Inspiration comes in shrinking packages

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

• Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years.
• The percentage of children aged 6-11 years in the USA who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012.  Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12-19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.
• In 2012, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.

In the UK, the latest figures for 2013/14, show that 19.1% of children aged 10-11 years were obese and a further 14.4% were overweight.  Of children aged 4-5 years, 9.5% were obese and another 13.1% were overweight.

Children depend on their parents for their needs.  So how conscious are parents about their child's weight?  Back in February, 2014, I wrote a post about childhood obesity which discussed the problem that three quarters of parents with overweight children are in denial about their child's weight.  Claiming that 77% of parents with overweight children believed that their child's weight was "normal".

Our only hope is that our children realize for themselves that they have a problem.  I'd like to share a true story with you about a 12 year old boy who took control of his weight by himself.

Owen before his diet

Owen Clarke, an English schoolboy was classed as obese at 5ft 4inches (164cm) and weighing in at 10st 8lbs (68.5kg).  He says he was embarrassed by his size and when it came to his physical education class at school he said he hated it because he'd get really tired and he "looked like a tomato".  He says he wasn't bullied about his weight and no one said anything to him about it, but he couldn't play football with his friends and wanted to change.

This change happened when his mother decided to go on a diet.  She told her family she was going to change the way she ate and Owen asked if he could too.

His mother, Ms Hatfield, said that Owen asking her if he could diet made her feel awful,

"I'd never looked at him and thought he was fat or overweight.  He's my son and you just don't look at your child like that."

She also said,

"We always ate convenience food because it's so much cheaper.  I'd been brought up that way and I've never known anything different."

And here are the 2 major problems.  Parents don't admit their child has a weight problem and convenience foods are CHEAPER than fresh food and cooking home prepared meals.  And that, is the sad truth for many people in many "developed" countries.

It is quicker, easier and cheaper to feed your family junk food.  I don't actually believe this to be entirely true.

Owen swapped chocolate and sausage rolls for low fat yoghurts and cucumber and carrot sticks and his mother took responsibility and began preparing home cooked food from scratch.

Owen, in 3 months, has lost an amazing 18kg and now plays football for an hour everyday with his friends.  His mother has also lost 16kg in the joint effort with her son.

Owen after his weight loss

Owen has transformed his life and was able to realize his weight was stopping him from having a normal childhood.  Children need to understand the importance of a healthy diet and parents do too - even more so than their children.  The education that parents should be giving their children at home is not English, Maths, Geography or History, but LIFE SKILLS; the knowledge of how to be healthy, how to eat correctly and to look after themselves, now and in the future.

Children who are overweight or obese are more likely to be overweight of obese adults.  It's the parents' responsibility to teach them what is right and wrong.  So, take a good look at your family, are any of them overweight?  Take a good look at the food you give them, do you need to change what you are feeding them?

I would also like to say that governments need to take a look at society and decide if it is right to let junk food be CHEAPER than buying fresh produce.  Maybe help from the governments is what the general public needs.  From a healthy diet comes healthier people who won't put such a strain on the public health services - it's an all round winner.  You need to attack the root of the problem not try to find a way to deal with all the people who are suffering from obesity related illnesses such as Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease and cancer - among others.

Congratulations to Owen Clarke and his mother for changing and embarking on a healthier lifestyle, Owen you are an inspiration, keep up the good work.

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com

Does your child have a weight problem?

According to the World Health Organization website:

Childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century. The problem is global and is steadily affecting many low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings. The prevalence has increased at an alarming rate. Globally, in 2010 the number of overweight children under the age of five, is estimated to be over 42 million. Close to 35 million of these are living in developing countries.

Overweight and obese children are likely to stay obese into adulthood and more likely to develop noncommunicable diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases at a younger age. Overweight and obesity, as well as their related diseases, are largely preventable. Prevention of childhood obesity therefore needs high priority.

However, as worrying as this is... it gets worse.

Researchers at Imperial College London found that three quarters of parents with fat children are in denial about their child's weight, claiming that 77% of parents with overweight children believed that
their child's weight was "normal".  This finding suggests that obesity has been normalized among parents and our perception of what being overweight or obese has changed.  Another worrying factor is that only 41% of parents who recognized that their child was overweight, accepted their child's health might be at risk in the future.  Lots of the parents made excuses such as:

• It's the genes
• He/she has a big build
• It's puppy fat
• He/she is no bigger than other children

And this denial isn't just in Britain, last week research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA, published findings which suggested that half of parents with an overweight child are in denial about their child's size.  The research showed that the parents believed that their child was slimmer than they actually were.  Others with an obese child thought their son or daughter was normal or slightly heavy, while one in seven parents whose child was a healthy weight worried that they were too skinny.  

Many children who are overweight have parents who are overweight but this is not a general rule.  What we teach our children at home stays with them for life.  If children are allowed unhealthy snacks such as a packet of crisps/ chips every day that amounts to 5 liters of cooking oil ingested every YEAR - and it isn't even good quality cooking oil!!!  Add on top of that the fast food habit that many homes have.  There are many families who don't cook healthy meals from scratch and rely on pizza, hamburgers, Chinese and Indian takeaways, etc.  Here the main excuse from the parents is that they don't have the time to cook.

Jaime Oliver has crusaded for years to try and improve children's eating habits and to change those of their families'.  

Another study released this week revealed that children who live near a lot of fast food outlets are more likely to be overweight or obese.  Researchers at the University of East Anglia and the Centre for Diet and Activity Research looked at weight data from over 1million children and compared it with the availability of unhealthy food outlets including fish and chip shops, burger bars, pizza places and sweet shops.

They found that older children were more at risk of having a weight problem when living in close proximity to a high density of unhealthy eating outlets.  They found that secondary school students were more likely to have a weight problem from fast food habits because they have more spending power and can therefore choose the food they want.

Children with a weight issue are at risk of childhood diabetes, low self-esteem, orthopaedic and cardiovascular problems and roughly 70% of obese children and teenagers also go on to have weight problems in their adult life.

So, it is up to the parents to teach their children about healthy eating and the importance of exercise.  Even our children are becoming more and more sedentary which only adds to the problem.  The best thing parents can do is to teach by example.

Social Nutrition:  You can make an appointment to improve your health with Social Nutrition either in person (Madrid) or online (Skype).  Just send an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com