Overweight Children

ForeverYoung
Guest

Wed, Jan 05 2005, 12:42 pm

Proudmom,

this is more applicable to mothers who

are inexperienced
or
care about themselves more.

I also propped an occasional bottle, I'm not a saint either.

but generally speaking, a bottle fed baby is more likely to carry extra pounds.

Just occured to me - we're talking about statistcal data built on the majority of the population who have only 1 child - hence the inexperience.

Tefila

Thu, Jan 06 2005, 6:14 pm

1. Conc seltzer for Mendel RG, how about wine for my 2yr old she loves wine our mistake. On shabbos we let her have some for kiddush and ever since that is all she wants. Ofcourse she doesn't get it, but what a major fuss! I can't even trick her with diluted grape juice oh well I do hope she will grow out of it.

2. Also conc formula all my siblings grew up on it and only till a few years ago did I and only I have a weight problem the rest of us never ever did, so there goes that theory!

3.Lastly conc propping I too was dead, dead against it till my twins were born. And now whatever I can do to pacify one, whilst I am holding other one I will do incl propping. This way they take turns being held and fed when I am alone! And yes we love them to earth and they know it by their adorable coos and smiles ba"h they have just started to cry less often and sleep more...... twins are not soooo bad afterall Very Happy

Rivka

Sat, Jan 08 2005, 3:38 pm

The only reason formula fed babies look chubbier at the begining is because they are getting fed more, so often it helps if child doesn't sleep much because they are hungry. But when a child starts to walk, they walk it right off, same goes with breastfed kids.
You can express breast milk into a bottle and babies will not drink faster than they are capable, so if you look each bottle teat has a different number and says for what age and what flow it is.
Alot of breast fed kids are obese too, so nothing to do with that.
It is basically to do with them eating too much when they eat proper food and the parents not feeding their child right. I babysat at a family, all the kids are huge the boys especially now are very obese, one of them can't even walk properly and I remember it was night, they were meant to be in bed and they kept coming into the kitchen for snacks...snacks didn't mean vegetables or fruit, it meant nash...what I did, I banned them.
But I am not the parent and usually that is what their parents allow.
There are other ways as well, not using full fat milk for children who are over the age of 5. Also if you have used formula before, you will see they give clear instructions according to the age of the child how much formula to give and how much water to add.

Yael

Sun, Jan 09 2005, 3:14 pm

I think that overweight kids have a genetic tendency to gain weight and they have to be careful not to eat too much and to eat the right foods. but for those who are genetically predisposed to be skinny, they will not have a problem no matter what they eat. so to rephrase the original question is the growing number of overweight children due to genetics changing and causing more people to be fat or is it simply that the same children who before had the tendency to gain weight, but didnt b/c they ate well, now are gaining the weight b/c of fast food and less exercise. notice how the increase in weight comes at the same time as the increase in time spent watching tv and eating fast food.
I dont think juice or formula has anything to do with it.
kids who drink lots of juice are more likely to be malnourished than obese. b/c the juice fills them up with empty calories so they dont feel hungry and dont eat food, but do not get the nutrients they need to grow properly.

Rivka

Wed, Jan 12 2005, 7:16 pm

A guy made a documentary basically trying to see if Fast food restaraunts were really to blame. He basically was meant to go for a month surviving soley on McDonald's. Apparently someone told him they eat there all the time and it hasn't killed them. He had to go regularly to check ups by the Dr to keep up with the progress. In the middle the Dr told him he has to stop eating that stuff because if he didn't he would die because of it. His cholesterol was probably mad high and blood pressure and he gained mega weight. So there you go. No excersise and too fast food places.
I think it is also to do with the parents, generally if you get big parents who are over weight their kids will also be overweight and it is to do with what they are eating and how much.

Motek

Tue, Dec 27 2005, 10:43 am

In an article by Dr. Reuven Bekermus, D.C. M.D. entitled, "Why are childhood asthma and obesity increasing?" he says that obesity in children is the fastest growing health problem in the U.S. Almost 20% of children age 6 to adolescent are at least 30 lbs. overweight. He begs parents, teachers, principals etc. to stop buying and providing colored soda to children. Cut back on cookies, cakes, candies, etc.

A can of soda (coke, sprite) has about 8-10 teaspoons of sugar besides acid food coloring and lots of other harmful substances.

nicole81

Tue, Dec 27 2005, 11:02 am

obesity certainly isn't exclusive of the jewish community, but do you really think these statistics apply to us? fast food isn't as readily available, and you certainly can't feed your family for $5 with it. agreed, we have to make a conscientus effort to cut back on our children's intake of sodas, juices, and junk food in general, but I think we have a lot less to worry about. the average jewish family eating home cooked meals, or even takeout, is a lot healthier than the american family that has a mcdonald's night, a wendy's night, an arby's night, etc.

