Obesity in Kids (America, church, organization, Article)

[mr.guy]

Originally Posted by Booko

The problem Mr. Guy is there's much too much emphasis on the *negative* part of the equation, little on the positive, and none on the things that are out of control.

I've barely addressed, nor seriously concerned myself with the niceties of stigmatization. I feel i've spoken fairly and factually thusfar regarding rising trends.

I'm 50 lbs overweight. Someone might look at me and say, wow what a lazy person, why doesn't she get some exercise?

The OP addresses children, not the overweight at large (no pun intended). Regarding the OP, the stigma often holds true, though. Be it a consequence of the latch-key kid generational philosophy, coupled with the (exponentialy) ever-increasing marketing real estate that these loyal viewers represent, i would consider it to be of no great offense to call the contemporary child a "butterball", as faint put it, as such characteristics are hardly as isolated now.

I rather doubt Ronald McDonald's plea to have them work out has been very motivating, and Big Sugar continues to undermine all attempts to not only limit sugar intake, but obfuscates information and denies data regarding the consequences of a sugar saturated diet.

But people are still, alas, very ready to condemn people for being overweight, without first thinking there might be an explanation that doesn't involve lack of character or willpower.

While i understand your grievance, and consider it quite legitimate, let's be frank: more kids are fat. This is not, on it's own, a judgement of their values, ethics or worth. It's a fair call, as the massive proportional increase of obese children guarantees a spike in the associated ailments common to and frustrated by obesity.

[SunMessenger]

Originally Posted by Faint

Arrogance would be one. If you can find a medical term to describe that, be my guest. I've been called conceited, stuck-up, vain, prideful, full of myself--none of which I will deny; but you know what the difference is? It's that I'm comfortable with my high opinion of myself, so such insults don't bother me. Therefore, if you or a child has a problem with a word that accurately describes your/his/her situation and you feel that word is offensive, then maybe the problem is not in the terminology but rather how you percieve yourself? I'm sure we can all agree that most children will have their imperfections pointed out repeatedly by their peers as they go through school. Kids are just cruel that way. But do you want to change every word that's potentially offensive? Seems like a lost cause to me.
Just some thoughts.

The problem is there is no unity among people. No compassion . This explains why we are in so much turmoil around the world.


My father taught me to think first and open my mouth second. When I do, I think about how my words may or may not hurt the other person. If I feel they will hurt I will, at the very least, phrase the same thought differently and at the same time reach the same objective. Care of an others feelings enough to temper ones words is part of what is called compassion.


When a child hears another child's taunting it sure upsets them but it is not life changing. When a child hears an Adult, A Doctor No Less, use terms that are hurtful to them it serves no positive purpose and is never forgotten. "Gee something must be wrong with ME because the Doctor even said I am an Obeast or something like that. I must be a monster or something." Imagine the lingering memory. It is not necessary and lacks compassion. One can control and teach and still have compassion.


Everyone forgot my favorite insult to overweight people who need the most help. Hows this for sensitivity... YOU ARE MORBIDLY OBESE ! Gee how helpful is that?


Don't expect the government to raise our children either. It is not its job . It is ours. It is the parents duty to raise children not the government . If people don't want that responsibility then they need to really think hard before creating them.


Be Well and God Bless...

[SunMessenger]

Originally Posted by tcprowling

Booko, take comfort in the fact that most people condemn others, for what they see as bad in themselves.
TC

Amen to that... I agree with that one hundred percent !

[Faint]

Originally Posted by SunMessenger

When a child hears another child's taunting it sure upsets them but it is not life changing. When a child hears an Adult, A Doctor No Less, use terms that are hurtful to them it serves no positive purpose and is never forgotten. "Gee something must be wrong with ME because the Doctor even said I am an Obeast or something like that. I must be a monster or something." Imagine the lingering memory. It is not necessary and lacks compassion. One can control and teach and still have compassion.

