Ok, here's some more of my random thoughts of the American nutrition wars....things that really bug me. Let's start with the government. They use the "Food Pyramind" and tell us what is "good for us". Our schools are supposed to make meals that prescribe to this notion. I no longer have a child in school, but if I did he would definately be packing his own lunch! I've been in a few school cafeterias in recents years and the lunches are...well, tragic, for lack of a better word. The school now prohibits the sale and consumption of sodas....good call. However, they have no problem handing out chocolate milk.....a fat laden, sugary glitch! What sense does that make. Lets look at the other items on the menu: buttered grilled cheese sandwich, fruit coctail, fried "tater tots", and a peice of frosted cake. Wow, how nutritious! Yeah, right! If we use our imagination, we can actually assign those things to the basic food groups and comply with the government standard.

I read a startling statistic.....25% of today's kids are clinically obese! That's scary. A decade ago, only 4% were. I have theories on this too. The parents themselves is where most of the blame lies. For one thing, today's working parents don't prepare meals like they used to. Parents themselves mostly grew up eating in the microwave, ready-to-eat, fabricated food generation. That's all they know, so they pollute their children with this crap as well. There's little discipline at home regarding food these days: Mom doesn't make Johnny eat his veggies because she thinks most of them "suck" too. Also, when Johnny is at Walmart and grabs a big bag of Snickers, she doesn't make him put it back. Often, she doesn't spend enough time with the kids because both parents work. She makes up for this by letting them have whatever they want....not realizing that's why she does it. I've seen kids who drink nothing but Pepsi and Mountain Dew.....like they have a constant sugar "I.V" going into their veins. It's just downright tragic. Then of course, there's television advertising. Kids are bombarded with ads for cereals featuring Disney and Star Wars characters.....sugar in different shapes. They add vitamins to these things so they can call them "nutritious". I saw a kid one day putting chocolate milk on Fruit Loops....un-friggin'-believable!!

Then there's the other extreme: Parents who find an eating lifestyle that suits them and then FORCE it on their children. I think that's terrible! I'm 42 years old and have been, as stated in another thread, on a low-fat (10% or so calories from fat) for most of my adult years....it seems to suit me and all of my growing and development years are well behind me. BUT, I would never allow a child to eat in this manner! I think that more fats in the diet are essential in a child's development. By the same token, I would not allow a child to pursue a Low-Carb diet either. Carbs are essential for the exercise and acedemic activities of daily life for a child. I would prescribe a traditional balanced diet, not low fat, not low carb, but I diet consisting of real, quality food and a minimum of junk.

Academically, our kids have dropped to something like 13th in education among developed nations. Do you think that has something to do with their physical well being, or lack thereof? I sure do! These kids are the future of this country.....and we're handicapping them with poor health by what we feed them. I wish more people would realize this and do something about it before it gets totally out of control.

I agree with this post. The problem is the same in the UK and the numbers of obese children that you see in the street is frightening. But look at the supermarket trolleys of their parents and it is no surprise.
Children are over -indulged in being given the food the want, rather then what is good for them.
Growing up fizzy drinks were a treat, for sunday dinner or at christmas. They are banned at school both for packed lunches or at the school canteen. Though we did have fruit juice and flavoured milk but we did not have an obesity problem.
The school lunch ladies always insisted that we had to have veggies on our plate, even or hamburger day.
I was a very reluctant vegatable eater, I still loathe peas, mushrooms and carrots. But I did like leafy green veggies and tomato sauces too. My mother always put cress on my plate, gave me vitamin C tablets and got me to eat satsumas, grapes, apples etc.
It wasn't low carb, I was given museli at an early age and loved it, I only every had white bread at Granny's house which I visited twice a year.
I often had honey on my toast, for a treat Nutella or marmite, but that is not the same as being bought a large bar of Dairy Milk, a big box of doughnuts, chicken nuggets and big bottles of coke every week.

I know that many of my school friend, that were not from wealthy familes, were given vegatables with the meals at home. All they parents were concerned about health. Now it is my generation that is begining to have children but they often by quick an easy.

My cousin's two year daughter goes to day-care. They were serving the same kind of junk to these little children, that was the scandal of the public schools. Until my cousin found out and the parents protested. At home this little girl is raised on a very healthy diet but she has already been introduced to junk food.

Children don't new low carb or low fat, they just need to be feed the right food which includes, fruit, veggies, grains, dairy, protein and sometimes something sweet. If their diet is balanced, then a piece of cake or a biscuit sometimes will not hurt them.

