Thread: Take away the fat kids?

On 14/07/2011 2:58 PM, Polly Esther wrote:
> What do you think about this? Yesterday ABC news was talking about a
> Harvard professor who suggests the gov't should take kids away from
> their parents if the chunky little darlings are over weight. Sounds like
> a plan to me but what is the state going to do with them when they take
> them?


I agree that the parents are doing their children a big disservice when
they allow them to become fat. I know of a few cases where kids who were
quite chunky ended up slimming down in childhood. Then there is the Big
Niece was a big kid with a big appetite who changed from stocky to plump
to obese in her late teens, and who just keeps getting bigger.

I don`t see taking the kids away from their parents benefiting anyone,
and especially not the kids. Maybe the schools should get back to
mandatory phys ed classes and failing those who can`t pass. And not just
fail phys ed,... fail the year. Use some leverage to make them more
active and eat less. We have enough `normal`people who put on too much
weight as adults. For the life of me, I don`t understand how people can
allow themselves to become 100 pounds or more overweight. When you are
getting to the point where who are as big around as you are high, you
really should be doing something about it.

In article <[email protected]>,
"Polly Esther" <[email protected]> wrote:

> What do you think about this? Yesterday ABC news was talking about a
> Harvard professor who suggests the gov't should take kids away from their
> parents if the chunky little darlings are over weight. Sounds like a plan
> to me but what is the state going to do with them when they take them?

Sounds fine to me as long as they take away the super-skinny ones too.

Miche

--
Electricians do it in three phases

Polly Esther wrote:
> What do you think about this? Yesterday ABC news was talking about a
> Harvard professor who suggests the gov't should take kids away from
> their parents if the chunky little darlings are over weight. Sounds
> like a plan to me but what is the state going to do with them when
> they take them? Here's a bit of the report
> http://www.imperfectparent.com/topic...bese-children/
> Polly

I think they should have a form of John TV for such parents and punish them
with public humiliation. Taking the kids away is going to hurt the children
more than the parents who let them get that way. Imagine carrying around for
life the knowledge that you were essentially orphanned by the state because
you're fat. An official fatass ward of the state. Yeah, right, that's going
to help correct their self image and get them slimmed down. It's just
stupid.

MartyB

On Jul 14, 2:58*pm, "Polly Esther" <Polly...@cableone.net> wrote:
> What do you think about this? *Yesterday ABC news was talking about a
> Harvard professor who suggests the gov't should take kids away from their
> parents if the chunky little darlings are over weight. *Sounds like a plan
> to me but what is the state going to do with them when they take them?
> Here's a bit of the reporthttp://www.imperfectparent.com/topics/2011/07/14/harvard-prof-says-pa...
> Polly

First off, who's to say that some of the larger children don't have a
specific problem that makes them that way. It isn't ALWAYS the parents
fault. Even if it is the parents' fault, how can the government just
take so many children away? Because the obesity problem is through the
roof lately, hundreds, maybe even thousands of children would be taken
away from their homes throughout the country and then what? Put into
foster homes? That would then in turn put the country into more of a
deficit due to paying foster parents and orphanages.

On Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:13:16 -0400, Dave Smith
<[email protected]> wrote:

> I don`t see taking the kids away from their parents benefiting anyone,
> and especially not the kids.

Maybe it should be treated for what it is, child abuse. Parents would
need mandatory classes and physical exercise should be part of the
sentence. I don't see anything like that happening at any point
because people who abuse illegal drugs have a hard time finding
treatment. They're only abusing food.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

Polly Esther wrote:
>
> What do you think about this? Yesterday ABC news was talking about a
> Harvard professor who suggests the gov't should take kids away from their
> parents if the chunky little darlings are over weight. Sounds like a plan
> to me but what is the state going to do with them when they take them?
> Here's a bit of the report
> http://www.imperfectparent.com/topic...bese-children/
> Polly

Take away is probably a bit much, but some court ordered nutrition and
cooking classes might not be a bad idea.

Polly Esther wrote:
> What do you think about this? Yesterday ABC news was talking about a
> Harvard professor who suggests the gov't should take kids away from
> their parents if the chunky little darlings are over weight. Sounds
> like a plan to me but what is the state going to do with them when
> they take them? Here's a bit of the report
> http://www.imperfectparent.com/topic...bese-children/
> Polly

Just why do you think this is a plan? Some kids have medical problems that
make them overweight. I used to feel sorry for my friend's younger brother.
He was very active in sports and his mom had him on a very strict diet
because he was overweight. He had a thyroid problem. He ate so little and
weighed so much. My friend was also a tad overweight but only through her
hips and butt. Her mom put her on a really strict diet too. Boiled eggs
for breakfast. Some kind of yucky looking bar for lunch. Broiled chicken
or fish and veg for dinner. Didn't cause her to lose weight.

