it makes you wonder

[pumpkin]

why do some parents let their kids pig out on anything and everything and then won't take responsibility for how fat or obese their kid/s are???
i am not talking about the genuine kids out there who have a medical problem but the ones who are just lazy and their parents are just plain lazy to actually feed them proper meals without it being takeaway all the time. it amazes me as there is an increasing am,outnof children from 4 and up who are going to be dead before they reach a certain age due to their lifestyle and their parents lifestyles.

if anyone does not like this topic please do not reply as i am NOT starting a arguement etc and want genuine views. we don't live in wonderland IYKWIM

[bronny-jane]

when i was a kid we rarely had take away, mum cooked for us every night and made breakfast and our lunches, oh and there were 7 kids. we also played alot of sport and rarely watched t.v.

i admit that my kids eat a fair bit of take away, but apparently they are skinny bordering on to skinny:banghead:

they dont stop moving and im cool with that, all they do is dance, fight and run:D

i have seen some children around my 1st dd's age who are over weight and i dont understand how they could be, dd is so active arent all 3 yearolds?

mind you im overweight, but im pg at the moment and will wait till bubs is born before i tackle that.:o

[jarrahsmumma]

Pumpkin I agree with you. I guess some people don't care enough to educate themselves though. McDonalds even markets part of its menu as "Healthy Choices", I am sure people fall for that one. Many people are totally oblivious to the damage their cruddy diet has on their body, and that a diet of processed food and TV is not good for their children. The sad thing is, the children will grow up thinking it as normal, and so the cycle continues.

[mumof03]

We have a treat on the weekends of one take away meal per week. It is a treat for the kids, and a break for me from cooking. I cook my own cakes, biscuits, slices etc to limit the amount of sugar and preservatives, etc that goes into them. My kids are all healthy and very active. They play outdoor sports rather than sit in front of computer games.
I think that is the main problem. There are too many electronic things that take our kids attention. When I was young we ran around outside, rode our bikes etc. Todays children spend most of their time watching pay tv or dvds and playing video games like the playstation, xbox and gameboys while at the same time snacking on chips, lollies, popcorn, chocolate and the likes.
The only way this cycle will be broken is for all parents to instill the values of healthy eating, and exercise into our children. A lot of parents could benefit from the exercise of getting outside and kicking a ball with their kids too. I know I certainly do. It helps me keep my weight down, while also spending quality time with my kids.
I'm not saying being really skinny is healthy, but the average weight of todays children is getting higher and higher and like pumpkin said, if something isn't done soon, our children will be passing away, way before we do.

[Frazzled]

i have seen some children around my 1st dd's age who are over weight and i dont understand how they could be, dd is so active arent all 3 yearolds?

Genetics can have a lot to do with it. I totally agree with the way some children eat and their levels of activity, and the lack of responsibility parents take. But, in some cases their are just some 'unlucky' kids. My 6 year old niece does basketball at school, plays soccer on saturdays and trains twice a week, does dancing, swimming and nippers every week. My sister and b-i-l are very health conscious and they rarely eat take away but my beautiful niece still carries a fair bit of 'puppy fat' and her body weight fluctuates a lot. Unfortunately for her she comes from a family of 'tubbies' and she lives in a society that focuses far too much on body image. In the middle of summer she wears a jumper so people wont see her 'tummy':eek: !!! If thats how society has got kids feeling at six, i am scared.

[mumof03]

Pumpkin I agree with you. I guess some people don't care enough to educate themselves though. McDonalds even markets part of its menu as "Healthy Choices", I am sure people fall for that one. Many people are totally oblivious to the damage their cruddy diet has on their body, and that a diet of processed food and TV is not good for their children. The sad thing is, the children will grow up thinking it as normal, and so the cycle continues.


There was a study done on this a few weeks ago on the Today Tonight program on chanel 7. It proved that McDonalds "healthy choice" meals actually contained more fat than a Big Mac.
Hungry Jacks "healthy choice" meals contained more fat the their Whopper burger.
The healthiest burger of all tested, that contain the least amount of fat was KFCs original chicken fillet burger, complete with mayo.
Now I know why we choose KFC over Maccas anyday. Not even my kids really like Maccas!