Just wanna jump in here and say that I hate it when I see parents at the super markets with their kids and all they have in their buggies are snack cakes and sugar laden sodas. The other day there were 10(!) little toddlers (age 2-4) walking around stuffing their faces with french fries and chicken nuggest from McDonalds. All the while the parent was stocking up on little debbie snacks. It blows my mind.

I am really afraid for kids now a days. When I went to school we had 3 seperate lunch lines and a salad bar. I'm not sure if they still do that today but atleast it's variety. I just wish they'd stop selling Domino's pizza. But even with that they still had coke machines and snack machines all over the place. They would turn them off during lunch hours but that doesn't stop kids from getting it other times of the day. *sigh* I really would like to see an informed nutritionist working with a school lunch menu. Sorry to say it but I don't believe that the people serving our kids have the knowledge to keep them healthy.

I have 3 younger siblings and I try to tell them to eat healthier. My dad is a great cook and keeps it healthy and my mom is a LCer so they have good stuff at home but I dread what they are putting in their mouths at school.

I just want to say WHY ARE YOU ONLY BLAMING THE MOTHER????? SHE this and SHE that, how many homes are run by the MAN in this day and age?

I do agree that many kids are getting overindulged by their parents, but it comes back to the price of food. I can buy 3 bags of pasta for the same price as a pound of broccoli. So if I wasn't aware and was buying solely based on stretching a budget it would be pasta tonight!

I just bought 3 bags of 1lb frozen veggies for 88 cent each. That's the same price I pay for pasta.

In my area 3-1 lb. boxes of pasta are on sale for $1.00. even at $0.88 a box, 1 box will feed a family of 4-5 with no problem. I can eat 1/2 of a 1 lb. bag of veggies by myself. And if you're not feeding carbs, you need to fill the stomach with more meat and veggies.

Now buying junk is another issue, true without junk you can expand your budget for meat and veggies but lets not fool ourselves carbs are cheap. And they taste good. A bottom line buget issue for schools and some families.

I'm glad you brought up the example of the price of pasta vs. the price of fresh vegetables....here lies another sad but true reality. Why is it that in most cases, the poorest people are also the fatest? It's a simple reality of economics. These kids should be eating fresh fruit and vegetables but can't afford them. The US government has programs such as WIC....basically, they can get cereal, milk, cheese.....but not anything green. They preach the food pyramid but they have no program where poor kids can have real, nutritious foods! They have no problem handing out milk and cheese, they have been floating the dairy industry for years. When you go to the supermarket, you see all the beautiful fruit...apple, grapes, kiwis, melons.....but they cost so much! I'm an information technology profesional now, and I can barely afford them on a regular basis. Same thing with fresh vegetables. Oh, and lean meat? .....forget about it. Now, take a look at the candy aisle: A 2 pound bag of Snickers miniatures for only a buck! There's a special this week on Food Lion sandwich cookies....500 for only 99 cents! Lets not forget the buy one, get one free sale on the jumbo bag of potato chips!.....so we can wash it down with the 99 cent giant 5 liter Pepsi! That's the reality of the food scene today....it sux, but what can ya' do?

Who 'bombards' the children with ads, exactly? I'm curious. Where are kids seeing the ads in a completely involuntary manner?

Personally, I have read that kids need dietary fat and I believe it, especially when they are young. It's needed for brain development. Sugar and starches are the real battle. Kids tend to be active, plus they have all that growth hormone (so it's not as harmful as later in life when that slows down), but still.

No argument here that pasta and potatoes are cheaper than meat and veggies, but it comes down to a matter of priorities. Are you willing to give up a few hours of free time to see that your family is fed healthy meals?
I see a lot of people making a fuss about how expensive it is to feed a family, but then they eat out at McDonald's 2+ times a week (no time to cook, they say). For my Family of 4, I can count on it costing at least $15.00 per trip if we eat at McDonald's; multiply that by twice a week and that's $30.00. What can I buy for $30.00 at the grocery store? Well...this week I could get chicken thighs or a frozen hen turkey for 79 cents a pound (about what you pay for a pound of pasta), pork roast for $1.19 a pound, fresh baby carrots, spinach and broccoli for $1.00 a pound and frozen veggies for 88 cents a pound (one bag will feed the four of us one meal). Basically, I could buy enough meat and veggies for the 4 of us for the next week at least for that same 30 bucks I spent on two meals at McDonald's. Now you tell me what the smarter purchase would be, not to mention which is healthier. Short on time? Utilize that crock pot gathering dust in the basement or spend a few hours on the weekend cooking for the week ahead.

Find school menus scary? Pack your kids a lunch. But I should also add that no matter how healthy a lunch you pack your kids, you can't prevent them from trading it for something they'd rather have.



Speak for yourself. We didn't even own a microwave until I was in high school and then it was used primarily for reheating leftovers. I myself cook dinner 28 out of 30 nights out of the month (we eat out twice a month). My kids eat breakfast at home and pack a lunch to school (and my DH and I pack a lunch for work...leftovers).
Yup, we're a fast food nation, but let's not lump all families into the same category. Some of us are actually paying attention to what we feed our families.



No matter what you choose, unless you choose to just let your kids eat whatever they feel like, you will be 'forcing' some type of eating style on them. The question then becomes, how are you going to feed them?
I choose to have my kids follow controlled (not LOW) carb with a minimum of junk food and plenty of protein, healthy fats, veggies, dairy and fruits and very moderate amounts of whole grains. They're honor roll students, both of them, with 3.8 and 3.9 grade averages. Yesterday, they spent nearly 4 hours playing outside with the neighborhood children after spending 1 1/2 hours at martial arts training, so they're obviously not lacking in energy, either. Neither of them is overweight and they are both healthy and growing as they should according to their pediatrician who, BTW, gives mom a thumbs up and an 'atta mom!' for how they eat.

To the first part of your post: He's got his arse planted in front of the TV watching NASCAR, yelling obscenities at Jeff Gordon, taking a sneak peek at Playboy TV when no one is looking, and piling frozen pizzas into his pie hole.

Now, back to the second part of your post. You are absolutely correct, pasta, soda, frozen yogart bars, mac and cheese, corn chips, etc. are a much better food bargain for most people then food that is good for them. Also, time is a factor in food preparation.

All of this is less expensive, and quicker now, but in the long run with health care it gets horribly expensive.

Over40

Uh.....whatever. I make some statements about society in general and you have those who have to jump in and say "NOT ME!".....going on the defense. I never said those who use this forum fall into that category.

I blame both parents, I blame the fathers that teach kids by example of binge drinking,smoking and sitting in front of the telly stuffing themselves with take aways and tv dinners.
I have not problem with you kids eating pasta, that isn't the problem, that is making kids obese. It is the potato chips, the doughnuts, chicken nuggets, pizzas and over processed mircowave meals that parents are feeding their children, wilfully ignoring the warnings as their children get fat.

I think this sums up the entire thing! This is what is actually happening!!


This is always going to happen if you don't make yourself clear, hunny.

e

The blame the parents thing is true, but I've been saying for a long time that nothing will change until the entire culture changes. Parents are expected to both work and work more than 8 hours a day, the kids are given too much homework and the parents are expected to help with that too so the kids stress pours over onto the parents. All the kids activities are now scheduled during dinner and we have a society that raises the bar on what is an acceptable level of achievement. I have 3 gifted children who get straight A's in very advanced classes and to be considered rounded, they have to have umpteen extracurricular activities, and be in band, etc (for college admission to places like Stanford). I had to alter what I put in my kid's lunches because one has 9 minutes for lunch and the other 17 (in 3rd grade) and they can't chew the food fast enough. Everything requires more than you can give.

I work very hard to provide healthy meals for my family and make sure my kids get enough sleep, but I am working against cultural norms for most of it and lots of people would not exhaust themselves the way I have to achieve it.

KSRT

In my country the media including the tabloids are constantly discussing healthy eating. I was taught at school about sugar being bad for you, shown the "tooth in a glass of Coke" thing.
We had cookery classes teaching us healthy things to cook too.
Things like lentil soup, coleslaw, quiche, homemade pizza, bolognaise sauce, apple pie etc. We did drink brightly coloured ice drinks and sweets on the way to school. (There was an amazing sweet shop at the top of my road, it was very popular before and after school.) But for most people didn't have mircowaves and us kids were still feed our meat and two veg dinners. And we were not fat.
The difference is the our kids are often not taught cookery any more. (If they don't recognise a courgette/zuchini!!) But their parents were taught and feed better, so they should now better too.
Advertising is more and more aggressive, in the UK MacDonalds advertises directly to tweenage kids (8-12), they put in a comment in it about making sure the exercise and run about, but it is encouraging kids that are out in groups to eat junk.
I understand the poverty issue but fresh food is cheaper than meals from the chill cabinate. And if you bulk buy you can make spaggetti sauces, cassoroles, chilli etc and freeze it. They way you only have to buy the veggies, it is a mircowave meal but with nothing nasty in it.