Last night I was watching a show on PBS regarding fat children and different programs to try to help them and their families. One program was being conducted at LSU (I think it was LSU). Besides exercise, etc, they started kids on a new diet that began with MEAT AND GREEN VEGETABLES ONLY! Hmmm - what does that sound like? After a few weeks, they began to add other veggies and fruit. Very interesting! The little girl being interviewed even said that she couldn't eat corn, potatoes, cereal, dairy, etc. But - at no time did they actually say the words "low carb".
It was interesting seeing the little girl and her mother going grocery shopping and learning to read the labels noting portion size and grams of sugar.
One astounding bit of info from the show was that many kids get as much as 3000 calories a day from soda!
The state of Arkansas has decided to send home letters from school to inform parents when their children are fat. Well, duh! Do you think the kids and their families don't know it? Too bad they can't actually teach nutrition in school. That would stir up more controversy (low carb, low fat, high carb, blah, blah, blah) than religion in schools. And, insterad of having horrid PE classes where they torture kids with rope climbing, softball (I couldn't pitch, catch, or hit the ball), or other things that make kids miserable, it would be nice if they just took a nice brisk walk for the class period, or have aerobic dancing (to music kids like). They need to learn that exercise can be fun and doesn't have to be a competitive sport.
I find it amusing (or pathetic) that schools will push competition in physical activities (that point out that some of us are total klutzes) but think that academic competition (that points out that some people are dummies) is unfair.

I've been cringing a lot lately with all the hype about our kids being fat.

We need to start having pediatricians address this more emphatically than they have in the past. They need to put these kids on monitoring and education.....go right to the kid and teach the parents also.

I think the key would be to sit quietly with the child, explain concerns, and offer help. If the help is accepted, the child could be enrolled in a program where weight, nutrition, diet and exercise are monitored and both the child and the parent be taught and encouraged to success!

Of course, even if this was a free service, my guess is most parents wouldn't participate fully....I think too many parents would either refuse the help, or not bring the child for needed updates/classes, or would continue to sabotage their kids with "Goodies" and poor choices.

This would take commitment from the physician, staff, parent and child for it to work. I think the parent might be the weak link!

I think the schools should get involved...but only in teaching nutrition classes, offering healthy meals and snacks, encouraging exercise (I like your ideas!), and discouraging sedentary activities like TV/Video games, etc. Unfortunatly, the schools are in so much trouble with budgets, that I can't see this happening soon!

Hi,

Hmmm, seems to me that the parents are the main responsible parties in this. In my opinion, that is where the buck needs to stop ...

Thanks,

Adam

I agree! as a parent of two I agree!

I agree...until the kids reach school age and obtain access to all sorts of things in school and daycare that their parent wouldn't normally feed them and have little control over.
For example...here's the school menu for one week in October at my kids' school: Monday: Pizza, Tuesday: Cheesburger on bun, Wednesday: Lasagne, Thursday: Chicken nuggets, Friday: Corn dogs. Oh, yes...they also get 1/2 cup each of a fruit and vegetable (usually fruit packed in high sugar syrup and corn or peas) and their choice of milk (most kids pick chocolate). If that were the only high carb meal of the day, it might be fine (although I shudder to think of the transfats in some of these foods!), but for most kids it's NOT the only high carb meal that they get.
I can (and do) pack my kids' lunch, but those that are in the free lunch program have no choice but to eat what they get. Kids will often trade what you pack them in their lunch for things that they would rather have and while I can tell my kids not to do that, I can't prevent it unless the school also enforces their "no sharing" policy, which they don't.

Lisa

You know that sad thing is tho, is that the school probably feels this is a very healthy diet! It's low-fat, or fairly low fat....and that's about all they look at!

I've asked my pediatrician in the past about kids that were brought in to the office that were overweight, dirty, underweight....and basically what he said was as long as there's no "signs of abuse" and the child isn't UNDERWEIGHT, they pretty much don't raise questions with the parents....unless there's a medical reason to do so! (I was almost reported to DSS when my daughter was 5....she was underweight and the WIC program people wanted me to feed her deserts when she didn't eat her meals! When I said I wouldn't do that, they threatened to call DSS if her weight didn't go up. Luckily my pediatrician went to bat for me...to this day, she's 21, she has to fight to keep her weight up) He did agree that HE thought overweight, if severe, and poor hygeine were also problems, but said that the courts wouldn't agree and so most docs quietly try, then ignore.

