Obese children...my rant

Specialties Pediatric

Published

Ok so child comes in with laceration to the hand. 12 years old, about 5'5'' and weighs 260lbs. Big boy. The MD who was suturing was not his PCP, just there to take care of the urgent task. As she wassuturing, the child keeps talking about how his "back always hurts" and how he is "so tired all the time". The MD, whom I love for her bluntness, looked him in the eye and said "it's because you are overweight". She did not say it in a mean way at all, just a fact.

At this time, mom jumps in and talks about how she has had two MI's before she turned 35, and cardiac problems run in the family. She wasnt just talking, it seemed like she was...bragging. The doc politely stated that if the family didnt get their act together and their health straighted out, they would not live to a healthy old age. Doc, finishes sutures, and I get to clean up.

The child states that he is hungry, and how he wants a salad (maybe the doc teaching hit home......). Mom freaks out and states "There is no way in h*ll I am paying for a salad at McDonalds!". I looked at her with mouth opened, and left the room.

I understand that many children are obese due to health issues, and I understand that obesity is a tough matter to discuss. In my opinion however, this mother is killing her child and I am so sick and tired of this BS!!!

Sorry about the rant.... but I am so mad about this!!!

Has anyone heard of the Fat Acceptance Movement? According to its Wikipedia article: "Some in the movement have argued that the health risks of fatness and obesity have been exaggerated or misrepresented, and used as cover for cultural and aesthetic prejudices against fat." They say that "people can be healthy at any size."

I'm all for social justice and reducing prejudice, but to me "healthy at any size," means having normal vital signs, normal cholesterol, normal blood sugars, and a normal amount of body fat versus muscle (the BMI can be unreliable here). Body size be damned if these categories are normal, but those who are overweight/obese seem to have trouble doing this. Not a coincidence. Not exagerrated. Cold fact.

I have mixed feelings about the whole obesity is unhealthy thing. I DO know that there are heavy adults who can be healthy. BUT those are people who are heavy in spite of eating what is generally considered to be a healthy diet, are active, and don't engage in unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, alcohol abuse, and sedentary lifestyles. It might surprise you to know that many such individuals exist. Those people ARE the ones who will never be thin without starving themselves, and they have the blood work and other health markers to prove that their large size is genetic AND not necessarily harmful. They are NOT morbidly obese, but definitely overweight, and in SOME cases, due to muscle tissue, weigh in as obese even. Please note that Troy Aikman is categorized as obese due to his weight, even though he is 6' 4" of solid muscle.

HOWEVER, I think that children are naturally thin unless they are engaging in extremely unhealthy behaviors. Most morbidly obese children are eating ungodly amounts of junk food, fast food, sugar, soft drinks, etc., while sitting on the couch never running, playing, or engaging in any exercise whatsoever. They are eating amazing amounts of PROCESSED foods, not whole foods and this a huge distinction. A child should not have to diet-but if they are consuming large amounts of SUGAR, refined carbohydrates, fake foods which have been overprocessed, you will see a fat child who is destined for a lifetime of health problems.

"I just wish I could stop all of the binge-eating I do after she goes to bed. She busted me the other morning because I didn't throw away the Ben and jerry's container!"

If you don't buy it, you can't eat it. Believe me, even as a lifelong thin person, I understand the late night binge. I cannot keep shredded cheese and tostada chips or even triscuits in the house, or I will be eating those at midnight while watching Jersey Shore reruns (blushes heavily).

You CANNOT eat what you don't have, so just don't buy Ben and Jerry's.

Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.

This topic is a huge pet peeve of mine. These children are being set up for so many emotional problems, bullying in school and long term medical problems and a good percent of the cases CAN be prevented if the parents step up to the plate.

Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.

Children learn obesity from their parents.

I remember not long ago a huge baby was born (in China I think?) and one of the doctors here said that is actually rare for a child to be born obese and grow up like that.

I've always said parents who feed their kids junk - and that this is proven - should be charged with child neglect if not abuse. I see too many obese kids - not fat, but obese - kids coming out of school when I'm going to work, and it makes me angry. Mind you, I've also seen A LOT of kids stop off at Maccas (McDonalds) for an after school snack, but who gives them the money? Probably the parents.

Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.
Has anyone heard of the Fat Acceptance Movement? According to its Wikipedia article: "Some in the movement have argued that the health risks of fatness and obesity have been exaggerated or misrepresented, and used as cover for cultural and aesthetic prejudices against fat." They say that "people can be healthy at any size."

I've read the FAC website blogs and other fat blogs. They're astoundingly unreal! One woman & her hubby were hugely overweight (by her account), they jumped into bed one night and BROKE the bed! Everyone on the blog was laughing about it and she said we are out buying a new bed today, as if this is a normal occurence. I felt like writing: honey, when ur breaking the bed & you laugh it off, you are so in denial! But it wouldn't do any good. There were other more outrageous blogs, like an obese girl reckons a guy didn't acknowledge her at uni I think 'cos she's too fat' How on earth would she know that?

