Fat Irish kids/ teenagers

Doom · 27-08-2013 12:19PM #1

A lot of talk about this been a huge problem right now, at first I just thought maybe a few odd kids, but lately I've noticed a lot of kids who are huge, boys with moobs and nearly beer guts, the girls are the worst with moobs on the back of their shoulders, big legs and arms.
I really feel sorry for them, wait until they hit their late 30s, when most people put on a few pounds....
Seriously where are the social services, these kids hardly make their own dinners etc, so it must be the lazy parents feeding them crap food!
Schools need to get involved too, stop them leaving school grounds at lunchtime to chomp supermacs/ breakfast rolls everyday.
Seriously people take notice, the fat kids are nearly more in number than healthy kids....

seosamh1980 · 27-08-2013 12:35PM

I saw a girl of about 10 or 11 buy herself an entire tub of Pringles and start eating them like a pack of crisps, which is what her friends were all having. She was big already, how do you get to the point of thinking an entire tub is a single serving, and by 10 years old?? Depressing.

Doom · 27-08-2013 12:44PM

Ya, seen a young lad with a 2 litre of coke, drinking it like a 500ml bottle....insane.
Imagine all the diabetic problems in a few yrs.

syklops · 27-08-2013 12:55PM

Doom wrote: »

A lot of talk about this been a huge problem right now, at first I just thought maybe a few odd kids, but lately I've noticed a lot of kids who are huge, boys with moobs and nearly beer guts, the girls are the worst with moobs on the back of their shoulders, big legs and arms.
I really feel sorry for them, wait until they hit their late 30s, when most people put on a few pounds....
Seriously where are the social services, these kids hardly make their own dinners etc, so it must be the lazy parents feeding them crap food!
Schools need to get involved too, stop them leaving school grounds at lunchtime to chomp supermacs/ breakfast rolls everyday.
Seriously people take notice, the fat kids are nearly more in number than healthy kids....

I was recently living next to a college, and I found it a bit of an eye opener.

When I was young, it was common for someone you knew to go off to college and come back having put on a bit of weight having discovered pints, pizzas, and being too hungover to go training on a Sunday which they would normally do.

The eye opener for me was the number of freshers who were arriving with obvious weight problems. Im not talking about girls who were a bit curvy, but girls with big arms as a result.

I thought living next to a college would be great. All these young girls around. I gotta say, there weren't very many Irish girls I admired. As the OP said, it wasn't one or two either. Its not like an 80s cartoon where there was the one fat kid, it wasn't even 50/50, it was the majority. Its quite worrying really.

KTRIC · 27-08-2013 01:42PM

Sure aren't they just "average" !!

Doom · 27-08-2013 01:53PM

KTRIC wrote: »

Sure aren't they just "average" !!

As in fat kids are now the "average" if so ya, I would say that.

y0ssar1an22 · 27-08-2013 01:58PM

i'd say the main problem is that kids dont play outside anymore, and get exercise while doing it. they just sit in front of a computer for hours on end.

runawaybishop · 27-08-2013 02:03PM

y0ssar1an22 wrote: »

i'd say the main problem is that kids dont play outside anymore, and get exercise while doing it. they just sit in front of a computer for hours on end.

I'd say the main problem is they eat too much, exercise is always secondary to diet. Parents are to blame, they lack basic education on nutrition. They also, it seems, lack the ability to tell their fat kids to stop eating ****e.

syklops · 27-08-2013 02:11PM

y0ssar1an22 wrote: »

i'd say the main problem is that kids dont play outside anymore, and get exercise while doing it. they just sit in front of a computer for hours on end.

Theres a number of contributory things. Like with all things weight related there is no silver bullet. As recent enough as the mid 90's houses were cold. Very cold in winter, and chilly in the summer, so people expelled energy keeping warm. Schools were freezing.

