Debate topic: whose fault is it if a child is obese?

I was just telling my daughter how I used to play when I was a kid.

We rode bikes and dug holes and climbed trees and hurled worms at each other. It was fabulous.

Didn't save me from being obese but heck...at least I can approach activity with some foundation.

I wanted that for my kids. City living makes it a challenge. We get outside but...yeah...it's different.

I think childhood obesity is a combination of things. It can be the parents fault, it can also be genetics. It's complicated.

In some instances it is squarely in the hands of the parents. There are equal number of obese and thin in my family.  I say thinner wins.
Happened to my son who was living with my ex.  He came to visit and I got him off the junk food and outside.  Taught him how to swim, ride a bike and most important, to think about his food choices. 
He lost 30 pounds that summer.
It was a cooperative effort, I did not use it as a weapon against my ex, it was best for our son. It was tough for all of us, because we did it all together.
The experiences I have experienced have been due to parental neglect. I know some children have disorders, hoarding food, or anorexia (a terrible price to be skinny).  The majority is from people who think it easier to please a child with food than deal with life issues like getting off the couch.
Big is one thing, obese is another.
The economy has nothing to do with it, neither does capitalism, I believe those are cop out answers. You can purchase an apple pie at McDonald's or teach a child how to make an apple pie, with real sugar, whole wheat and cinnamon from scratch. Which is easier?
Just because you are provided a serving of food at a restaurant does not mean you must eat until you explode.
Plates used to be big at 9 inches, now 12 inches is the norm.
Go out to eat and start splitting meals and order water.  My family now does that, it makes a huge difference because these are lessons we learned together.

I disagree about the capitalism part. I think capitalism plays a part in all diseases.

Otherwise, there'd be more of an emphasis on preventative medicine than there is on treating disease. But the sad reality is that treating diseases is more profitable. A diabetic generates MUCH more income for the healthcare industry than a non-diabetic for instance.

I think the only reason WLS is covered under most insurance plans is because they KNOW about the follow up issues. They aren't losing money per se. When you factor in the long-term care and the possible things that can arise from WLS (reactive hypoglycemia, nutritional deficiencies) that tend to go along happen (and especially happen with non-compliance) the insurance companies/health care industries have a win-win: a person who lives longer AND has recurring medical issues.

Just my opinion, but I don't think it's a cop out at all. I think ultimately we each own a BIG portion of the responsibility for how our lives turn out but that doesn't mean capitalism is off the hook.

Of course buying the pie at McD's is easier.  But how can you say the economy has nothing to do with that?  Consider a single mother like many of the women that I used to teach in GED classes.  Because they hadn't finished high school, they had low paying jobs.  They worked a lot of hours, and attended class for four hours Mon - Fri to get their GED.  I really admired them.  They would do homework on the weekends if we gave it to them.  Some would specifically ask for homework so they would work on their algebra or whatever.

But they worked all those hours and went to class?  Do you think they had much time to bake pies?  Also, they lived in a neighborhood with no grocery store.  There was a little store on the corner that sold snacks and a few groceries but no fresh produce.  They didn't have cars.  Getting to the grocery store was a time-consuming process.

Because they lived hand-to-mouth like this, they didn't have kitchen stocked with some of the staples most of us probably have on hand.  I have all the stuff in my kitchen to make apple pie but the apples.  But they would have needed to buy everything, including a pie pan to bake it in.

Do you think they had money to buy a pie pan? 

 I have 3 kids. They are all different... my oldest (daughter) is mildly overweight - she is a size 14, but looks great - she exercises a lot, but doesnt eat great all the time. 

My middle son is obese - he is 11, and weighs 168 pounds - he is on many different medications which cause weight gain. 

My youngest is 8, and he is TINY. He is smaller than all of his classmates, and is just now hitting 65 pounds. 

All of my kids are given the same food (except in school) and have mostly the same exercise habits. My oldest and youngest are more active, but they also have more interest. 

As for the blame game, or custody, I am in the same situation you are Nik with their dad - he has little to no interest in being a responsible parent, and given other things, he would never get custody of them. I do have to wonder though about two responsible parents fighting and this being used against them. 

