Do you know if your kids are a healthy weight?

rom · 26-01-2015 5:02pm #1

In the interest and spirt of the "Know your numbers" campaign from operation transformation how many parents on here know the numbers of their children?

This is not a debate over the effectiveness of BMI as a method of measurement but rather if your child is a healthy weight. As it say on the page "Although BMI is used to screen for overweight and obesity in children and teens. It is not a diagnostic tool."

http://www.whyweightireland.ie/childrens-bmi/

Pherekydes · 26-01-2015 5:20pm

My "fattest" one is 5-9 and 10-10 @15 (F). Thinnest is 6-3, 12-0 @19 (M).

RayCun · 26-01-2015 5:22pm

no idea what their numbers are, but they're both obviously runners :pac:

average_runner · 26-01-2015 5:24pm

rom wrote: »

In the interest and spirt of the "Know your numbers" campaign from operation transformation how many parents on here know the numbers of their children?

This is not a debate over the effectiveness of BMI as a method of measurement but rather if your child is a healthy weight. As it say on the page "Although BMI is used to screen for overweight and obesity in children and teens. It is not a diagnostic tool."

http://www.whyweightireland.ie/childrens-bmi/

Dont really think bmi should be used with kids under 6. To be honest don't really think weight should get much focus for kids under 6 unless its very obvious.

We need to be careful that we dont push this generation the other way, ie skinny is a must have thing.

pconn062 · 26-01-2015 5:32pm

I have no kids to worry about.

High 5??! Anyone?!

rom · 26-01-2015 5:39pm

average_runner wrote: »

We need to be careful that we dont push this generation the other way, ie skinny is a must have thing.

There is little chance in that happening. As is skinny being a must have thing I don't think that is right. It is about perception. If a lot of children are overweight then skinny is subjective. I don't think you would argue that a child at the 50% percentile BMI in the 1980's would be skinny by todays standards as being not true. As you can see from the article the green range is huge so yes there is little focus but if your child is outside of that range after you use the NHS calculator then its time to ask your GP.

average_runner · 26-01-2015 5:49pm

rom wrote: »

There is little chance in that happening. As is skinny being a must have thing I don't think that is right. It is about perception. If a lot of children are overweight then skinny is subjective. I don't think you would argue that a child at the 50% percentile BMI in the 1980's would be skinny by todays standards as being not true. As you can see from the article the green range is huge so yes there is little focus but if your child is outside of that range after you use the NHS calculator then its time to ask your GP.

True, suppose there has to be something for docs to use.

Letyourselfgo · 26-01-2015 5:59pm

I have no idea what their numbers are but visually they look healthy and train 3/4 times a week. I have 3 girls and to be honest I'd prefer to delay them knowing their numbers and becoming obsessed with their weight for as long as possible. I do talk to them about healthy choices although I'm a hypocrite as I do know my numbers and they could be better.
The growing up in Ireland study shows that 1/4 of 9 yr olds are either overweight or obese, this was from a couple of years ago but still a frightening stat.

walshb · 27-01-2015 11:28am

Letyourselfgo wrote: »

The growing up in Ireland study shows that 1/4 of 9 yr olds are either overweight or obese, this was from a couple of years ago but still a frightening stat.

Why is that stat frightening? 3/4 are not obese or overweight. Sounds a lot better! We likely will never get a lot of things to be 100 percent. Plus, they are 9 years of age. I wouldn't place all that much emphasis on that stat.

There was a stat I heard on OT that 58 percent of adults are overweight. I think that is right. That stat is frightening IMO.

Edit: A massive 66% of Irish men over 20 are also considered overweight or obese, as are 50.9% of Irish women over 20 years: well in excess of the western European average of 47.6%.

http://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2014/0529/620368-irelands-obesity-levels-above-eu-average/

Not good reading!

Timmaay · 27-01-2015 12:11pm

Interesting topic definitely. Unfortunately I think this tread is pointless within the athletics forum, how many parents who are athletes will allow their kids become obese? It would appeal to a much wider audience over on after hours etc!

