As a boy that was pretty pudgy (not obese) for his whole life (even now), this topic interests me.  Especially now that I am trying to get away from being fat.  Also, as the father of 6, 3 of which are boys, I am even more interested in this.  I don’t want any of my kids to grow up fat, become a social outcast, unable to find a mate, and possibly unable to function in life.

Raising a child and allowing them to become overweight is something that I feel parents should be punished for!  Bold statement?  I see it as a form of child abuse.  Take a look at the following list of things that a FAT kid has a good chance of dealing with as they grow up.  Then compare that to a spanking or some other form of child abuse and see if they have anything in common.

  • Infertility (can practice all you want, but nothing will ever come of it)
  • Obesity (will always have to buy big clothes, social outcast, trouble finding a mate, etc.)
  • Diabetes (need to monitor insulin levels at all times, daily shots, sugar can kill you)
  • Cardiovascular disease (high blood pressure, high cholesterol level)
  • Sleep apnea (can’t breath while sleeping, need a machine to help you breathe at night)
  • Hepatic steatosis (fatty degeneration of the liver)
  • Asthma (can’t breathe, activity can kill you)
  • Hip pain (need I say more?)
  • Cholecystitis (gallstones, abdominal pain, fever, jaundice)
  • Pancreatitis (upper abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever)
  • Pseudotumor cerebri (headaches, vision changes)
  • 2/3 (66%) have a strong change of becoming an overweight adult

I think the last point is one of the most important ones in the whole list.  Even if your fat kid never sees any of these symptoms as a kid the statement that I so often hear turns out to be incorrect.

Don’t worry, he will grow out of it!  NO…he won’t!

66% of all fat kids…turn into fat adults.  66%  Those are pretty good odds that you as a parent have just totally screwed up your kids for his entire life.  YOU.

This is not just a matter of curbing your fat kids diet.  Schools are cutting their PE programs.  A lot of schools serve crappy food for lunch and provide your kids with access to candy bars and soda pop.  It is the parents responsibility to teach your kids what is good for them and what is bad for them - AND WHY.  This last point is the most important one.  When I tell my kids that they “..shouldn’t eat french fries – its bad for you”.  Their immediate reaction is “what ever!”.  If I tell my kids “you shouldn’t eat french fries.  They will cause your body to store fatty build up in your veins causing your heart work harder which will eventually cause it to stop and you will die.”  Their general reaction is “oh – snap!!”.  We actually watched the SUPER SIZE ME movie with our kids.  I shit you not – we didn’t eat at Mc Donalds for at least a year after that.  We would drive by a Mc Donalds and all the kids would point and say OHHHHH – yuck!

Now they want Burger King.

Look at it this way.  You can’t smack, slap, spank, or in any other way physically discipline your kids (even the ones that need it).  So take a child that mis-behaves and do what Uncle Sam would do.  Have your kid do push ups, pull ups, sit ups, up downs, the star man, run laps, or any other form of physical education (PE) or physical training (PT).  This serves two purposes.  One – you now have an excellent way to punish your kid no matter where you are (push ups in public – totally legal).  Two – you are helping your kid in the long run.  They will be physically fit, able to lead an active life style, and hopefully able to slip by that 66% statistic we talked about.

I have been asked this before: WHAT IF MY KIDS WON’T DO PUSH UPS WHEN I “ASK” THEM TOO?

This is a totally different subject that goes into earning your kids respect at an early age.  This has to be addressed before fixing the squishy side of your fat kid!

Resources

  1. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/50934.php
  2. http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Male-obesity-upping-cancer-risk
  3. http://www.wisegeek.com/does-obesity-cause-diabetes.htm
  4. http://pediatrics.about.com/od/obesity/a/1108_obs_effect.htm