To be honest as a kid, I didn't play outside very much and I didnt run around very much. I was more indoorsy, and enjoyed reading, watching tv or fiddling with the computer, and I was very slim. As well as not running around much I simply didnt have access to sweet food. All the food I ate was prepared at home. I went to McDonalds once a year. Admittedly I didnt have a sweet tooth, I still don't, but my sister who could eat her weight in chocolate if allowed was also slim. She wasn't allowed to though.

Nowadays, as well as less running around, kids have access to way more sugary foods then we did. Its the norm to get dairylea or a mars mini in your lunch box where as we never did. Schools and homes are well insulated and aren't as cold and many kids get driven to school in nice warm cars. Even the cars were cold when I was growing up.

clumsyklutz · 27-08-2013 02:37PM

My parents were very strict on myself and my brothers growing up, absolutely no sugary cereal, no juices, fizzy drinks or chocolate during the week and either bar of choc or can of 7up as a treat at the weekends.

Now, I am by no means slim at the moment (size 14), but that's because of my own poor choices and I'm getting back in shape, so not having chocolate and crap doesn't bother me.

My two younger brothers are two of the fittest teenagers I know, one even goes to the gym several times a week just because he can't stand being inside glued to his phone for long.

Then I look at families etc around the area I live in now, and you just see pure laziness, I've often seen families doing most of their weekly shop out of the freezer section, with their unbeliveably overweight kids throwing more crap into the trolley and nobody bats an eyelid.

It really is down to the parents to instill healthy food attitudes in their children.

WHIP IT! · 27-08-2013 02:51PM

syklops wrote: »

I was recently living next to a college, and I found it a bit of an eye opener.

When I was young, it was common for someone you knew to go off to college and come back having put on a bit of weight having discovered pints, pizzas, and being too hungover to go training on a Sunday which they would normally do.

The eye opener for me was the number of freshers who were arriving with obvious weight problems. Im not talking about girls who were a bit curvy, but girls with big arms as a result.

I thought living next to a college would be great. All these young girls around. I gotta say, there weren't very many Irish girls I admired. As the OP said, it wasn't one or two either. Its not like an 80s cartoon where there was the one fat kid, it wasn't even 50/50, it was the majority. Its quite worrying really.

If those girls need any motivation to lose the weight you say they're carrying - then the desire to out-run the creepy guy next door is surely top of the list...

seamus · 27-08-2013 02:53PM

seosamh1980 wrote: »

I saw a girl of about 10 or 11 buy herself an entire tub of Pringles and start eating them like a pack of crisps, which is what her friends were all having. She was big already, how do you get to the point of thinking an entire tub is a single serving, and by 10 years old?? Depressing.

It's not really about servings.

Kids will eat until they're full. If it's something they really like, they will eat well beyond the point of fullness. Children don't have self-control, they don't really understand the concept of portion control. If you give a child a box of pringles, they will eat them all.

Serving control has to come from the parents.

MrStuffins · 27-08-2013 02:57PM

syklops wrote: »

Theres a number of contributory things. Like with all things weight related there is no silver bullet. As recent enough as the mid 90's houses were cold. Very cold in winter, and chilly in the summer, so people expelled energy keeping warm. Schools were freezing.

To be honest as a kid, I didn't play outside very much and I didnt run around very much. I was more indoorsy, and enjoyed reading, watching tv or fiddling with the computer, and I was very slim. As well as not running around much I simply didnt have access to sweet food. All the food I ate was prepared at home. I went to McDonalds once a year. Admittedly I didnt have a sweet tooth, I still don't, but my sister who could eat her weight in chocolate if allowed was also slim. She wasn't allowed to though.

Nowadays, as well as less running around, kids have access to way more sugary foods then we did. Its the norm to get dairylea or a mars mini in your lunch box where as we never did. Schools and homes are well insulated and aren't as cold and many kids get driven to school in nice warm cars. Even the cars were cold when I was growing up.

Dude, kids aren't fat because of central heating!

syklops · 27-08-2013 03:06PM

MrStuffins wrote: »

Dude, kids aren't fat because of central heating!