I think there is a very clear link also between your social status and the risk of child obesity, basically if you are Uneducated the odds are alot higher that you as a parent will have poor cooking skills and poor knowledge on nutrition etc, the likes of fast food/take aways/sugar etc will form a much higher proportion of your and your kids diets, hence the obesity problems. So in my view, Yep knowing your kids BMI is very useful, but it needs to be closely followed by the likes of food/nutritional guidance, exercise targets etc. Roll this out at both school and super market levels (currently supermarkets push sugary foods like crazy, decent profit margin on them). From a government point of view the few million this would cost would probably be offset multiple times in the future with reduced health problems, but since when has any government cared about any issue longer than their own term lengths or shortly after the following election!

(ok my rant for the day ha)

PaulieC · 27-01-2015 12:29pm

Timmaay wrote: »

Interesting topic definitely. Unfortunately I think this tread is pointless within the athletics forum, how many parents who are athletes will allow their kids become obese? It would appeal to a much wider audience over on after hours etc!

I think there is a very clear link also between your social status and the risk of child obesity, basically if you are Uneducated the odds are alot higher that you as a parent will have poor cooking skills and poor knowledge on nutrition etc, the likes of fast food/take aways/sugar etc will form a much higher proportion of your and your kids diets, hence the obesity problems. So in my view, Yep knowing your kids BMI is very useful, but it needs to be closely followed by the likes of food/nutritional guidance, exercise targets etc. Roll this out at both school and super market levels (currently supermarkets push sugary foods like crazy, decent profit margin on them). From a government point of view the few million this would cost would probably be offset multiple times in the future with reduced health problems, but since when has any government cared about any issue longer than their own term lengths or shortly after the following election!

(ok my rant for the day ha)

this is going in the same direction as the thread on operation transformation.

My kids came home from girls guide on Saturday proudly proclaiming that they learned about the food pyramind and how they should be eating more from the bottom of the pyramid i.e. processed carbs. As long as this crap is being pushed, things are going to continue to get worse

average_runner · 27-01-2015 12:31pm

Timmaay wrote: »

Interesting topic definitely. Unfortunately I think this tread is pointless within the athletics forum, how many parents who are athletes will allow their kids become obese? It would appeal to a much wider audience over on after hours etc!

I think there is a very clear link also between your social status and the risk of child obesity, basically if you are Uneducated the odds are alot higher that you as a parent will have poor cooking skills and poor knowledge on nutrition etc, the likes of fast food/take aways/sugar etc will form a much higher proportion of your and your kids diets, hence the obesity problems. So in my view, Yep knowing your kids BMI is very useful, but it needs to be closely followed by the likes of food/nutritional guidance, exercise targets etc. Roll this out at both school and super market levels (currently supermarkets push sugary foods like crazy, decent profit margin on them). From a government point of view the few million this would cost would probably be offset multiple times in the future with reduced health problems, but since when has any government cared about any issue longer than their own term lengths or shortly after the following election!

(ok my rant for the day ha)

It doesn't help with the rules schools have for lunch, for example her is the rules where my daughter goes:

1) Not allowed crisps or chocolate, but you can have chocolate spread on your sandwiches etc!!
2) Juices are pushed massively which is not a good thing at all. Sugar content is high in alot of these

Now they do treats once a week which is ok, but how do i explain to my daughter that you can't have juice everyday when the others are doing it

walshb · 27-01-2015 12:35pm

I don't think OT is pushing to eat more processed carbs. There are plenty of carb rich foods out there that are healthy and advisable to ingest!

dna_leri · 27-01-2015 1:12pm

average_runner wrote: »

It doesn't help with the rules schools have for lunch, for example her is the rules where my daughter goes:

1) Not allowed crisps or chocolate, but you can have chocolate spread on your sandwiches etc!!
2) Juices are pushed massively which is not a good thing at all. Sugar content is high in alot of these

Now they do treats once a week which is ok, but how do i explain to my daughter that you can't have juice everyday when the others are doing it

Explain why sugar is a bad thing in age-appropriate words and find a juice (or alternative) that is not high in sugar.
It's up to parents (not schools) to educate children in good dietary habits.
As this example shows when schools do get involved, they often get it wrong.

