weight, at that point you really only have yourself to blame, or I suppose parents/guardians if you're still a child.

Sometimes it's not always just parenting, it can also be genetics. I'm not the type at all to solely blame genetics, only because I know that is a slippery slope that will take the blame off of the individual (as few who are overweight/obese have an actual documented medical reason), but I will say that it does create a struggle for some people. My cousin Trisha, for instance, is one of those stupid lucky cunts people like me want to strangle because she could hit up a buffet five times a week and still be as thick around as my thigh. My metabolism is fairly decent for a female, I can actually eat a pretty hefty amount and still maintain a somewhat decent weight, and if I stick to an hour of cardio a day I can eat almost as much as I want like my cousin. My Boshy (mom) on the other hand would probably have to run on a treadmill for a week just to work off a milkshake.

Although some struggle more than others, unless you have a valid excuse though as to why you CAN'T lose weight, at that point you really only have yourself to blame, or I suppose parents/guardians if you're still a child.

Edited May 12, 2011 by Chernobyl

[Glory13666]

It's a combination of a lot of things like others have said. I was always overweight as a kid but my brothers and sisters were always super skinny. We all ate the same crap that our mother fed us and were not encouraged to get exercise. When I think about all of the sweets and junk available in my house as a child I think, no wonder I was fat. However, why weren't my sisters and brother. I think it's simply because they had less of an appetite than I did and didn't eat much at all. They have actually gained a lot weight in their adulthood because their metabolisms have slowed down but their eating habits haven't. I have done the opposite, I eat well and exercise and am in better shape than they are.

With my own kid, I've noticed over the years since I started bringing only healthy things in the house and signing her up for sports, she has automatically thinned out drastically without any effort what so ever. Genetically, she has the same huge appetite that her father and I have and would be extremely obese if there were cookies, chips and pop here to eat instead of apples, yogurt and skim milk.

[KatRN05]

I think parenting is part of the problem. Genetics and medical issues is the other. I think if parents set a better example by keeping healthier snacks in the house, encouraging more physical activity and limiting the amount of time a kid spends in front of a t.v. or computer, childhood obesity would be at a lower rate. But that probably only works when a kid is young, once they get into their teens they make their own decisions about their activity level and food choices.

[Destroit]

With my own kid, I've noticed over the years since I started bringing only healthy things in the house and signing her up for sports, she has automatically thinned out drastically without any effort what so ever. Genetically, she has the same huge appetite that her father and I have and would be extremely obese if there were cookies, chips and pop here to eat instead of apples, yogurt and skim milk.

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[taysteewonderbunny]

In my house, I was always pudgier than was my brother who was a very lanky and normal weight boy. It had as much to do with our different personalities (and corresponding activity levels) as it did our home environment. Would I have been thinner if my parents didn't keep junk food in the house, stressed the importance of and positively rewarded daily active play? Probably. But I still would have food issues. I was sedentary, clumsy, withdrawn, and socially retarded. I was also a sugar addict. My brother had as many, if not more--seeing as he was often at friends' houses where access to sugar may have been plentiful--chances to eat junk as I did, but he didn't have the taste for it. Really. My Halloween candy was gone two weeks shy of Thanksgiving; he'd cry because he hadn't eaten all of his Halloween candy by Easter and it was too stale to eat then. There's video of us at Christmas '78. I'm two and just walking, but I'm going around the party stealing sips from the adults' pop cans when they aren't looking. Nolan's not quite a year old, but hates the icing my mom gave him a taste of. Lucky bastard.

[*Siren*]

Some kids will always be overweight no matter what, however this is not the majority. Childhood obesity rates have nearly tripled in the last 25 years, and I seriously doubt that we have developed a magical fat jean out of nowhere. When I compare my own childhood in the 80's to the lifestyles of kids today, here is what I see:

Then: If I craved social interaction, a walked down the street, knocked on a friend's door and asked little Suzy's mother if she could come out and play.

Now: Kids pick up their cell phones and text their friends.

Then: McDonald's was a treat that you were lucky to get once every couple of months.

Now: McDonald's has become a dietary staple for far too many families.

Then: Not being allowed to go outside and play was considered a punishment.

Now: Going outside is a punishment.

Then: People took their kids to the playground, threw a ball around in the yard and took their kids ice skating.

Now: Parents turn on the tv.

Then: Snow meant tobogganing and snowball fights.

Now: Snow means more tv.

Then: When kids got together they went for bike rides, played tag, jumped rope and went to the park. Video games were for rainy days, and only if my mother wouldn't let me go splash around in the puddles.

Now: Kids rarely get together and when they do, they play video games.

Get the idea?

Some kids are overweight purely due to genetics or medical conditions, but in many cases the lifestyles of the parents as well as the child play an important role. My advice? If your kids are obese, take a look at what you feed them and how much exercise they get before you put 100% of the blame on their gene pool. If you serve healthy meals most of the time and encourage them to lead an active lifestyle, the problem isn't you. If you feed them mainly garbage and encourage a sedentary lifestyle, then you may want to consider making some changes.

[Class-Punk]

I was skinny when I was little because I drank milk

and I ran,

I ran so far away.

I just ran,

I ran all night and day.

[LadyKay]

[My kid not fat! He's just big bone! LOL

[Destroit]

I'm the biggest compulsive eater I know. I have actually a VERY low threshold when it comes to ANY vices, addictions, or anything simply pleasurable to to me. Needless to say I was chunky as a kid and into my adulthood, but I was also raised by a SNES, so there you go. We also got fast food a bit more than once a month and wasn't fully sure how nutrition worked or why that stuff was making me fat until I was into junior high at least, and even then I was filled with a lot of old wive's tales and misconceptions about how to eat and diet right.

I lost the weight in my 20s when I FINALLY got in gear motivationally and had the know how. Gained some of it back during a stressful four year span, but have been getting it back off now that my life and finances are in order. Now I'm ABLE to have extremely strict personal self-control, when I choose to, it just took me until I was in my 20s to realize that I'm able to control myself.

I was a victim of the 1990s, honestly . But in the end, as an adult, I only have myself to blame. As a child? My Boshy TRIED to get me to be active, it was just like I had a penchant for trying to be as lazy as I could be. She'd send me outside to play...and I'd end up at my best friend's house eating 2-3 packs of Ramen noodles with her EACH (and we were 9) then sitting around and playing video games in her living room. Boshy'd make me a solid meal that was nutrition, but then when she wasn't around I'd sneak anything I could out of the fridge. I do think maybe she could have been more strict about eating and being active, but she was trying to do her best and was overwhelmed a lot having to raise me by herself, but in the end I DID know, in kid's terms, that eating TOO much (wasn't sure of what though) and sitting around was bad.

Edited June 8, 2011 by Chernobyl