Junk Food & Obesity
Before I start this little rant, I want you to know that I am no Kate Moss. I’m a UK size 16 and although I used to have
terrible eating habits throughout school, I try to eat a balanced diet now. There are days where I’ll eat a junk snack or chocolate bar, but usually, I eat my five portions a day and I balance the bad with the good.
So, I went to my local shop today to get some lunch, and this lady and her child kept walking into me. I felt it was very rude, but hey - the aisles are small and neither of us was a size zeros so I let it go.
I started to notice more and more what she was putting in her basket, sausage rolls, bottles of coke, chocolate bars, chocolate cakes, etc and it started making me think about what that was teaching her daughter about eating. Like I said, I am not some fit, thin, women who will eat nothing but broccoli, but I certainly don’t fill my shopping basket with junk, either. As her daughter eats all of that rubbish the calories and fat content will not be good for her. The sugar and E numbers in a bottle of coke is enough for me to go hyperactive, and I’m 21 years of age.
I am sure that the women is a good mother, I am not questioning her parenting skills, but maybe more thought needs to be put into educating parents on healthy eating. I think that if the sausage roll and chocolate bar was accompanied by a bottle of pure juice, or a piece of fruit, the message that she would be putting across to her daughter would be completely different.
The government says that obesity levels in the UK are on the rise, and that by 2010 more than 1 million children will become obese. The medical research council in the UK has sent leaflets to the government outlining the problems and risks that will take over in the population if action is not taken now. I think the most positive and effective step would be to try and educate new parents, accompanied by the ongoing work in schools.
Children in schools today are the parents of tomorrow, so the more they learn about the importance of healthy eating, the more their children will benefit, and so on.
What do you think? What did you have for lunch today? Does your school promote healthy eating?
Posted By Carly On: Thursday 26th April, 2007
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10 Comments On: Junk Food & Obesity »
Remember that Jamie Oliver thing that happened? How parents tried to shove junk food through the fences to their children?
For lunch, I had some chicken curry with pilau rice (one of those prepacked things lol).
I think if children slow down on the carbonated drinks and crisps and chocolate, obesity will decrease. My little cousin eats fries nearly everyday and screams and shouts if he does not get his coke or whatever.
My boyfriend does not eat healthily as well…everytime we go out, he always eats McDonalds but I have controlled his eating and he does not jump into a quarter pounder.
If parents introduced healthy dishes, eg. chicken and pasta instead of KFC chicken, I think the obesity will stop.
To be honest your description of her shopping basket sounds a lot like my basket when I was preparing for my last birthday party. Any other week you’d have seen me with plenty of fresh fruit, veg, meat, bread, juice… not health-freak style, but a reasonable diet. That week, I was fat-sugar-fizz central. I’m a size 14. I’d hate to think that people had been looking at me and making judgements about me.
I think the first step is new new parents. Leaving healthy eating habits until school is too late. Toddlers need their parents to “teach” them about sitting at a table and eating all or at least most of the meal that is put in front of them, including the green parts, rather than holding out for dessert or crisps. It’s not good when a three-year-old is given half a pack of chocolate chip cookies over the course of an afternoon “because she didn’t eat her lunch”.
(cheese salad and a chunk of still-warm fresh bread.)
At Sara: I agree, it is not necessary for children to be drinking big bottles of cola, why not a childs size cola, or even better ribena or orange juice?!
At Mary: I wasn’t making judgements per se, I was just thinking that as she asked her daughter if she wanted a big sausage roll for her dinner, whilst adding chocolate/cola to her basket, it wasn’t promoting healthy eating, which in turn made me wonder about other parents too. For all I know, that was a one off!
One of the worst things I think is the same sort of incident as the ‘cookie’ one you’ve described, a child will learn such naughty behaviour from that.
Def. agree with your suggestion about toddlers and parents too.
People who are sensitive to salt develop fluid retention. It is fluid retention that causes obesity. Fluid retention, and therefore obesity, can easily and rapidly be reduced simply by cutting down on salt and salty food, which, of course, means cutting down on processed ready meals which almost always contain a lot of added salt. It is not necessary to cut down on calories to lose weight, only to cut down on salt/sodium. - For example, change from salted butter to unsalted butter, change from salt to a lower sodium salt substitute, cook meals from fresh ingredients instead of buying ready meals, eat unsalted nuts instead of salted nuts…
Lose weight by eating less salt! Go on! - Try it!
See my website http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk
(The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.)
Willow,
Fluid Retention causes obesity? If only it were that simple. I’m boderline overweight and I used to get muscle cramps all the time from a lack of sodium. Care to explain that?
Denise
Denise, I get leg muscle cramps all the time, and I’d say that I’m a little overweight too. These are from not drinking enough water. As we sit here now I’ve a raging thirst!
Dear Carly, please come to SwayForum soon. Thank you.
Hi Denise
Muscle cramp tends to be associated with shortage of magnesium, calcium, potassium or zinc, not shortage of sodium. Most people eat far more sodium than they need.
“Like I said, I am not some fit, thin, women who will eat nothing but broccoli”
This bothered me a bit. Being fit and thin doesn’t necessarily mean someone is eating a piece of lettuce everyday.
But yeah, I live in the US and obesity is a big issue here. If it wasn’t for my metabolism I’d be a porker right now o_O
I was trying to accentuate that I am not thin women who eats broccoli, exercises rigorously and won’t drink water because of it’s calorific value, perhaps borderline Anorexic?
I was not saying thin women only eat lettuce/broccoli.
Next time I’ll put: ‘I am fat’ instead!
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