Poll: Who Is Most Responsible for Childhood Obesity—and Fixing It?

Things I Learned June 13, 2012 at 03:28 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly7PONiKGUs&NR=1&feature=endscreen

Kyla June 13, 2012 at 03:29 pm

Imagine if, instead of telling kids to love themselves no matter their size and prohibiting any "negative talk", kids were allowed to feel shame. It's a powerful motivator that isn't used until adulthood (and maybe not even then).

Kevin George June 13, 2012 at 03:43 pm

JJ, when you posted that yesterday I had typed the response " Now you did it!" then deleted it. I didn't even want to get that close to the s storm that was about ensue.
There are a few third rail issues that always sure to engender pat responses and you stepped right on one. You would indeed be better off calling them Nazis.

Jimmy Sanders June 13, 2012 at 03:45 pm

Fortunately Fair Trade chocolate, ice cream and candy is non-fattening and will solve the problem!

James Jones June 13, 2012 at 03:59 pm

Kevin: I hear you. You gotta admit, the knee-jerk reactors are fun to watch when they think they have something to get their panties in a twist over. It does beg the question, "What aspects of societal issues ARE we allowed to talk about?"

Kevin George June 13, 2012 at 04:07 pm

Only the PC ones unless you have the time to argue endlessly to no real end.
There are certain issues on which you will never change anyone's mind, so unless you are into peeing up ropes or are a masochist, let it be. I don't get much of a kick out of it anymore, but whatever spins your prop........

Things I Learned June 13, 2012 at 04:19 pm

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/

Ron Selkovitch June 13, 2012 at 04:20 pm

A terrible solution that would do far more harm than good. And who should do the shaming - the same kids at school who do the bullying?

Komfort June 13, 2012 at 04:27 pm

The top five are above the average for the state as a whole. Seems like a data point to me.

Komfort June 13, 2012 at 04:31 pm

How about the same people that shamed them into believing global warming?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4l3zp3H_gE

Kevin George June 13, 2012 at 04:33 pm

Ron, thirty years of your progressive theories have produced the "feel good" youth that are now obese and bullying each other, shall we continue?

Kyla June 13, 2012 at 04:44 pm

When you were a kid and got an answer wrong in front of your class, you probably felt ashamed that you didn't know the answer. So you went home and studied and made sure that didn't happen again. When you botched a play in your baseball game, you felt shame and went home to practice for hours. At work now, you make a mistake that causes a project to fall behind several days. You make sure that doesn't happen again, because you are ashamed.
A certain amount of shame is a powerful motivator to get on the right track. Kids shame each other naturally. Trying to suppress that instinct is not a good thing. Allowing kids to think that shameful things are completely okay is ridiculous. It could be argued that the kids that are most messed up are the ones whose mommies and daddies tell them that being a 150 lb nine year old is fine ("because that's just how you are!"), then go to school and are told by their peers that it's not okay at all.

James Davis June 13, 2012 at 04:50 pm

Komfort, its technically the Top 6 that are above the 38% state average. And its interesting how a percentage of kids are taken to the tenth of a percent rather than rounding up/down. Because in that case based on what you are saying, there would be a Top 7.
Again, data points are not supposed to discriminate until variables are accounted for as to what makes them different and this includes ALL points. This is based on statistical averages, not Top 5 of anything. So if the lower bracket cities are included, in order to get a REAL answer or at least a statistically correct answer, we have to look at the lower percentages. Obesity is a PROBLEM everywhere. Which is why I question the double digit numbers at the bottom end and ask why they are not single digit if in fact incomes are tied to obesity rates based on some of the opinions here.

Things I Learned June 13, 2012 at 04:53 pm

http://splicd.com/A2d84U4Ewic/11/20

Selina Forte June 13, 2012 at 04:57 pm

I see. So we should "shame" our kids to feel bad about themselves so they are encouraged to do better? That doesn't make any sense to me. What about the psychological consequences? It's bad enough if a teacher or classmate does it, but it would be detrimental to the development of a child if their parent does it as well.

Kevin George June 13, 2012 at 05:21 pm

Selina, shame is the wrong term when it comes to parents.
The problem is that today mediocre or bad performance is praised as " You did your best" or worse " You did great" when they didn't. So naturally the child interprets this as " I did a great job, I don't need to improve". After a while the child realizes that he will be praised no matter what he does.

Komfort June 13, 2012 at 05:38 pm

Good call on the single digit mystery, James. It turns out the percentage presented here as "obese" is actually "obese + overweight", according to the links in the original article.
I wonder what the unpublished "obese" numbers actually are.

Things I Learned June 13, 2012 at 06:18 pm

I wonder how a definition of obesity that was popularized by Ancel Keys who was wrong about everything and that that doesn't compensate for Americans growing taller and that has been manipulated for political reasons in the past is considered a reliable basis for good public policy?
"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Millions of Americans became "fat" Wednesday -- even if they didn't gain a pound -- as the federal government adopted a controversial method for determining who is considered overweight. The strict guidelines, revealed earlier this month and formally approved by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), measure a person's Body Mass Index.... Or, put another way, 25 million Americans who weren't fat before, are now. Even under the previous standards, more than half of all adult Americans are overweight. The guidelines are based on Body Mass Index (BMI), a height-to-weight formula that ignores whether the weight is from fat or muscle. It also ignores whether someone has a large or small frame. The weights are the same for men and women... Some health experts reject the new guidelines, claiming people who aren't fat are now considered overweight. For example, under the new definitions, many professional athletes would be considered too heavy." http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9806/17/weight.guidelines/

Selina Forte June 13, 2012 at 06:26 pm

Kevin, What if a kid did try their best and still failed? I don't think affirming that a kid tried his/her best is a bad thing. It encourages a kid to try something else. Something that they might be good at. We can't all be stars at everything. But that is beside the point. My issue here is the notion of making a kid feel shame or embarrassed because of his/her weight. I think it's cruel and counterproductive.

Ron Selkovitch June 13, 2012 at 06:30 pm

Kyla Your solution may sound possible in an ideal situation, where the perfect parents can apply it in a limited amount, balanced by lots of positive reinforcement. Unfortunately the real world of obesity is one of poverty, where education is lacking to know the right approach, money is lacking to implement the right changes, and the environment is not exactly helpful.
I believe, like others, that we need a national solution.Nobody likes taxes, but it may be a very simple but workable approach. Increase the taxes on junk food and subsidize the healthy food so the poor are not hurt,

Tom Yarnall June 13, 2012 at 06:38 pm

I know a fat guy who is a vegetarian. Do you recon he is eating under the table?
Are some people just born with have an insatiable appetite for things such as food, sex, alcohol, drugs or gambling? I think Hitler was addicted to JuJu beans until he choked on one in 1945.

Things I Learned June 13, 2012 at 06:46 pm

Racist.

Kevin George June 13, 2012 at 06:54 pm

Selina, do you think that is a big problem today? Not enough praise?
Basically it is dishonest to praise a child when it is not deserved. Of course if a child really does try the appropriate amount of recognition is good, but that is not the point I was bringing forth. When a child is told over and over that he did great when he knows he didn't ( and they know better than anyone) it undermines his trust in his parents opinion and judgement.

Kevin George June 13, 2012 at 07:06 pm

Nazi racist.

Tom Yarnall June 13, 2012 at 08:43 pm

Boy! I blew my cover on that one.

Robert Paulson June 24, 2012 at 02:23 pm

That's what they do here. Arrogant, egocentric, political posturing.

Komfort June 24, 2012 at 02:31 pm

What are you talking about?

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