Preventing Childhood Obesity

This 17 second video breaks my heart. One child. One sentence. How can it have such an impact?

Childhood obesity is not talked about enough and it needs to be. It's not understood and it needs to be. It's only a concern once it becomes a problem and it doesn't need to be that way.

Chart referring to the percentage of overweight and obese children in Canada, as per province.

In my opinion, obesity in both adults and children stems from what we hear, see and from what goes into our mouths. This typically starts from a young age; something we have been taught and carry into adulthood. For a small percentage of obese adults, it was nothing from childhood. Their food choices simply created obesity that diet and exercise can change for good. But for most, childhood is the original creator. This is not to "blame" our parents for who we are today because I don't think in any way that mine (mainly my mom because that's who I grew up with) ever set out to raise overweight kids.


I have been overweight for a majority of my life. As a young kid, I was skinny. As a teenager, I blossomed earlier than any of my friends and therefore, I deemed myself fat. I was far from it. My mom, step-dad & numerous other relatives had horrible self esteem and major body issues. Every second of their lives revolved around some sort of fad diet and thus at a very young age, I began to diet. I didn't need to but from the age of about 13, I was already trying the cabbage soup diet, grapefruit pills, only eating one meal a day; pretty much following the pattern of my loved ones. Never was I told I was too young to diet. And far too often my mature looking body attracted the attention of family members and friends who would comment how big my butt was (for my age, obviously) and how large my breast were. To a young girl (since I acquired them shortly after I was about 12 or so), you take it as being fat. All of my female role models said they were fat, so therefore, I must also be fat. These early teachings have impacted my life and I have been dieting ever since. Never saying a nice word about my body. Never thinking that I am pretty. Never believing that I can love myself.

Since finding out that we are going to be parents to a beautiful baby girl, the thoughts surrounding obesity have been weighing on my mind and Rhonda & I have talked about it a lot. How can we change this for our children, girl or boy? And the answer lies within ourselves. We, as parents, need to love ourselves. We, as parents, need to praise our own bodies. We, as parents, need to set a good example. Never should our children hear how we think we are fat. How we think that our butt is too big. How our belly is too fat. How ugly we look today. How fat we feel. Because children hear everything. EVERYTHING. And they believe us.

After 38 long years, I am changing my way of thinking and my way of treating myself, for the sake of myself, my spouse and for my children. It's been a very hard realization that the dieting needs to stop. There are diets out there that work...I'm a 100% believer in that. But diets don't work until you start to love and respect yourself and gain a healthier lifestyle. There is no way I can change 38 years of thinking overnight. It'll be hard, but my motivation will be born soon and she needs her role models to be the best they can. If I have to live with being overweight until I find the answer to my problem, so be it. Will there be people who judge me for my weight? Yes. But the ones who truly care are the ones who will continue to love and support me no matter what my size.

I was watching a show that did a study with two age groups of girls. The first group were 8-9 year olds. Individually they were shown pictures of themselves where one was their original picture, was unaltered and was the skinniest version of themselves. The rest of the photos were altered to make them look bigger and bigger. They were to look at the pictures and decide which one was their true self. Every single girl chose the largest image of themselves, yet their true picture was the thinnest image of themselves. Then they were asked which body part they liked the most about themselves and which they hated the most about themselves. Every girl mentioned a feature such as eyes or hair that they liked and bum, stomach or thighs that they hated about themselves. The last question was, did they ever hear their mom complain about any of her body parts; something that she hated about herself, and every girl mentioned that it was the same body part that she hated about herself. Next they did the exact same study with girls aged 4-5 and shockingly, the results were the same as the 8-9 year olds. They had the mothers watch through video and they were shocked at how much impact they had on their daughters, most not even realizing what they were mindlessly saying throughout their day. What an eye opener.

So what can we do to ensure our children don't go down the childhood obesity path?

• First off, plan to be aware and make a conscious effort to live a healthier lifestyle.
• Did you know that 1 in 5 infants drink soda. No soda for our little one! Water is the best beverage choice. Even fruit juice has unnecessary calories. 
• Healthier snacks; lots of fruits & veggies. And even less snacking in a day. Kids who snack frequently throughout the day are more likely to not eat an actual meal. Snack calories add up quick! 
• More meals cooked at home and less eating out.
• Portion size. Be realistic and remember, their tummies are small and should stay small. When their full feeling kicks in, let it. It's not always important to finish everything on your plate.
• Less TV and more physical activity! Statistics show that kids spend an average of 7.5 hours a day using entertainment media. That's horrible!! Get outside, play games, go for a walk, go to the park, go swimming, run.
• No dieting!!! If you already have an overweight child, it's best to just change your lifestyle; out with the junk, in with the healthy food and get moving!
• Nothing but compliments, praise and creating a positive self body image. That goes for your body too!
• Lead by example.

I understand and sympathize with the girl in the video. People are cruel, whether your an obese child or an obese adult. I've had people make comments about my weight and I know that some people actually think that if they say something, they're helping to change you. That they're rude comment will be this eye opener for you and you'll suddenly be motivated by them to lose the weight. Not so. Far from it, actually. I never want our child(ren) to have to experience that. Fatso, tubby, chubs, fatty, porker and other degrading words are never going to be acceptable for anyone to say to our children. Family or friends; they simply won't be a part of our lives. We want to surround our family with positivity, and those people will have no place in our future. Even through Rhonda's pregnancy, she's had people call her these horrible names, referring to her being fat, and we know those people truly don't care. Real friends don't treat you like that.

The next time you see an obese child, just remember, they don't choose what goes into their mouths. Parents purchase the food and have created these behaviors. Many parents feel guilty and think food equals love. It doesn't. So never blame or ridicule a child for their obesity. The same goes for teenagers. Be aware that they have been taught or encouraged with their food choices. If they don't know any better and haven't learned to be active or have good eating habits, they simply don't know any different. And the next time you judge an overweight or obese adult, just remember, they have likely learned this early on. Changes don't happen overnight. Also know that physical & mental abuse, depression, pain, sickness, sexual abuse and many other conditions can also result in obesity. So the next time you judge an overweight person, don't forget that it's not always about the food.

All this being said, we are going to try our best to raise our daughter (and future kids) with a positive self image and a healthy lifestyle. And it's not that our children won't be able to experience fun childhood treats...but that's what they'll be. Treats. Not mindless, daily routine foods. I can't wait for baby girl to be able to experience her first lick of ice-cream. But it won't be a part of her daily diet. Nor will candy, or juice, or chips. But for those times she gets to enjoy them, they will be treasured.