[jarrahsmumma]

Interesting. I love hearing information like that. Thanks Mum03.

[Kamaikia]

I totally agree that these days parents are being lazy and selfish when it comes to feeding there children. I know of 2 year olds who are given chocolate and lollies anytime, cans of coke to drink, milo in bottles, you name it. Most of them though are very pale and skinny - too skinny, from lack of a decent feed. Most that I know also have some behaviour problems and aren't the best sleepers. Wonder why???

I think that this takeaway generation is because parents are leading different lives to when we were kids. Many families these days have both parents working, and at the end of the day its alot easier to buy food or heat up frozen meals. I can understand this as I know how hard being a working parent is. The only difference between me and them is I know in the long run if my boy is fed right I will benefit. He will be healthy and well behaved (he tends to go hyper if he has sugar)

It sh*ts me though that I take the time to prepare proper foods - never give sugar or soft drinks or cordials. My son eats takeaway maybe once a month (usually a peice of crumbed fish) yet when people see my big boy who is overweight they say things about what I am feeding him. He is a big boy, big boned and its taking awhile to lose the baby fat. I am happy with his size - I know he is eating a healthy balanced diet. I guess its easy for some to see a big child and assume - something we should never do

[bronny-jane]

Genetics can have a lot to do with it. I totally agree with the way some children eat and their levels of activity, and the lack of responsibility parents take. But, in some cases their are just some 'unlucky' kids. My 6 year old niece does basketball at school, plays soccer on saturdays and trains twice a week, does dancing, swimming and nippers every week. My sister and b-i-l are very health conscious and they rarely eat take away but my beautiful niece still carries a fair bit of 'puppy fat' and her body weight fluctuates a lot. Unfortunately for her she comes from a family of 'tubbies' and she lives in a society that focuses far too much on body image. In the middle of summer she wears a jumper so people wont see her 'tummy':eek: !!! If thats how society has got kids feeling at six, i am scared.

sure i agree about genetics. i dont think theres anything wrong with being chubby, she sounds pretty active. i think its terrible that she wears a jumper in summer, poor girl.:( .

[Elfin]

I think one of the problems is that treats are not treats anymore. By that I mean kids seem to have junk food everyday whether it be lollies, chocolate, chip whatever rather than occasionally. When I was a kid (boy I sound just like my mother here:D ), you had treat very rarely and then it was big deal.

I do think genetics does play a role but I also think that because as parents we are more protective of children they don't tend to run around the street with the neighbourhood kids as much now days. I remember Mum would send me off in the morning, I would come home for lunch and before dark and I would play all over the neighbourhood with the kids in the street. Mum had no idea where we were and what we got up to but that was the way things were back then and it was pretty safe to do that. I have great childhood memories about that.

I also think kids spend more time in front of the tv and playing computer games, we never had time for those things.

[misskittyfantastico]

I think the big problem is that the parents of these children don't know how to be healthy themselves and therefore can't instill healthy habits in their kids. Most of the obese children in Australia have large if not obese parents. It is such a hard cycle to break:thumbsdown:

As for your gorgeous niece bronny, that just breaks my heart:(

[Tam-I-Am]

There was a study done on this a few weeks ago on the Today Tonight program on chanel 7. It proved that McDonalds "healthy choice" meals actually contained more fat than a Big Mac.
Hungry Jacks "healthy choice" meals contained more fat the their Whopper burger.
The healthiest burger of all tested, that contain the least amount of fat was KFCs original chicken fillet burger, complete with mayo.
Now I know why we choose KFC over Maccas anyday. Not even my kids really like Maccas!


