August 2010 On the couch
Would you put
your child on a diet?
This month, three readers share their views on the rising levels of child obesity, the battle for healthy eating and whether it's right to put children on a diet
Reader profiles
Donna Stork,
33, is a carer and lives in Weston-super-Mare with her
partner and two children. She finds it quite hard to encourage
children to make the right food choices.
Louise Shatliff,
43, is a veterinary receptionist. She lives in Manchester
with her husband and three children. She and her eldest daughter
joined Slimming World.
Barbara Louvrou,
52, is a nutritional therapist and lives in Stockport. She
has two adult children, four grandchildren and thinks healthy
eating should simply be a way of life.
What do you think is causing our children to put on weight?
Louise: "I think it's probably due to a change in our lifestyles. Mums used to be at home, watching what their kids ate when they got in from school, but now so many parents work, kids just fend for themselves."
Barbara: "Children are allowed to make more choices and, with the influence of advertising, it often means they go for fast food options."
Why do you think child obesity has become such a problem?
Barbara: "Lots of parents just don't know anything about healthy eating themselves, as many of them were brought up on TV dinners. Some just don't know how to cook and prepare fresh food for their children."
Louise: "In a lot of families, mums still do the shopping and the cooking. You find that if she leads a healthy lifestyle, then she passes that on to her children - and the reverse is true, too."
Donna: "Parents come home from work and don't want to cook, so they just whack something in the microwave or go to McDonald's."
Have your say!
Would you put your child on a diet? (CLOSED)
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Comments:
"My 3 children are ages 15, 17 and 23 and none struggle with their wieght, they are all a healthy slim size, I however really struggle and am overweight as is my sister. I believe an issue is often made about food, when, what and how much was always made an issue to me as a child, "clear your plate" was the motto. My children, from a young age stopped eating when they were full, this continues now, letting them understand their body signals, eat when your hungry, stop when youre full, its never been discussed and never been made an isssue, meal times and general eating habbits should not be made into a battleround, kids will go through phases- let them explore food, ultimately making food a huge issue can have life long effects."
Rebecca Brown - Friday 23rd Jul 2010