On Fri, 15 Jul 2011 07:33:55 +1200, Miche <[email protected]> wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
> "Polly Esther" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> What do you think about this? Yesterday ABC news was talking about a
>> Harvard professor who suggests the gov't should take kids away from their
>> parents if the chunky little darlings are over weight. Sounds like a plan
>> to me but what is the state going to do with them when they take them?
>
>Sounds fine to me as long as they take away the super-skinny ones too.

And the low IQ ones.

Miche wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> "Polly Esther" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> What do you think about this? Yesterday ABC news was talking about a
>> Harvard professor who suggests the gov't should take kids away from
>> their parents if the chunky little darlings are over weight. Sounds
>> like a plan to me but what is the state going to do with them when
>> they take them?
>
> Sounds fine to me as long as they take away the super-skinny ones too.

I was one of the super skinny ones and it wasn't my parent's fault. I ate.
And ate and ate. But I couldn't gain an ounce. Yes I was active. I can
remember my friend and I stuffing ourselves with food until we felt sick and
then sitting in the kitchen chairs just staring at each other in the hopes
of not burning any calories and putting on weight. She was skinny too but
she was short. AFAIK people didn't make fun of her. I was very tall so it
earned me the nickname of Lt. Twig. Twiggy was popular in those days and so
was the original Star Trek. At came we did a Star Trek skit and that was
the name I was given. It stuck.

And now I am fat. And I don't overeat. For many years this was difficult
for me because I was used to eating so much for so long. I had to learn to
cut back and ignore hunger. Now this is easy to do with he gastroparesis.
For the most part I do not feel hungry any more and sometimes I have to
force myself to eat. Yes, once in a while I will feel hungry. But more
often it will be what I call "eye hunger". I see something. A picture of
food. An ad on TV. A recipe. And that looks appealing. So I will want
it. But I am not taking in excess calories. I know this because I
downloaded the Cron-O-Meter and for several weeks I ran all of everything I
consumed through it to see where I stood nutritionally. Apparently I am
severely lacking in vitamin E. But taking in mostly 1,000 calories per day.
Once in a while as much as 1,200 calories a day. Hardly excess.

As for kids, I have seen all manner of things. Extremely picky kids who are
malnourished because they will eat little more than pasta, white rice and
white bread. The one example I am thinking of is in counseling to overcome
her food aversions. For some reason she believes if she eats other foods
they will make her sick. I could understand this if she had an allergic
reaction to a food or for some other reason fell ill after eating some food.
But this isn't the case.

Another girl is the youngest of a large family. Her mother has admitted
that she doesn't feed her dinner till 10:00 at night and she doesn't know
what she eats for the rest of the day. And I haven't seen her eat much
aside from candy and fruit. She is allowed to pack her own meals. My
daughter is also allowed to pack her own meals but they have to be
nutritionally sound. There has to be a protein, a starch a vegetable and
usually also a fruit.

Another girl's mother complains that she is having low blood sugar and yet I
have yet to see her eat a whole meal. The mom does not allow it. She will
feed her a couple of bites of a protein bar, a few grapes or a cracker. The
girl will complain that she is hungry but the mother won't let her have a
meal. This girl is by no means overweight but is also not skinny scrawny.
She will take her at times to McDonalds for something called a "Chicken
Snacker". Now I don't know for sure what this is because I don't darken
their door but it sounds to me like a snack and not a meal.

I buy things from time to time for my husband that he does not eat and we
can not eat. Like energy bars, cupcakes and cookies. Sometimes he eats
these things. Sometimes not. I never know. If he doesn't eat them I will
take them to the dance studio before they go bad. I have seen some of the
skinniest kids, eating these in secret and wolfing down quantities that
would make my stomach hurt! One such girl is on a strict diet and the mom
said she is not allowed sugar. However she has given the girl sugar in lieu
of meals on occasion. And she says the girl won't eat her meals.

So I have seen all manner of things. I do not think you can tell what type
of foods the child has been eating based on their size alone. Once in a
while I will see some sort of skin rash that makes me think the child might
have a food allergy that is either being ignored or is not known. And in
the case of the girl with the food aversions, I suspect celiac based on
several things the mother has told me. Such as crumbling teeth and lack of
growth. This girl looks to be many years younger than she is.

