Poll: Obese Children

If you are a parent of an obese child- (1) Are your kids taunted at school? What are they called? (2) Have you discussed the issue with your child? What did you say? What was your child's response? (3) Do you make remarks to your child about his/her weight? (4) Has your child's behavior changed because of kids picking at them? (5) What affect has this had on your child's self esteem? (6) What have you noticed about your child's eating habits? (7) What changes have you made in your child's diet? (8) How do you think you contributed to your child's obesity? (9) Why do you think your child eats more than he/she should? VAL

My son thankfully is a healthy normal child without weight problems... however I am a child of a obese parent so I can answer these from my own prospective: 1) Yes, in elementary school I was taunted by my peers. I was called all sorts of nasty names like tub-of-lard, shamoo, WIDE BUSCH (My maiden name was Wiebusch), and so many other horrible nasty things. And I was not even that big then, well I was twice the size of my peers but I was also 5'4" and wearing a size 10 shoe, I was probably in a 10/12 then. By middle & high school the taunting became secretive b/c no one dared to tease the jocks in public.... I was a champion swimmer and I was a champion thrower (shot-put and discus). Since I brought medals and championships to the school and got records and stuff the teasing became less obvious, until it was time for some kind of formal dance. 2) My folks never talked about my weight and since I was so active they just assumed that my diet (carb loading and 5-6 meals a day) was OK. 3) I did not get too many comments form my folks since they were both obese, but my middle sister was EVIL to me, she is still a size 4 today! 4) My behavior changed from being happy go lucky to being quite serious the majority of the time. I just focused on my studies and work and ignored most people. However I teetered on depression most of the time. 5) My self esteem SUCKED! 6) I was an athete so I ate 5-6 meals a day, in large portions and CARB HEAVY!!! For an athelete that is how it was done! After I graduated I continued to eat like that... OYE! Comments form the folks started flying at me about my senior year to get my weight under control and it progressed through college. 7) No one ever changed my diet, they supported it. 8) They encouraged me to continue to succeed as an athelte so it ment supporting BAD eating habits! 9) I was ALWAYS HUNGRY and I ate out of emotional needs due to having poor self image! Brightest Blessings for a Wonderful Day~ Jamie M. aka Lady Autumn Weight- 257/182/146 BMI- 44.1/31.2/25 Height- 5'4" Total Weight Loss: -75 lbs. Surgery Date- 1/19/05 Visit my OH profile or stop by My Weight Loss Journey Website at: home.bellsouth.net/p/PWP-LadyAutumnsWLSjourney