I saw a story a few weeks ago about a boy being taken from his mother, and put into foster care because he was overweight. I was completely outraged that the state could do that! It just amazes me. Obesity should be viewed as an illness - food is an addiction to some people, just like alcohol is for others. Taking a child from a parent, or basing custody of a child on who feeds the child the healthiest, is crazy. 

Yeah, the whole thing just screamed "this is wrong!"

To me it's insulting because thin kids are capable of being just as unhealthy as obese kids. It's just that obese kids have a big neon sign displaying the manifestation of it all.

I dunno...seems to me this is just another way for parents to hurt each other in a divorce really. Because any GOOD parent knows you need to work together to fight childhood obesity. So that means that both parents need to get over themselves and do, jointly, what needs to be done.

I have 3 children.  My oldest is almost 13years old and might have reached 70 pounds by now.  She has always been below the 10th % for her weight.  She is tiny.  My middle daughter is 11 and is overweight.  My youngest son is 8 and the only "normal" one.  Some would say he was thin.  My daughter that is thin reads all the time and eats a ton.  My daughter that is overweight  is more into sports.  My son is a typical boy that moves all the time.  They all have access to the same foods at home.  We don't buy junk food and don't eat out.  All my meals are healthy home cooked meals.  The only difference between the 3 is that my overweight child likes to snack more.  She goes a little over board on healthy snacks. 

I don't think it is 100 % any ones fault.  Part of it is genetics.  My overweight daughter looks a lot like me growing up.  My other two take after my husbands side of the family.  I do put a lot of blame on the schools.  They initiated a free breakfast program for all students that includes sausage biscuits and breakfast tacos.  4 months into the school year I discovered my daughter was eating cereal and home and breakfast at school.Her school also has cookies, fruit juice and chips the kids can buy in addition to their lunch.  She is rewarded for good grades with a trip to the "treat" box.  If she makes goals at school they have pizza and ice cream parties.  They have snack once a day at school.  Fruit is discouraged because it is messy.  The kids also think it is fun to trade snacks. Even if a parent sends in a healthy snack there is no guarantee they eat it.  Holidays are insane.  I can no longer  have a special treat for the kids at valentines day or Easter because they come home with so much junk food.  Not only do they have a class party with chips, cake, and soda, but parents send home treat bags.  Recess has been taken out of school.  I personally would rather the kids have recess every day for 30 minutes to an hour than PE.  I think many kids learn to hate exercise through PE.  They need time to run around, act crazy, and be a kid.  Then they have so much homework (and sometimes after school activities) when they get home from school they don't have time to play outside.  My oldest daughter gets off the bus at 5PM. (this is with no school activities.)  It is dark by 5:30.  That doesn't give her much time to run around.

I don't blame the food industry or the entertainment industry.  No one is forcing us to buy the stuff.

Finally, when a child is older, some of it is the child's fault.  As a parent we can not micromanage everything that goes into our child's mouth.  We do the best we can by teaching our children how to eat healthy, providing healthy foods, and encouraging them to exercise.  At a certain point the child has to take responsibility for his or her actions. 

I am very passionate about this subject.  It upsets me when parents are blamed for childhood obesity.  Yes, sometimes it is the case.  Other times other factors are to blame.This must be looked at case by case.  Nor do I want to live in a society where every action of the parent is scrutinized.

 Speaking of PE... my daughter used to HATE gym class. I moved her to an all girls school this year (for a variety of reasons) and they do Zumba, Yoga, Wii Fit, and self defense, rather than competitive sports - she has an A in gym now, and loves all of these things! She is more active, and has toned her body and lost about 20 pounds. She likes he new school, and has no "pressures" of the competitive sports that she hated so much at her old school. Needless to say, she is not sports oriented, lol... 

Given this kind of result, I'm not sure why other schools dont follow suit. Split up the kids, boys and girls, or those who like competitive sports, and those who dont. Do Zumba, yoga, arobics. Teach the kids something that will give them a start in life outside of high school. These kinds of "gym classes" can help kids be successful in maintaining and losing weight in their lives outside of school.