I'd tend to say he was right....remember the recent cases where children WERE taken from the parents? One child was pre-school age (can't remember exact age) and was OVER 200 POUNDS!!!!!! Now if that isn't abuse, i don't know what is! But the public went nuts and most supported the parent, not DSS.

I guess the only thing we can do is educate those around us.....teach or own kids....and maybe some friends if the chance comes up....and hope for the best.

As a "Lunch Lady" for the past 22 years, let me add my 2 cents to the school lunch discussion.

At the school I serve at, I put out as much fresh fruit as I can - using canned in light syrup only when I run out of fresh - we have a salad bar that offers 2 fruits, a veggie, carrots and celery, wheat bread, peanut butter and jelly, lettuce (ice berg, which I wish were dark greens) with a dressing that has only 1 gr. of carbs and 1 gr. of sugar, cheese and croutons. This is in addition to the main item, or if they choose they may take a portion (1/2 cup) of yogurt.

Everything that the public schools put out for the school lunches is under the U.S. Government guidelines. The portions for each item are determined by the Gov., as well as what items can be used as a veg (did you know that catsup qualifies as a veg??). I am quite proud of the school lunches that we serve here in Kentwood, Mich. This is an elementary so we don't offer the french fries, but all of our meats are either grilled or baked - no deep frying.

Also, the milk we offer is all low-fat, even the chocolate.

That is the best sounding school lunch I've heard of!

I understand that the schools have to stick with the US gov't guidelines.....but sometimes you gotta wonder! First off, the schools my kids have gone to, 2 in MA and 2 in NC, offered at most two choices....and they weren't good choices in my opinion. Not so much the high fat, but the types of fat....transfats, fried foods, margarine instead of butter.....and the amount of sweets involved. There were times they could get fruit-cups...but always high sugared ones....and rarely, if ever fresh fruit. Most of the deserts were still cakes, cookies, etc and the kids will almost always choose that over fruit!

I also think it's a good idea to get rid of ALL vending machines in the schools....or at least restrict them to the teachers-only area.

We don't have a dessert but MAYBE once a month - then it might be a mini M&M, or a snack sized twixt bar. We only offer one entree at the elem. school - today I served baked all white meat chicken nuggets, with apples and oranges on the food bar along with all the other items I listed before.

Some of the lunches sent from home are rediculous - a second grader just brought a can of pop for his lunch today. We made him take a school lunch.

Good eating practices have to start at home - all of my grandkids love broccoli, cauliflower, green peppers, etc. - things I didn't learn to like until I was an adult.
That is why it is hard for me now with l.c.ing - my Mom was (and still is) a wonderful cook, but also had homemade desserts in the house every day - I would come home from school and eat cookies, brownies, etc. and then, of course, I wasn't hungry for supper.
I don't bake - I can't just leave the goodies alone!!!!!!

Shari....Reading your post, we got into a discussion at work today, and most people (a few former teachers) wanted to know if the school system you're in is a more affluent one? NONE of us have ever heard of such healthy choices for school lunches!

Now...I just HAVE to comment on good eating practices starting at home. I agree, we must offer the right choices to our kids....but that doesn't always work! As the sister of one picky eater and the mother of another, I can say that offering doesn't always work! I swear my daughter had her taste-buds set before she was born! She was impossible! even as a little thing, given jarred foods (and homemade) she turned up her nose and REFUSED to eat meats, most veggies. She is still the same, and she's 21 now. My brother is also still the same....and he's 52!

What irritated me is when my daughter was little and I was told to give her sweets to fill in her calories...even if she didn't eat her dinner! This was from the WIC (Women Infants and Children program) staff.....and when I argued and said I wouldn't do that, they threatened to turn me over to DSS! This is a child that was thin, but VERY healthy. Her blood tests were always good, no signs of anemia, malnourishment, etc....and she was sick less than any of us or any of her friends! I'll never forget that day.....I was devastated!