So... you want doctors not to use clinical terms because it might offend the patient? Am I misunderstanding you? Look, there IS a difference between being overweight and obese (and morbidly obese). The terms are NOT synonymous. It all depends on the BMI ratios.
Here:
A BMI less than 18.5 is underweight
A BMI of 18.5 - 24.9 is normal weight
A BMI of 25.0 - 29.9 is overweight
A BMI of 30.0 - 39.9 is obese
A BMI of 40.0 or higher is severely (or morbidly) obese

By the same reasoning, if a patient has cancer, should the doctor say something like, "you've got a few cells that are dividing and migrating to other tissues"? That doesn't sound too bad does it? Makes it sound like the patient has a cold or something. But don't you think people should recognize that they have a particularly life-threatening condition...especially if it's treatable? Or would you rather they run around thinking everything is hunky-dory until they die at a young age?

(p.s. I get 10 points for using hunky-dory in a sentence.)

[Shadow Wolf]

I find not only the parents, but sometimes the grandparents.
My 8 year old nephew is severly over-fed by his paternal grandmother, and as a result, weighs 130 and breathes heavier than I do during an asthma attack. Even eats more than I do.

A problem with BMI, is it doesn't take muscle mass into consideration. Any power-weight lifter will be considered obese by it, because muscle mass is much heavier than fat mass. Before I tore my ACL, I was at 250 pounds, but I had alot of muscle mass. It amounted to over 30 BMI, but I wasn't a fat obese.

[kateyes]

I have been fat for most of my life--I don't think there is any need to be diplomatic or PC about it. There is a stigma attached to fat people--it is assumed we are lazy and not very intelligent (otherwise we would know it is bad to be fat). I have at various times lost large amounts (30, 40,50, 70 lbs)--each time I gradually gain it back. If I exercise regularily and eat in moderation--my weight maintains at about 15 lbs more that my high end on the weight charts. If there is a way--via educating kids, parents, schools to help kids learn the right way to eat--then I am all for it. I heard on the radio recently that the US FDA Dept (I think they are the ones that have the food pyramid and publish recommendations) are actually to to make recommendations simpler--so instead of saying everyone needs 3 servings of vegetables a day--they are going to publish that you need 1.5 cups of vegetables a day. The thinking is that it puts things in the most understandable terms. Makes sense to me.

[SunMessenger]

Originally Posted by Faint

So... you want doctors not to use clinical terms because it might offend the patient? Am I misunderstanding you? Look, there IS a difference between being overweight and obese (and morbidly obese). The terms are NOT synonymous. It all depends on the BMI ratios.
Here:
A BMI less than 18.5 is underweight
A BMI of 18.5 - 24.9 is normal weight
A BMI of 25.0 - 29.9 is overweight
A BMI of 30.0 - 39.9 is obese
A BMI of 40.0 or higher is severely (or morbidly) obese

By the same reasoning, if a patient has cancer, should the doctor say something like, "you've got a few cells that are dividing and migrating to other tissues"? That doesn't sound too bad does it? Makes it sound like the patient has a cold or something. But don't you think people should recognize that they have a particularly life-threatening condition...especially if it's treatable? Or would you rather they run around thinking everything is hunky-dory until they die at a young age?

(p.s. I get 10 points for using hunky-dory in a sentence.)

Screw the ratios ! I am talking about children hearing these terms not adults. Read and then respond. Thank You...

[SoyLeche]

Originally Posted by SunMessenger

Screw the ratios ! I am talking about children hearing these terms not adults. Read and then respond. Thank You...

Screw the ratios? That is how the word is defined. You already shown your ignorance of this by saying that someone is obese whether they are a little overweight or a lot. They are not. Maybe we need to talk about the ratios a bit more, so that people understand the difference between saying someone is overweight and saying they are obese.

If you can come up with a way to let the parents know that their childrens' health is in danger from being obese without the children ever hearing the word, more power to you.

[kateyes]

Sunmessenger--Speaking as one who has been fat/heavy/plump/obese/big boned for most of my life--do you honestly think a kid doesn't know they are fat. Of Course they know--and while yes it is hurtful to hear some-one anyone say