I agree with most of what you said here, except that I don't think they portrayed the whole truth. Yes a lot of the "healthier choice" meals at various fast-food places are as fatty or worse than the "normal" menu, but you can pick and choose actualy HEALTHY choices - ie Maccas has 2 healthy choice deli rolls with 10 grams of fat or less - the chilcken tandoori and the thai chicken. They also have several salads (ie herb chicken) that have 10 grams of fat or less. Not advocating maccas or anything, just making you guys aware that there ARE actual real healthy choices at these places - you just have to look hard enough.

I think fast food restaurants are very good at letting you believe what you want to - if they label it "healthy" and it's got some lettuce in it, surely it's healthy - right?!?! LOL

I guess, like the rest of you said, the key is making fatty and sugary foods a treat, and occassional thing that is special. Both DH and I carry a bit of extra weight - mine more because of my pg than anything, his because of years of hard work - drinking beer! LOL

We don't want DD to suffer the same fate, and the thing is, until she's a certain age we have COMPLETE control, and therefore responsibility over what goes in her mouth, and also how much activity she does. I decided a long time ago that when she's of an age to be able to do so (ie school age) she will have to engage in a sport - I don't care what it is, but she'll have to play and train at least 2 times a week, plus I'll make sure we do some physical activity together at least once a day. I hope my bub never has to feel the sting of society's ridicule about being overweight. And I know that until she's old enough to make her own decisions, this is my responsibility.

[JodieC]

Im glad someone finally said something

Im soooooo sick of seeing people on TV whinging about junk food making their kids fat. Heres an idea for them--- "JUST DONT BUY IT", how hard is that, and then their whole arguement is that the kids get upset if they dont get these things, well big whoop they'll get over it.

And they want junk food taken away from everywhere, well why the hell should my kids miss out on an occasional treat because some parents cant say NO. Its not a hard thing to do, i say no to my kids all the time, they get over it, eventually:)

[draught]

The problem is that they suck people in with the healthy choice options "hmm...less than 10 grams of fat" but don't say " but it is loaded with sugar"! Just walking past su-way gives me a sugar rush - the smell of sugar in their bread is soooooo strong!!

I agree - there needs to be education of the whole community. Maccas, KFC, etc are NOT good for kids no matter what their advertising says. Neither are coco pops, chocolate frogs, chips, nuggets, and all those other fat and sugar laden foods. A little bit occasionally as a treat - but regularly? No wonder we have a nation of obese people! (And this coming from someone who is not skinny!)

[mumof03]

I agree with most of what you said here, except that I don't think they portrayed the whole truth. Yes a lot of the "healthier choice" meals at various fast-food places are as fatty or worse than the "normal" menu, but you can pick and choose actualy HEALTHY choices - ie Maccas has 2 healthy choice deli rolls with 10 grams of fat or less - the chilcken tandoori and the thai chicken. They also have several salads (ie herb chicken) that have 10 grams of fat or less. Not advocating maccas or anything, just making you guys aware that there ARE actual real healthy choices at these places - you just have to look hard enough.




Actually, these are the meals I was talking about. The take away companies involved "claimed" their "healthy choice" meals, including the deli rolls, caesar salads etc that are suppose to have less the 10grams of fat, actually contained around 28 grams of fat, compared to the big mac which had 23grams of fat. The Whopper contained 21 grams of fat, compared to their Healthy choice meals that averaged around 26 grams of fat.
I am sure you can get a fact sheet from Today Tonight if you would like to compare the quantities of fat in each meal.
Today Tonight were actually questioning why these companies can claim these meals are a healthier choice with less then 10 grams of fat, when they actually contain more than double. When Today Tonight went to the managers of these companies to speak with them, they said they didn't know anything about the fat content in their meals, and refused to speak to them.
Now that says it all, don't you think.

[drewid]

The trouble with the claims of '10g fat or less' and similar type adverts is that they are referring to the grams of fat PER SERVE. Now, while we all assume that one roll/burger/sub is ONE SERVE, it is in fact, more like 2 or 3 serves. So while 10g fat might be in 1/3 of the burger, there is in fact 30g in the ENTIRE burger. IYKWIM.

How many people read the fine print of g/serve compared to g/100g...thats the real clincher there.

