Feb 25 2008
Ohhbese
It’s not just the United States that has to face the fact of childhood obesity. The News & Star paper from England reported:
“A generation of Cumbrian children is facing severe health problems with one in 10 starting school clinically obese.”
This year they had 500 children start school that qualified as being obese.
The frightening thing is that if this trend continues, rates will only increase by age, with little hope of the children “rebounding” from their weight problems. Most kids go through that chubby phase, as I know that I did- but that is losing baby weight, if you’d like to call it that, which is just about the time your body starts pumping out hormones so you are bound to gain some weight. However, things settle down and your body “evens” itself out. There is a major difference between putting on a few pounds, to being overweight, to being clinically obese. Taking your height and weight into consideration, you figure out your Body Mass Index (BMI) and if that calculates to thirty or more, you’re obese. The more a child is obese, the less likely it is that they will ever lose the weight and more likely it is to develop “type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, sleep apnea, and stroke,” says WebMD.com. Although these are long term problems, there are ones that kids will see a lot sooner, “there are also mental health consequences. There is more possibility of being bullied, affecting self esteem and achievements in school,” says News & Star.
Simply put, the children are not eating properly. Remember the food pyramid? If you came from a school like mine, I’m sure you couldn’t forget considering we had to do our own diagrams almost every year until high school, and then one more time in health class by senior year. This is a great tool for teachers to have kids make up a daily food triangle of servings and portions you should have, and then next to it have them make an actual one of the things they eat in a day. Not surprisingly, most if not all the students’ work would be nothing like what it should be. It’d be wonderful to start these projects when students are young, while getting them into physical education classes where the fat kids aren’t always picked last and making well balanced meals and choices.
In Cumbrian they have started the students and their families working with MEND (mind, exercise, nutrition, do it) which pushes them onto the right track of dropping bad eating and living habits. However, funding may be cut because enough families won’t join, but why not? Because the problem starts with not willing to admit that they need help. Kids aren’t to blame because for the most part they don’t know what they’re doing is wrong and hurtful to their bodies, but this is why schools need to integrate more “health conscious” classes.
“Medics say the growing childhood obesity epidemic is one of the biggest problems facing the county, impacting not only on youngsters’ weight, but their mental health and achievements at school,” comments the News & Star.
Children thrive much better in an environment where they feel safe and comforted. Surely this cannot happen when they’re out of breath walking from the bus to class, or struggling to write fast enough with their pudgy little fingers- or even worse, being humiliated by a bully. Teachers and families need to work together to get out youth back into shape!
News & Star
Primary Kids Obesity Shock
Feb. 25, 2008. Viewed Feb, 25, 2008.
http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=797211
WebMD
Health and Diet: Obesity Overview
April 20, 2007. Viewed Feb. 25, 2008
11 responses so far
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I think you are absolutely right that families and teachers need to work together on this very crucial issue. Nowadays, schools are trying to implement programs (in this case, health programs) without seeking reinforcement from student’s homes. Not that it isn’t still beneficial for students to at least be active during the school day and maybe eat one healthful meal, but this will not prevent obesity in adulthood. In too many cases students go home to play videogames on the couch while snacking on cookies and potato chips. Their families are content to let the television do the babysitting, and the children get little or no exercise.
The question, then, is how do you get parents to be enthusiastic about making lifestyle changes? One way might be to inspire the students to WANT to change their diets and activity levels, and this may have the effect of encouraging the parents to check out what their kids are so excited about. But how do you make nutrition interesting and something desirable to a lazy society? Perhaps this is something you might find some answers to in your continuing research on this topic.
It is an interesting connection you made between obesity and insecurity. It is a wonder how health is related to so many other aspects of life. Bullying is not good in any case, but wouldn’t it be better to provide bullies with one less thing to pick on a child about? Maybe some parents simply don’t recognize that they are debilitating their children socially by not providing them with a well-balanced, low-fat diet.
I’m curious to see where you go with this blog. I wonder how a writing class might benefit from addressing some of these issues in various assignments and what those assignments might look like. Is it possible that a classroom could create meaningful writing that might convince parents to take action concerning their children’s health?
I think it completely makes sense that some students who are over weight or obese are performing less in schools. When students are in class, they are thinking about a majority of things. Not only are they, many times, not focused on what they are learning, but they are usually focused on personal issues and things that are bothering them. If students are entering school being clinically obese, they are having to deal with a majority of other issues before they are able to focus or concentrate on their work.
I think it’s unfair to say that students that are obese are not good students. I do however think that it is understandable that our young students are having a hard time dealing with the pressures of school and personal image. When student’s are worried about their appearances, or not comfortable because of their weight issues, they are less likely to focus on their school work. In a writing class, I think issues like “Personal Image” and “Social Pressures” are great starting points for possible class discussions and writing topics. In relation to what Christensen says in her book, and especially in her poetry section, students’ writing becomes important when they can (and do) find some meaning or relation to their personal lives. It gives them a purpose to write, and allows them to express their feelings.
In the situation your article talks about, the MEND program, it seems to be a good starting point. Parents are responsible for what their children are eating, and for making sure they know how to lead a healthy lifestyle at a young age. Even thought the MEND program may be losing members funding, it is something that can be taught or displayed in a cafateria setting or in newsletters sent home. As teachers, we will have to problem-solve, and this could be one of those situations. By approaching weight and image issues in a writing class, on a somewhat more subtle note, students can express their feelings, as well as maybe learn something about themselves and how to write meaningfully.
I think it completely makes sense that some students who are over weight or obese are performing less in schools. When students are in class, they are thinking about a majority of things. Not only are they, many times, not focused on what they are learning, but they are usually focused on personal issues and things that are bothering them. If students are entering school being clinically obese, they are having to deal with a majority of other issues before they are able to focus or concentrate on their work.
