Kids, obesity and dieting!

absolutely. Faddy diets dont work and only lead to eating disorders. Getting kids outside, down the beach, riding bikes, walking in woods, going to the park. Taking kids swimming at the weekend, all these things are great for kids. Its only the adults that cant be bothered, so kids are used to sitting in front of the telly and computers, they eat cause they are bored, when you child is active you will find they wont ask for food. And its not expensive either the things that i have suggested cost nothing. The only thing that costs is the swimming. But dvds, computer games etc all cost money and all the goodie food that goes with them. From babies you shouldnt emphasise that if you eat your dinner you can have yummy pudding, because they then think dinner is bad and boring but il eat that quick so i can have good pud. You should make dinner the good fun food and eat slowly so they fill up and dont have as much pud. Treats are great in moderation. A child shouldnt need to diet if they are getting enough exercise and burn off more or the same as what they eat.

i understand the concern about overweight kids but what annoys me is that not all teenagers are lazy and over eat and that some do have a reason for thier weight issues. earlier this year my daughter wrote into your shout after people had made some nasty comments about her weight, she in fact has a condition called myasthenia gravis and if she had not taken a high dosage of steriods she may well have died. the steriods have caused her to triple her normal body weight which she is unable to shift despite the fact she eats very little and does exercise. people should think before opening their mouths just incase they are very wrong.i have been out with my daughter a number of times and i have seen some of the looks she gets and heard the comments especially from other teenagers,she tries to ignore it but i know it gets her down sometimes.