The first sentence in my post was:

Theres a number of contributory things

Did you miss that bit?

Have you anything more to contribute to the discussion?

Backstreet Moyes · 27-08-2013 03:07PM

I think perceptions has a big part to play in it. Maybe their is some truth to it but i think it's a myth the excuse oh all my family are big it's in my genes. You hear a friend giving out oh that girl is lucky she has good genes. Leaving out the part she eats healthy and goes to the gym.

It's hardly coincidence that mot fat kids have fat parents and majority of skinny kids have skinny parents. Parents are too blame if they are overweight and over eating they are most likely over feeding their kids also. It's sad because a parent should set an example being overweight is irresponsible when your a parent i think because your child will pick it up from you.

From my personal experience my dad was always skinny but my mother was very heavy years ago. As a result i was doing what she was doing and was overweight as a kid. A few years ago she coped on and started leading a very healthy lifestyle and lost 5 or 6 stone. The meal plans changed and i lost weight also and got big into exercising. From my personal experience anyway i think the parents are to blame for this lifestyle.

seosamh1980 · 27-08-2013 03:10PM

Nuts102 wrote: »

I think perceptions has a big part to play in it. Maybe their is some truth to it but i think it's a myth the excuse oh all my family are big it's in my genes.

"Obesity runs in my family" "Nothing runs in your family, that's the problem!" :pac:

markomuscle · 27-08-2013 03:24PM

At a GAA game I was at recently I saw a boy aged about 11-12 who would most likely be classified as obese, he was doing some serious celebrating when the team scored but when his father (very thin) gave him money for the shop he disappeared for 20 minutes, probably the most important period of the game.

MrStuffins · 27-08-2013 03:26PM

syklops wrote: »

The first sentence in my post was:

Did you miss that bit?

Have you anything more to contribute to the discussion?

No, I didn't miss that part, but I think you're making out that having heating i your house or in your car is a big contributor to kids being fat. It's not. Maybe it contributes a little, but not enough.

Parents are to blame, schools are to blame, society is to blame.

Bord Gais is not to blame.

markomuscle · 27-08-2013 03:26PM

Doom wrote: »

Ya, seen a young lad with a 2 litre of coke, drinking it like a 500ml bottle....insane.
Imagine all the diabetic problems in a few yrs.

it's tesco's fault,2 litre bottles are cheaper than 500ml nowadays, I do it myself but always choose sugar free

Stench Blossoms · 27-08-2013 03:39PM

Nuts102 wrote: »

I think perceptions has a big part to play in it. Maybe their is some truth to it but i think it's a myth the excuse oh all my family are big it's in my genes. You hear a friend giving out oh that girl is lucky she has good genes. Leaving out the part she eats healthy and goes to the gym.

It's hardly coincidence that mot fat kids have fat parents and majority of skinny kids have skinny parents. Parents are too blame if they are overweight and over eating they are most likely over feeding their kids also. It's sad because a parent should set an example being overweight is irresponsible when your a parent i think because your child will pick it up from you.

From my personal experience my dad was always skinny but my mother was very heavy years ago. As a result i was doing what she was doing and was overweight as a kid. A few years ago she coped on and started leading a very healthy lifestyle and lost 5 or 6 stone. The meal plans changed and i lost weight also and got big into exercising. From my personal experience anyway i think the parents are to blame for this lifestyle.

Just to add perspective to this.

My parents are both obese.

Myself and sister are not. I'm a normal weight, my sister is underweight.

Backstreet Moyes · 27-08-2013 03:39PM

markomuscle wrote: »

it's tesco's fault,2 litre bottles are cheaper than 500ml nowadays, I do it myself but always choose sugar free

It's not just Tesco it's every supermarket. All the best deals are on coke, multi packs of crisp's, sweets, chocolate etc. You rarely see good deals on good wholesome foods.

Backstreet Moyes · 27-08-2013 03:40PM

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

Just to add perspective to this.

My parents are both obese.

