Discussion»Questions»Health and Wellness» Ten times more children and teens are obese today than were obese 40 years ago according to an article in the Lancet. WHY?
Because society doesn't allow kids to go out and play anymore. People have to be worried about kidnappers so they don't allow them to just play outside. (Remember people used to talk about going out and having to come back when the street lights came on...before my time) Then they have video games to play. Then the schools have removed PE from the daily school day and some have cut back on recess as well. And we eat alot of fast food.
I think you're right on every count m2c. Gosh life is so different now than it was even when my son was growing up let alone way back when in the "olden days" when I was a kid. The world has become more dangerous and sedentary and fast-food reliant. I wonder if that can be reversed? Thank you for your very thoughtful analysis and Happy Thursday m'dear. I appreciate it. Your answer also makes me very sad and I'm thinking it makes you sad too! :(
When I was young, we played, rode bicycles, walked to school and everywhere else we could. I played golf and walked carrying my bag. I rarely see kids outside playing anymore. Very few of my peers were even overweight, much less obese. We didn't have junk food and couldn't afford snacks. I am sure your younger life was similar. This should answer your question.
Lack of exercise and processed food. Children use to go out on bikes, play hopscotch, skipping, making camps, skating, skateboarding, they now spend their time on social media or on game consoles. Meals were once made from scratch and sweets were a novelty, now processed food is the norm, ready meals, and crisps and sweets on tap. It's no secret, exercise and eating sensibly has always been the way to healthy weight.
The world is more dangerous. Kids are being kidnapped off the streets. Fast-food is ubiquitous. Computers and the internet are sedentary activities. I think it's just gonna get a whole lot worse. Thank you for your reply kj and Happy Thursday!:)
Ignorant of statistical analysis? (Why do I ask that question when the answer is so obvious?) It's useless information. You ever stop to think that there might be 10 times more children today that there were 40-years ago? I'm betting that the criteria for determining obesity has changed too. So you need to compare percentages then or incidents per a set baseline before the data even starts to have any meaning. And then the criteria for obesity has to be the same for the then vs. now population sets.
The news on CBS reported it as percentages. Had they used the word 'rate', then you have a valid point. I know what I saw 50 years ago and what I see now. Over the twenty years I taught school I did notice the gradual increases of the weights of the students, especially low income students.
That information was not included in the question. And still no comparison as to what was considered to be obese then vs. what is considered to be obese now (fairly certain that benchmark has both changed over the years and varies country-to-country). So my point remains statistically valid irrespective of that CBS report.
And by the way, I was around 50-years ago too. I remember kids that were as thin as the proverbial fence rail and kids that were challenging to the feed scale down at the old Agway feed store; and there were quite a few of the latter. Perhaps it's "selective" memory that we only remember the thin ones like we usually only remember the "good" times from back then?
There are a few differences between those days and now though, at least in the States (can't speak for the kids observed in the article as I suspect they're talking about British kids as The Lancet is a semi-credible British medical rag).
First, parents today "coddle" their kids too damn much. Back then I was EXPECTED to get a job and work for my walkin' around (or driving aroun') money. Jobs for teenagers equated to physical activity back then. Trimming Christmas trees, a paper route (from bicycle, or shoe leather), unloading trucks at the local IGA and then stocking the shelves, painting the inside of a 44-foot trailers on hot July days (without benefit of even a fan-generated breeze inside those ovens). Didn't take long to burn those excess calories from a 1/2-pounder cheeseburger and a large order of fries. And when I wasn't working I was out in the woods hunting, or out with a fishing rod wading in some trout stream, or messing around with a baseball or a football with the other neighborhood kids.
In the last while I've heard parents say "what, my kid work? I've busted my tail so that they won't have to". So kids today won't usually even look for work. So how many calories does it take to run an xBox controller for a day? When's the last time you saw a bunch of kids in a pick-up softball game or tossing around a football? Can't stray too far from that AC unit ya know . . .
And while some of the blame goes to our now crappy pasteurized, homogenized, chemicalized, ready to instantly absorb into the body food supply we had that kind of garbage food back then too. I remember the sway that the dairy industry held over Congress back then (probably still does) and the (literally) tons of cheese and butter that ended up being used in the school lunch programs around the country. They used to serve tomato soup (made with milk) and grilled cheese sandwiches, with a slice or two of cheese on the side! I don't remember a whole lot of meat or fresh produce on that school menu though. Maybe an old boss of mine was right when he said that we Americans were digging our graves with our teeth.
You are correct on all accounts. (I am sober now). I remember mom bringing home a box of that government surplus crap every month. But we didn't complain...it was food.
Thanks to government interference and the birth of the diet and weight-loss industry. Kennedy's physical education school initiative was something good though.
It's probably a combination of not going outside to play and stuff like high-fructose corn syrup and other stuff they put in food. I was an oddball because I was a free-range kid so I went outside to play but free-range kids don't have a lot of friends because everybody else stays inside.
You were/are adventurous Liv. You're right about the food additives. They put a lot of crap into foods to preserve them. Way back when they didn't do that. It's all about squeezing as much out of the public as they can. I'm sure the profit motive always existed. SIGH. Thank you for your reply and Happy Thursday! :)
This is what playgrounds used to look like. Compare this to anything you can find: https://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/03/hey-parents-leave-those-kids-alone/358631/
I remember my cheek looking like that from a playground accident. We thought it was funny and I kept on playing. Children today are pu$$ies. Except for the skate-boarders...they do some crazy s##t.
This post was edited by Element 99 at October 12, 2017 9:34 AM MDT
my2cents 