There is also something called Prader Willi. It is a medical condition that
causes the sufferer to want to eat huge amounts of food. They never feel
full. But there is a lot more to it than the eating. The people who suffer
from this have something wrong with their brains. They do not develop
normally physically and can have learning disabilities. They tend to be
overweight even when placed on a strict diet of 800 calories per day and
according to the show I watched on this that is all the calories their
bodies need.

Then there is Down Syndrome. People who suffer from this also tend to be
overweight.

And I am sure there are a lot of other syndomes or maladies that I don't
even know of. Should we take all children away that are not of a certain
weight? I think not.

I don't know the answer. I do see parents who IMO are not feeding their
children properly. In some cases perhaps they don't know what is right. Or
maybe they do deep down inside but are doing otherwise. At least in this
area, nutrition is covered in school. In many grades. My daughter knows
what she is supposed to eat.

On Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:51:02 -0700 (PDT), [email protected] wrote:

>On Jul 14, 2:58*pm, "Polly Esther" <Polly...@cableone.net> wrote:
>> What do you think about this? *Yesterday ABC news was talking about a
>> Harvard professor who suggests the gov't should take kids away from their
>> parents if the chunky little darlings are over weight. *Sounds like a plan
>> to me but what is the state going to do with them when they take them?
>> Here's a bit of the reporthttp://www.imperfectparent.com/topics/2011/07/14/harvard-prof-says-pa...
>> Polly
>
>First off, who's to say that some of the larger children don't have a
>specific problem that makes them that way. It isn't ALWAYS the parents
>fault. Even if it is the parents' fault, how can the government just
>take so many children away? Because the obesity problem is through the
>roof lately, hundreds, maybe even thousands of children would be taken
>away from their homes throughout the country and then what? Put into
>foster homes? That would then in turn put the country into more of a
>deficit due to paying foster parents and orphanages.

Of course not... don't be stupid... just drown the fat bastards!
LOL-LOL

[email protected] wrote:
> On Jul 14, 2:58 pm, "Polly Esther" <Polly...@cableone.net> wrote:
>> What do you think about this? Yesterday ABC news was talking about a
>> Harvard professor who suggests the gov't should take kids away from
>> their
>> parents if the chunky little darlings are over weight. Sounds like a
>> plan
>> to me but what is the state going to do with them when they take
>> them?
>> Here's a bit of the
>> reporthttp://www.imperfectparent.com/topics/2011/07/14/harvard-prof-says-pa...
>> Polly
>
> First off, who's to say that some of the larger children don't have a
> specific problem that makes them that way. It isn't ALWAYS the parents
> fault. Even if it is the parents' fault, how can the government just
> take so many children away? Because the obesity problem is through the
> roof lately, hundreds, maybe even thousands of children would be taken
> away from their homes throughout the country and then what? Put into
> foster homes? That would then in turn put the country into more of a
> deficit due to paying foster parents and orphanages.

From statistics I have read, it isn't just the kids who are overweight. It
is a rampant problem in every state of the United States and in other
countries as well. Yes, people say it is from HFCS or hormones in milk but
I'm not buying that. Maybe that is the case to some extent. But I don't
consume those things. So for me it is not the answer.

On 07/14/2011 11:58 AM, Polly Esther wrote:
> What do you think about this? Yesterday ABC news was talking about a
> Harvard professor who suggests the gov't should take kids away from
> their parents if the chunky little darlings are over weight. Sounds like
> a plan to me but what is the state going to do with them when they take
> them?

When it's happened in the past (and it has), the children have been
quietly returned to their parents, because they didn't lose weight in
foster care. Oh, gosh, traumatizing kids doesn't make them thin? Huge
surprise.

Serene

--
http://www.momfoodproject.com

On 14/07/2011 6:56 PM, Julie Bove wrote:

>
> Just why do you think this is a plan? Some kids have medical problems that
> make them overweight. I used to feel sorry for my friend's younger brother.
> He was very active in sports and his mom had him on a very strict diet
> because he was overweight. He had a thyroid problem.


For every overweight kid with a thyroid problem there are dozens who
just eat too damned much and/or eat the wrong kind of food. Their
parents give them them soft drinks, chips, juice and cookies. Then they
sit around and watch television and play video games. That's why they
are fat.

On Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:58:11 -0500, "Polly Esther" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>What do you think about this? Yesterday ABC news was talking about a
>Harvard professor who suggests the gov't should take kids away from their
>parents if the chunky little darlings are over weight. Sounds like a plan
>to me but what is the state going to do with them when they take them?
>Here's a bit of the report
>http://www.imperfectparent.com/topic...bese-children/
>Polly

Yes I saw the same piece, seems he wants child protective services to put them
in foster care. Now that would definitely bankrupt your country.

btw .. a nutritionist said the Harvard professor is nuts and they need to
learn proper eating habits.

"Stu" <> wrote
> On Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:58:11 -0500, "Polly Esther" <> wrote:
>
>>What do you think about this? Yesterday ABC news was talking about a
>>Harvard professor who suggests the gov't should take kids away from their
>>parents if the chunky little darlings are over weight. Sounds like a plan
>>to me but what is the state going to do with them when they take them?
>>Here's a bit of the report
>>http://www.imperfectparent.com/topic...bese-children/
>>Polly
>
> Yes I saw the same piece, seems he wants child protective services to put
> them
> in foster care. Now that would definitely bankrupt your country.
>
> btw .. a nutritionist said the Harvard professor is nuts and they need to
> learn proper eating habits.

We had a neighbor who thought feeding children Lots was superior parenting.
She put sweetened condensed milk in their baby bottles. As they got older
(and rounder) if she fried chicken for supper, she'd fry one for him, one
for her and one for each of their offspring. We've been gone from that
neighborhood a long time; don't know if any of them lived through it or not
.... but I'd guess: not. Polly

"Mark Thorson" <> A much better idea is to have posters in classrooms
> that heap ridicule and scorn on fat kids. Fat people
> get heart attacks! Fat people look fat! Fat people
> eat while people starve! Fat people contribute to
> global warming!
>
> That would work. Or, at least it's worth trying.
> It would be a lot cheaper.
>
> It's coming. I can feel it. Fat will be the new
> smoking.

Mark, you're a sight. You know that? It is a serious problem. Dr.
Rosenthal on 'House calls' said recently that overweight children have a
much greater incidence of cancer as adults. If diabetes isn't tough
enough - there's one more.
Maybe we could just send them to camp. I well remember my camp
summers. Up before dawn, always something exhausting going on and everybody
was so hungry at mealtime there were no picky eaters. ( I was a picky eater
but was so glad to get something to eat I'd have tried Armadillo.) Polly

In article <[email protected]>,
Serene Vannoy <[email protected]> wrote:

> On 07/14/2011 12:33 PM, Miche wrote:
> > In article<[email protected]>,
> > "Polly Esther"<[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >> What do you think about this? Yesterday ABC news was talking about a
> >> Harvard professor who suggests the gov't should take kids away from their
> >> parents if the chunky little darlings are over weight. Sounds like a plan
> >> to me but what is the state going to do with them when they take them?
> >
> > Sounds fine to me as long as they take away the super-skinny ones too.
>
> I hope you're just being caustic here and not serious, Miche.

Of course I'm just being caustic. I would NEVER suggest a child be
taken away from their parents on the basis of one number.

Miche

--
Electricians do it in three phases

In article <ivntlh$hve$[email protected]>,
"Julie Bove" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Miche wrote:
> > In article <[email protected]>,
> > "Polly Esther" <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >> What do you think about this? Yesterday ABC news was talking about a
> >> Harvard professor who suggests the gov't should take kids away from
> >> their parents if the chunky little darlings are over weight. Sounds
> >> like a plan to me but what is the state going to do with them when
> >> they take them?
> >
> > Sounds fine to me as long as they take away the super-skinny ones too.
>
> I was one of the super skinny ones and it wasn't my parent's fault.

Exactly my point.

Miche

--
Electricians do it in three phases

"Dave Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:6cMTp.154931$[email protected] .com...
> On 14/07/2011 6:56 PM, Julie Bove wrote:
>
>>
>> Just why do you think this is a plan? Some kids have medical problems
>> that
>> make them overweight. I used to feel sorry for my friend's younger
>> brother.
>> He was very active in sports and his mom had him on a very strict diet
>> because he was overweight. He had a thyroid problem.
>
>
> For every overweight kid with a thyroid problem there are dozens who just
> eat too damned much and/or eat the wrong kind of food. Their parents give
> them them soft drinks, chips, juice and cookies. Then they sit around and
> watch television and play video games. That's why they are fat.

That could be. In this area there just aren't a lot of fat kids and the
ones I do know of don't seem to eat junk.

I'm just saying that you can't tell by looking at someone what all they eat.
Unless of course it is smeared all over their face and shirt or they are
holding a fast food bag.