Myself and sister are not. I'm a normal weight, my sister is underweight.

If you read back again i said the majority. Not everybody who has fat parents are going to be fat. But the majority are from my experience so i don;t see your point.

Alf Veedersane · 27-08-2013 03:42PM

markomuscle wrote: »

it's tesco's fault,2 litre bottles are cheaper than 500ml nowadays, I do it myself but always choose sugar free

They shouldn't ba having cola all that often for a start. If they're choosing to have 2L instead of 500ml on a regular basis, the fault isn't Tesco's.

btkm8unsl0w5r4 · 27-08-2013 03:42PM

Watching those documentaries on BBC the "men who made us fat" seems to say that kid are no more or less active than they were 30 years ago, its all diet. Processed food is one casue but portion size is a major factor.

I do intermittant fasting with my own kids, I starve them for days on end, and once they start gnawing on the dog I feed them beansprouts.....but seriously I was a fat kid...not fun.

Alf Veedersane · 27-08-2013 03:45PM

Emiliano Glamorous Wagon wrote: »

Watching those documentaries on BBC the "men who made us fat" seems to say that kid are no more or less active than they were 30 years ago, its all diet. Processed food is one casue but portion size is a major factor.

I do intermittant fasting with my own kids, I starve them for days on end, and once they start gnawing on the dog I feed them beansprouts.....but seriously I was a fat kid...not fun.

You don't see kids out playing on the street all that often in the same way as when I was a kid anyway.

Also, it's help a lot of people if they used smaller plates.

btkm8unsl0w5r4 · 27-08-2013 03:49PM

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

You don't see kids out playing on the street all that often in the same way as when I was a kid anyway.

Yeah and the cops are getting younger....the research shows kids do as much outdoor stuff as always, heavy kids don't cause the weight limits them. So basically its not the lack of activity that causes fatness its the fatness that causes lack of activity. Its a interesting point cause its means its purely a diet thing.

Stench Blossoms · 27-08-2013 03:53PM

Nuts102 wrote: »

If you read back again i said the majority. Not everybody who has fat parents are going to be fat. But the majority are from my experience so i don;t see your point.

I'm giving you an example of the minority.

Gbear · 27-08-2013 03:54PM

Home Ec that actually teaches about proper nutrition (not food pyramid bull****) should be mandatory all the way until leaving cert.

Learning how to be a functioning adult in terms of feeding and clothing yourself, managing a budget, sexual health and so on are more important than teaching kids maths, science, english or any of the other traditional primary subjects.

Alf Veedersane · 27-08-2013 03:55PM

Emiliano Glamorous Wagon wrote: »

Yeah and the cops are getting younger....the research shows kids do as much outdoor stuff as always, heavy kids don't cause the weight limits them. So basically its not the lack of activity that causes fatness its the fatness that causes lack of activity. Its a interesting point cause its means its purely a diet thing.

Also interesting because if you assign a chicken to one and egg to t'other, then you can finally answer that age-old question.

But yeah, I see what you mean.

btkm8unsl0w5r4 · 27-08-2013 04:02PM

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Also interesting because if you assign a chicken to one and egg to t'other, then you can finally answer that age-old question.

But yeah, I see what you mean.

The lack of activity thing is a post hoc fallacy, spouted by manufacturers of processed food to distract us from the truth, its not the food that's bad, its that you don't exercise enough. Jim Coor would be fuming.

Alf Veedersane · 27-08-2013 04:05PM

Emiliano Glamorous Wagon wrote: »

The lack of activity thing is a post hoc fallacy, spouted by manufacturers of processed food to distract us from the truth, its not the food that's bad, its that you don't exercise enough. Jim Coor would be fuming.

Well, I only considered based on what I see especially when I go down home. There's a big green area beside the houses and you rarely see any of the kids out playing on it. Back in my day we'd all be out there.

But I didn't look at it from the angle of the heavy kids not going out to play because of their size.

Fat Irish kids/ teenagers

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