I think it’s unfair to say that students that are obese are not good students. I do however think that it is understandable that our young students are having a hard time dealing with the pressures of school and personal image. When student’s are worried about their appearances, or not comfortable because of their weight issues, they are less likely to focus on their school work. In a writing class, I think issues like “Personal Image” and “Social Pressures” are great starting points for possible class discussions and writing topics. In relation to what Christensen says in her book, and especially in her poetry section, students’ writing becomes important when they can (and do) find some meaning or relation to their personal lives. It gives them a purpose to write, and allows them to express their feelings.
In the situation your article talks about, the MEND program, it seems to be a good starting point. Parents are responsible for what their children are eating, and for making sure they know how to lead a healthy lifestyle at a young age. Even thought the MEND program may be losing members funding, it is something that can be taught or displayed in a cafeteria setting or in newsletters sent home. As teachers, we will have to problem-solve, and this could be one of those situations. By approaching weight and image issues in a writing class, on a somewhat more subtle note, students can express their feelings, as well as maybe learn something about themselves and how to write meaningfully.
I agree that kids today are a lot more obese than they were when I was a kid. It was something that I sat down to actually think about–knowing you can’t have a solution until you identify the problem.
I hate to say it, but obesity is going to be a problem until we find a way to economically provide for all families equally. What do I mean? A bag of chips and pb and j can feed a family cheaper than chicken and a veggie. Junk food is cheaper, when you’re buying food using bridge cards and food stamps, you’re going to go with what you can buy the most of, rather than what’s healthy. You gotta get through the month…
Along with that kids don’t play oustide anymore. I can’t remember a saturday that I stayed inside winter/summer whenever, I was outside. With cartoon network, video games, and other technology, it’s too easy to stay inside. My own brother (who’s not obese–he’s stick thin it’s annoying
) complains that we go out on our boat too much in the summer–he’d rather watch his “shows” (cartoons) or play video games than swim on a 80 degree day.
I think the sooner we can fix these problems is when we will see obesity decline, until then, it’s only going to increase.
I agree, this is a sad trend that we are seeing, not only in the United States, but around the world as well. I think that a great deal of problem is something that you touched on, the parents! Kids have no idea what is good for them, nor do they care. They are incapable at such a young age to understand the life-long repurcussions of something like obessity. I mean, think about when you were a kid. If my parents would have let me eat a whole bag of doritos or oreos, I probably would have done it becuase, quite frankly, they taste so good! I am so lucky that my parents never allowed this to happen; I was forced to eat my veggies, no dessert until I finished dinner and snacks were most definately regulated. The first step in getting our kids in shape is to get the parents in shape. No more McDonalds for dinner, seriously, we’re all busy but it’s about time we start making time to educate or children and feed them right.
I agree, this is a sad trend that we are seeing, not only in the United States, but around the world as well. I think that a great deal of problem is something that you touched on, the parents! Kids have no idea what is good for them, nor do they care. They are incapable at such a young age to understand the life-long repercussions of something like obesity. I mean, think about when you were a kid. If my parents would have let me eat a whole bag of Doritos or Oreos, I probably would have done it because, quite frankly, they taste so good! I am so lucky that my parents never allowed this to happen; I was forced to eat my veggies, no dessert until I finished dinner and snacks were most definitely regulated. The first step in getting our kids in shape is to get the parents in shape. No more McDonalds for dinner, seriously, we’re all busy but it’s about time we start making time to educate or children and feed them right.
I applaud you for writing about this article! Childhood obesity has become an enormous problem in recent years, and, chances are, if you suffer from obesity when you are young, you will in adulthood as well. It’s hard to know what exactly the cause of it all is: are the parents the ones at fault? Perhaps unhealthy school lunches or fast food restaurants are to blame. I tend to lean towards blaming the advent of new technology that enables children to play and socialize virtually, rather than get up and move. However, there must be something more to it, because there’s no reason these new hobbies and activities can’t be balanced with exercise and and the great outdoors.
I really liked your idea about creating a daily food pyramid with which to gauge what sort of nutrition school children are getting. Maybe the kids could keep a sort of food log, and parents could be encouraged to help them fill it out each day. The only problem I see with this is the possibility that students could give inaccurate accounts of the meals they have eaten. I do believe, however, that simply making the food pyramid a part of their lives could be very beneficial in at least raising awareness. That way, they have no excuse for not knowing what they should and shouldn’t be eating.
I also liked what you said about getting students into classes where “the fat kids aren’t always picked last.” I think that discrimination and a lack of compassion for overweight and obese children has a lot to do with preventing them from making choices for their health. Rather, out of frustration, they become depressed and may binge eat or develop an eating disorder. I’d be interested to know more about how you think schools could go about lessening abuse and bullying in gym and wellness classes.
Thanks for writing this post
The crazy thing is I was just reading and commenting on Allie’s post “Science of Lunch Packing” and it’s kind of along the same lines. I think the trend in obesity in children and adults is alarming. Clothes sizes keep increasing to accommodate the weight shifts in the population. I think that exercise, diet and overall healthy living are the only way to go. I have a history of diabetes in my family so I make sure to stay active and try to eat well to avoid diabetes. Pulling stuff in from Allie’s article, I think it’s important to get the parents involved. Parents, after all, are the example kids see the most of. If the parents aren’t healthy, how do we expect our kids to be? I don’t have children yet, but I have several nieces and nephews. I play sports with them, make healthy snacks (they love apples and dip) and just try to be a good example. I know it isn’t everything but at least it’s a start. Our nation needs to do something in order to address this issue. I think it’s great to get kids involved in this. Have them write to food companies, do research on food labels or even keep a food log to see what they eat in a week. It would be a great learning experience for the kids as well as the grown ups.
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