I don't mean to discount any points made on this thread, simply that I don't think the statistics accurately apply to the jewish community.

chavamom

Tue, Dec 27 2005, 11:03 am

Motek wrote:

and if he ate at McDonalds and had an exercise regime?

He also wrote a book based on this 'experiment'. He wasn't 'working out' and he was trying to get the amount of exercise the 'average American gets'. Since he lives in Manhattan, he wasn't able to limit it to that just from the amount of walking needed to get around there. He wore a pedometer and walked several miles a day.

Motek

Tue, Dec 27 2005, 11:18 am

nicole81 wrote:

obesity certainly isn't exclusive of the jewish community, but do you really think these statistics apply to us?

I can't tell you if the problem is as extreme in frum communities (though frum doctors who treat the frum community have been writing articles expressing their alarm) but take a walk through a frum community and see for yourself. There are too many overweight kids and when I see an overweight child, I am upset with the parent who is responsible for taking care of their child's health and instilling good health habits.

Also check out any frum supermarket and see the HUGE nosh section: candies, chips, cookies. Check out the freezer department. Check out the take-out department. See what kids take for snacks, what they buy with their own money. They're not buying tuna sandwiches on their break. They're buying danishes, sodas, chips, and chocolate bars.

ElTam

Tue, Dec 27 2005, 12:10 pm

Two things to add:

Quote:

Also breastfed babies are much leaner babies.

LOL. I should show you some pics of my DD. She never had formula, only breastmilk, and she was sooooooo fat. I'm talking four chins and polkes that wouldn't quit. I pretty much couldn't go to the store without at least one person commenting on how fat she was. She looked like a baby version of Winston Churchill. She started thinning out when she weaned and more so when she walked.

I also wanted to say that the guy in the McDonald's file ("SuperSize Me) didn't just have weight gain. He was having liver problems (cirrosis of non-alcholic origin I think they called it) and a whole bunch of other metabolic problems. Very scary.

imanut

Wed, Dec 28 2005, 9:58 am

these are averages. you can list a hundred exceptions but statistically breastfed babies are leaner.
re the frum community-so much of jewish life revolves around food. frum kids are also less likely to play organized sports and, from my experience, to have gym as part of their school curriculum. I think frum jews are unfortunately well represented in the obesity epidemic.

raizy

Wed, Jan 04 2006, 10:07 pm

why are u upset when u see a overweight child. maybe it is not the parents fault. like try shoving down an apple in a 6 yrs old child throat it wont work.

when children get to a certain age they have like and dislikes. yes u dont have to supply them with junk food. but believe me I seen many skinny kids eating junk food all day long and not gaing an ounce whereas the fat kids get all the blame and they dont eat as much junk food.

stop blaming the parents... stop blaming the kids . it is more gentics then anything else..

ShiraMiri

Wed, Jan 04 2006, 11:06 pm

Motek wrote:

The ultra-frum lifestyle does not lend itself to exercise (although I exclude certain areas in Israel where people do lots of walking on steep hills!). When I was in public school as a kid we had gym every day. Being on the football team or being a cheerleader was "cool." I am not advocating that kind of social setting in our day schools, however, my kids get 20 minutes of gym time per week, and ten of those minutes are spent just getting to the gym and getting organized for the activity! It is certainly not any serious exercise.

With the time constraints of a dual curriculum (Hebrew and English) there is not time for a serious Physical Education program. After school sports/exercise are options, but again, the homework/learning/Pirchei/Bnei Akiva - whatever programs your kids are into - all these things come before physical activity. Also, a life of sitting in kollel and learning may be good for the soul and mind, but not so good for the waistline.

Ahuva

Wed, Jan 04 2006, 11:14 pm

[quote="Motek"]when I see an overweight child, I am upset with the parent who is responsible for taking care of their child's health and instilling good health habits.[/quote]

I wouldn't enirely blame parents. When I grew up my mom was very health consious and was really carefull with what we kids ate. (she fried twice a yr. chanuka and pesach...lol) and still my sister was always overweight ever since she was a baby she was a heavy kid (and I ate more junk and cake than her, I have a real sweet tooth) Of course now as an adult with all the diets...she's as thin as ever but on a very strict diet. She is heavy by nature she is built big too, and there is nothing my parents could have done to change that.