[Veritas]

I agree totally that it is an issue whereby some parents, in most cases, genetics aside, are too lazy to ensure a healthy lifestyle for there kids, be it diet and exercise....

What annoys me also is that they obviously don't realise, or worse still don't care, of the effects that a sugar and preservative laden diet has on a childs ability to concentrate and behave appropriately.... all too often this laziness and lack of responsibility leads to children being diagnosed with behavioural problems that could have easily been avoided with good diet, routine and discipline....

I already have some pretty clear ideas of the kind of lifestyle I want my daughter to have... I have a fairly balanced diet, exercise regularly and rarely indulge in takeaway.... and when it is it will be something along the lines of Italian, Indian or Asian foods, rather than fast foods as such....

I love to cook, and hope to instill this in my daughter which will allow her to learn of the nutritional value of foods also.... I figure if she is brought up with only the option of healthy foods in our house, then that is what she is likely to sway towards when she is old enough to be allowed to make choices for herself....

I was also greatly involved in sports.... I can't wait to spend time with her in the park chucking a ball around, running on the beach etc.... not only is it great in terms of physical activity but a great opportunity for us to bond and enjoy time together.... I would love for her to be involved in team sports, to know the meaning of sportsmanship, how to lead and be competitive, whilst learning how to stay fair and sportsmanly.... To learn the benefits of winning and losing....

Also, I want for her to have things in her life that stimulate her, that encourage her to want to learn more, to be creative and resourceful... to use her mind and body.... not to just sit in front of another mindless television show or computer game!!

[MamaSage]

Getting OT a bit, but my health teacher in high school told us that 30g fat was the limit per day. A meal with 10 grams of fat is a third of you daily allowance!:eek:

[Mummy-2-2]

I think that advertising has a lot to answer for.

I have an 18 month old and she always wants "Biski" (biscuits) so I give her dried banana chips which she now calls "biski"

When she goes to MIL house and asks for "biski" she is given a biscuit, she often tries to give it back and ask for "biski" again, hoping for the banana chips, but MIL says, she doesnt want those, she asked for a biscuit, and wont change what she has given her. It infuriates me.

I think children need to learn from a young age what they should and shouldnt eat, but I also think that they shouldnt miss out. At home we have chips, burgers, popcorn, pie etc, all home made and healthy.

we eat fast food occasionally, but she gets more excited about her "biski"!!

I think it is terrible that we put our own ideals onto kids as for "the ideal weight" and that they feel bad enough about it to wear a jumper in summer (poor thing :))

Diet can be controlled and weight can usually be controlled and it is up to us to do it. You cant ask a kid not to have the similar food everyone else is having, its unfair, but you can help them to eat healthy foods when they are eating. ie homemade and healthy muesli bars, biscuits etc

[abo84]

pumpkin I fully agree,

I know genetics plays a part, my DH was a chubby kid, but he always ate good foods and played sports and thinned out later.

But I feel sorry for thoses kids whos parents dont bother to cook good and healthy meals, and dont encourage exercise, as this will be a problem for those kids as they get older, and they keep these bad eating habits.

We all have a treat of junk food or take away once in a while in our house, I try to save those times for when Im really tired or too busy, which isnt often.

I think treats is fine but you just have to balance it all out.

[Maghan]

If I had my way, there would be lunchbox patrols at schools. I get so sick of giving my kids all good stuff, only for other kids to have chocolate, sweet biscuits, yogos and even marshmallows in their lunchboxes. It's hard to eat those carrot sticks, when someone's eating a choc-swirl yogo beside you - hmmm, I know how hard it would be for me.

[Mamaduke]

There was a study done on this a few weeks ago on the Today Tonight program on chanel 7. It proved that McDonalds "healthy choice" meals actually contained more fat than a Big Mac.
Hungry Jacks "healthy choice" meals contained more fat the their Whopper burger.
The healthiest burger of all tested, that contain the least amount of fat was KFCs original chicken fillet burger, complete with mayo.
Now I know why we choose KFC over Maccas anyday. Not even my kids really like Maccas!