On the original question, I'm with LYG, I do not think children need to "know their numbers". They do need to know how to make healthy choices regarding exercise and diet.

pwurple · 27-01-2015 1:17pm

dna_leri wrote: »

Explain why sugar is a bad thing in age-appropriate words and find a juice (or alternative) that is not high in sugar.

Water is an alternative to juice. Or milk.

I have no idea why people give juice to children at all... it rots their teeth, is packed with sugar and has taken most of the good bits (example: fiber) out of the fruit and binned it.

My eldest is in 25th percentile of BMI... lower end of normal range. Smallie is too small to be measured. And yes, we keep half an eye on that, as well as everything else in their lives.

average_runner · 27-01-2015 2:10pm

dna_leri wrote: »

Explain why sugar is a bad thing in age-appropriate words and find a juice (or alternative) that is not high in sugar.
It's up to parents (not schools) to educate children in good dietary habits.
As this example shows when schools do get involved, they often get it wrong.

On the original question, I'm with LYG, I do not think children need to "know their numbers". They do need to know how to make healthy choices regarding exercise and diet.

We have explained to her, but kids will be kids. She loves water so we are lucky that way.

Yes its up to parents but also the education system to get it right too.

walshb · 27-01-2015 2:18pm

Maybe a dilute option is best. Everyone's happy. Not all water, but mostly water. Robinsons with 90-95 percent water added.

rom · 27-01-2015 4:16pm

The educational system can only do so much. My wife is a teacher in a school where lunches are provided which are all the right things. Still parents give the kids two sausage rolls and then end up eating both lunches. As parents are the only people that can control what I child is eating saying education should be more involved is true but its learnt at home first. As children only start school at 5 much of the damage is already done. I agree that the inadequate PE programs in most schools is a joke.

rom · 27-01-2015 4:18pm

walshb wrote: »

I don't think OT is pushing to eat more processed carbs. There are plenty of carb rich foods out there that are healthy and advisable to ingest!

From a diet standpoint the OT recommendations are not bad. You could have someone eat rabbit food for 7 weeks but thats not going to be sustainable. Its more about changing their mindset around food that it can be both healthy and enjoyable.

walshb · 27-01-2015 4:29pm

rom wrote: »

From a diet standpoint the OT recommendations are not bad. You could have someone eat rabbit food for 7 weeks but thats not going to be sustainable. Its more about changing their mindset around food that it can be both healthy and enjoyable.

I find the issue is more to do with the quantity rather than the type of foods. Too much emphasis is placed on the types of foods. Heavy people and overweight people ingest too much. It's ok (weight wise) if you are training hard and sweating off the weight, but if not, it just adds to weight on your frame. I mean, you could eat 3-5 kilos of fruit and veg and nuts and seeds and 'healthy foods' a day and you will still gain weight.

Biggest issue is trying to tell people to cut out something completely. It cannot work effectively. Limit and reduce, but don't be restricting completely a food that a person has been ingesting for years, and a food that they "crave."

A person ingests 150-200 grammes of chocolate per day. No point in trying to rid that. Encourage a reduction or a partial substitution. Come up with something sustainable and realistic.

Same with a person ingesting 4-5 takeaways (chips/burger/pizza type food) per week. Reduce and substitute is better than demanding or wanting a complete ban.

average_runner · 27-01-2015 5:15pm

rom wrote: »

The educational system can only do so much. My wife is a teacher in a school where lunches are provided which are all the right things. Still parents give the kids two sausage rolls and then end up eating both lunches. As parents are the only people that can control what I child is eating saying education should be more involved is true but its learnt at home first. As children only start school at 5 much of the damage is already done. I agree that the inadequate PE programs in most schools is a joke.

And did the school ask the parents why this was happening? Going forward its not much use if there is no communication from both sides.

rom · 27-01-2015 8:01pm

average_runner wrote: »

And did the school ask the parents why this was happening? Going forward its not much use if there is no communication from both sides.

All they can do is say it to the parents but if they choose to ignore it then not much can be done.

Couldn't agree more that portion size is the answer.

Do you know if your kids are a healthy weight?

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