I know when I was little (like 2 yrs. old) my Mom said the only thing I would eat or drink was orange juice. Well, I don't drink orange juice all that much as an adult, but I sure do love to eat!!!!
I don't believe in pushing little ones to eat more than they are hungry for - they will eat when the are hungry. I agree with you - you don't give them empty calories just to fatten a child up - those fat cells do not go away!!!!
I go with the attitude that a responsible parent knows their child - if they are healthy they must be getting what they need nutritionally. If I could only go back to not wanting to feed my face!!!

I am doing pretty good on just eating 3 meals per day. I don't want to go with the 5 meals because I did that before, and found I was always hungry that way.

Is your City anywhere near where the hurricane went through?? That would make me NOT be able to put food in my mouth!!!

Shari....I was lucky with my daughter, I had a very good pediatrician....one that believed that mom knew best. Like he said at the time "anyone can tell this is not an abused kid". She was happy, healthy and VERY active. I was devastated, not because I thought I had done wrong....but because I was afraid of a big fight with DSS. (I'm also a single mom, so worried about the ex putting his 2 cents in!) I know other moms that were told the same thing and they followed the advice of WIC. One mom I know talked to her doc and her doc agreed with them....the others (I knew of 4 others personally) never mentioned it to the docs. But they all did as the WIC workers told them....and force-fed their kids and gave them shakes, pudding and ice cream to fill in their calories.

As for the hurricane? In this area it was just a big windy, rain storm. Around here you don't often get wind with rain.....at least not the type of rain that lasts all day. We might get pop-up storms that have some strong winds, but they don't last more than a few min. This was wind and rain off and on all day.....kinda reminded me of home! LOL East of Raleigh is where most of the damage occured, this is because of the area is pretty much at or just above sea level, so storm surge causes a lot of problems, and the rivers, streams, etc fill up fast.

Cindy Sue - Sorry, I forgot to answer the question regarding our school system. We are not in an affluent area per se - there are some really expensive homes in one part of the district, and then we have low-income housing (apartments) in several areas, with lots of middle income familys rounding out the population. We just happen to have a great Food Service Director who buys very wisely from the Gov't. items that are offered to all school systems at a very low cost. He buys all the fresh fruit he is allowed, and tries to use the rest of his allotments to get the best nutrional value he can. I feel very good about serving my students everyday. Sometimes it is what the kids bring from home that upsets me!!! Lots of juice boxes instead of drinking milk - and they aren't the 100% juice boxes either. Some even bring a can of pop from home to eat with their school lunch. I would love to have soda pop and candy banned from our cafeteria, but I don't see us being able to tell parents what they can give their kids!!!!

Glad to hear you made it through the storm o.k. I have never been to N. C., but I have heard a lot of really good things about it. My area is in SouthWest Micigan - not far from Lake Michigan, 30 miles or so. I spend 2 weeks up in the Northern area (Pentwater) every summer, and then we go way North into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and then West so we are actually in Green Bay. We love the big lake. Someday maybe I can get down the East coast and see all of the beaches that way!!!

By the way, how old is your daughter???

It's possible. At my girls' school, it's school policy (and written clearly in the handbook as well as mentioned at every orientation) that candy and pop are not permitted in school lunches brought from home. Treats for the class are discouraged except for birthdays and one or two holidays (like Christmas and Valentine's day). I don't see it so much as the school telling the parents what they can and can't give their kids, they're just saying that if they want their kids to have such things, they should have them before or after school hours. The rationale of the school, if challenged, is that high sugar items such as pop and candy tend to cause behavior problems in kids and make it hard for the kids to concentrate and they are really focused on discipline there so too many antics, whether they are caused by too much sugar or not, are not put up with.
The school doesn't have a cafeteria, so lunches that are provided are brought in by an independent company and pre-bagged. You have to order lunch for the days you want it a month ahead of time so they know how many they need to provide each day and there's always a few extra for the odd kid that forgets their lunch. In other words...school lunches give one choice each day and it's that or nothing.