I just couldn't believe this statement.
How could a deep fried piece of anything have less fat than a salad?
I looked it up and that's not what the program was saying at all. Here is a part of that segment...


we compared some of the new and so-called 'healthy' fast foods with the ever-popular burgers and commissioned Silliker Microtech to test for fat, salt and sodium.
Silliker scrutinised Subway's Meatball Sub and Veggie Delight Sub, McDonalds' chicken salad with French dressing and the good old Big Mac, along with Hungry Jacks' Chicken Burger and Whopper, Red Rooster's Flavva and Fresh Sub and KFC's Twister and its burger with the works.
According to Silliker's Dario Comar the results were surprising.
"Fast foods have got an exceedingly bad reputation when in fact it's not really warranted," Mr Comar said.
"Some fast foods are OK and some fast foods aren't and you do have to watch the intake and also your choice of ingredients on fast foods."
Mr Comar found Subway's Veggie Delight was the least fatty of all the meals with just 2.2g fat per 100g, closely followed by McDonalds' chicken salad.
"The McDonalds' salad chicken was also very low in fat, 2.8g," Mr Comar said. "That's pretty low in fat compared to a typical meal that you may have at home."
"Or even your normal salad which you may dress with olive oil will have a higher fat content than that."
Mr Comar found adding meat to meals increased the fat levels. But Subway's Meatball Sub contained just 7.1g fat, closely followed by the Red Rooster Fresh Sub with 7.2g.
The burgers were a surprise with lower fat levels than expected. Hungry Jacks' Chicken Burger was the fifth fattiest with 12.1g and in sixth place the McDonalds' Big Mac with 13.6g.
KFC's Works Burger came in seventh, containing 13.9 per cent fat.
"They're a meat based product fried," Mr Comar said. "They tend to have a reasonably medium to high level of fat but not exceedingly high."
"Most of the products were no fattier than cooking a chop or sausages at home or anything like that."The third fattiest meal tested was Red Rooster's Flayva which contained 14.1 per cent fat. KFC's Twister with 17.5 per cent fat was the second fattiest.
The meal containing most fat was the Hungry Jack's Whopper but again it wasn't considered a particularly high-fat product.
Dr Tim Crowe is a Nutritionalist at Deakin University and says our results are encouraging as long as consumers avoid the extras.
"Some of these, particularly the salad options, have a marked reduction in fat," Dr Crowe said. "Certainly with the healthier foods, avoiding upsizing your fries and soft drink with it will make it a lot healthier."
"And if you have fries and soft drink you can double, triple, even quadruple your calories, your fat and your salt."
When it came to testing the salt levels in our samples, Dario Comar was pleasantly surprised.
"The saltiest was the Hungry Jack's Chicken Burger but all these products in this category were quite low in salt," Mr Comar said.
"In fact as meals none of them exceeded half of the recommended daily intake of salt so they were all actually very low in salt."
McDonalds' chicken salad and Subway's Veggie Sub contained the least amount of sodium and salt. That's good news for health-conscious consumers such as Anne Enright.
"Healthy menus that are available now in the food stores, they're a great option," Ms Enright said.
"They're a fantastic step forward compared to what was available only five or 10 years ago."

If you're eating those fillet burgers thinking they're the healthiest...I'd quit about now! There was just no way a Maccas healthy choice was going to have more fat in it than a KFC fillet burger or a Big Mac.

[jessgray]

my DS is only going on 1 so he is still learning how to eat solids. he actually prefers fruit over sweet foods. so i hope it stays that way :)
i have heard of primary schools banning certain foods like peanut butter etc being brought to school why couldnt they do that with junk food to encourage healhty food being eaten at school? i only graduated 3 years ago from high school and up till yr 11 we did 1 hour a week of fitness. 1 hour!!! thats the same amount if not more then the primary school kids :eek: the kids need to get out and try sports so they dont feel like playign computer games 24/7 :laughing: