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Is child obesity caused by bad parenting?
- Thread starter Monica
- Start date
There's two factors that come into play for someone being obese, it could be down to genes or overeating. I don't think it's caused by bad parenting, it's cheaper to buy junk than healthy foods unfortunately. However parents should strive to try and save up money to get better healthier options for their kids.
Right now, inflation is going wild and we're all paying way more for groceries these days. Eating healthy costs more than ever and low cost / less-healthy options are flying of the shelves. Is their a surge of bad parents at the moment or are people being forced to choose between paying the electricity bill or eating high quality healthy foods?
Yes, I believe child obesity is mostly the fault of parents, grandparents, or anyone who spends a lot of time feeding the child. A very young child can’t choose their own food, so it’s up to the adults to make the right decisions. Eating unhealthy food, like junk food, doesn’t automatically make a child obese, it may not provide proper nutrition, but obesity comes more from overeating and lack of movement.
When I was growing up, we didn’t have much, and I was underweight, not overweight. Unhealthy food isn’t the main cause of obesity. While there may be rare exceptions, I think many people use those as excuses.
As kids get older, lack of physical activity becomes a bigger factor. Many spend too much time sitting at home on screens, so whatever they eat doesn’t get burned off. But for very young children, their weight is mainly the result of parenting choices.
When I was growing up, we didn’t have much, and I was underweight, not overweight. Unhealthy food isn’t the main cause of obesity. While there may be rare exceptions, I think many people use those as excuses.
As kids get older, lack of physical activity becomes a bigger factor. Many spend too much time sitting at home on screens, so whatever they eat doesn’t get burned off. But for very young children, their weight is mainly the result of parenting choices.
I don’t think genetics alone is responsible for obesity. While having a faster metabolism can help control weight, it won’t prevent obesity if you're not mindful of what and how much you eat.
I’m not an expert, doctor, or dietitian, but I’ve spent a lot of time around people who are obese and hear them complain about bad genetics. In my experience, it seems more like an excuse, because when I knew them well, I’d see them overeat regularly. They’d often tell me, 'You have good genetics,’ but at that time, I ate once a day, with the occasional tiny lunch, and hardly ever had sweets. I was also active, walking for over an hour a day, five days a week, taking my son to school and back.
My sister has a thyroid issue that causes her to gain weight, but she’s still skinnier than me because she hardly eats. As we get older, our metabolism naturally slows down, and genetics can start to play a bigger role, especially for women who tend to store more fat. This makes it harder to maintain weight as we age, requiring more control over what and how much we eat to prevent weight gain. But for people under 25, it’s usually about other factors, aside from the few rare exceptions.
I’m not an expert, doctor, or dietitian, but I’ve spent a lot of time around people who are obese and hear them complain about bad genetics. In my experience, it seems more like an excuse, because when I knew them well, I’d see them overeat regularly. They’d often tell me, 'You have good genetics,’ but at that time, I ate once a day, with the occasional tiny lunch, and hardly ever had sweets. I was also active, walking for over an hour a day, five days a week, taking my son to school and back.
My sister has a thyroid issue that causes her to gain weight, but she’s still skinnier than me because she hardly eats. As we get older, our metabolism naturally slows down, and genetics can start to play a bigger role, especially for women who tend to store more fat. This makes it harder to maintain weight as we age, requiring more control over what and how much we eat to prevent weight gain. But for people under 25, it’s usually about other factors, aside from the few rare exceptions.
Many factors: Scarcity of healthier food option, parenting, and the kids' own choice leads to obesity. There's also genetics which isn't most of the time causes obesity, but really speeds things up.
I remember a documentary about some third world country somewhere in the Pacific about the islanders there were given American based food items that their bodies are not used to digesting, and grew obese in no time. It's not that their fault for becoming like that but the food choice and availability caused them that. IDK the exact video, but it was devastating learning that outside influences like that could change an entire island's well-being under a century.
I remember a documentary about some third world country somewhere in the Pacific about the islanders there were given American based food items that their bodies are not used to digesting, and grew obese in no time. It's not that their fault for becoming like that but the food choice and availability caused them that. IDK the exact video, but it was devastating learning that outside influences like that could change an entire island's well-being under a century.
I found the video!
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