You can be fat and healthy, but being obese is a different thing. And nobody can convince me personally that a 200 or 300 kg person is healthy.

Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.

This also just brought back a memory for me. I used to go to the gf's house a lot for dinner. Well all over the bench tops & table when we were eating there used to be cakes and buns there all the time. If a child is seeing that, and is used to that, they are going to want to eat it and not think it is wrong - it's not wrong as such - but it does encourage them to eat the wrong things more.

Also my gf used to dish out HUGE portions. I'd be putting 2/3ds of it back and they would have 2 helpings of a main meal, bread, salad and dessert, plus drinks on top of that! We never had extra food at home to do that.

I've never understood how people can eat so much and not throw up.

Specializes in Emergency Room.
"It's so easy to talk about it and it is so not easy to do it."

Okay, please note that I'm not picking on you, I'm just focusing on this sentence, which I've heard many many times.

SO WHAT if it's not "easy." Who ever got the idea that raising kids properly would ever be "easy?" It's NOT easy to do the right thing, whether that means feeding our kids healthy food in the presence of tantrums, advertising, and ease of poor alternatives, or expecting kids to help with chores, do their homework, adhere to curfew, whatever. It's NOT easy to raise healthy, productive citizens, but no one ever promised us it would be easy. Let's not do what's EASY, let's do what is RIGHT and BEST for our kids, and I can promise you that feeding our kids CRAP and giving in to tantrums demanding junk food, sedentary lifestyles, and the power to make decisions for the family is NOT doing what is right for our kids.

Let's not go for easy, let's go for what's best for our kids-and trust me, whether they are 2 years old or ten, they do NOT know what's best for them. That's our job, and it is NOT "easy" to figure out and enforce. If we're not up to the job, fine, admit it, and just don't have kids. Being a parent is not for the faint of heart!

:yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah:

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!! Especially the last line!!! So much to add to that, but wouldn't be directly related to childhood obesity, so I won't get into that here...

Specializes in Emergency Room.

And let's not forget that obese children too often become obese adults. Then they come into our ER's at 600 lbs because they are short of breath. Shocker. And we have to have 3 people holding up their belly fat (while trying not to breathe because the odor is so horrible) while the doc tries to dig around for their member, which is buried in all of their fat, in order to place a foley. (This just happened the other night). Forgive me, I know I signed up for this job, but I just feel like they are a huge burden on us. I know often it stems from a psych issue, but I cannot help but resent it. There is no way people like this can hold down a job. They cannot even move enough to get around their homes. So it's not that big of a leap to assume they are on food stamps, Welfare, Medicaid, etc. So let's be real people, WE are paying for their horrific lifestyles, as well as the honor of holding up their rolls of fat. This just sickens me to no end. And I apologize if I've offended anyone.

Specializes in PeriOperative Nursing.

Health care disparities based on race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status exist even today. Let's not forget that when we are about to "assume" anything about the patients we provide care to. I am not excusing poor choices on the part of the patient, I am just pointing out that everyone doesn't have access to reasonably priced fresh vegetables, a fitness facility, and live in a crime-free area where they feel it is safe to go for a walk or let their children go outside to play.

The person that doesn't work doesn't eat is what I believe, but sometimes a person's lack of working is not by choice. Look at the unemployment rate in our country right now. Some of the public assistance people receive is because they have NO choice.

BTW, I've seen morbidly obese people who are not on public assistance as well. Can't automatically assume that the obese person you're providing care to is receiving public assistance.

Just some "food" for thought :)

Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.

It's a very sad situation. Obesity as a child means usually means obesity as an adult.

My husband was an obese child and so is/was my stepdaughter. My MIL and FIL were very poor, and they ate only homemade ethnic food. However, they ate constantly. Literally all the time. Lots of carbs (bread and lots of fruit). My husband doesn't remember a time when something wasn't being eaten in his home. At 13, he went on his own "diet" to his mother's absolute horror and walked every night. He was slim as a teen, but then ballooned again in his 20s and early 30s. Now, he exercises like crazy (about two hours a day walking, riding bike, etc.), and we eat only homecooked meals. My husband is very muscular and fit, but the years of being overweight have created a "tummy" that he fights constantly and has resigned himself to always having. I can see a six-pack on the sides of his abdomen that are covered up by a layer of fat in front! I think he looks scrumptious, but he's unhappy with the fat that he just can't get rid of. :crying2:

My stepdaughter was partially raised by my MIL and FIL after my husband and his ex-wife divorced, and so the disproportional weight gain began when she was small. My MIL insisted it was just baby fat, and nothing my husband nor his ex-wife could say about my MIL's "feedings" of my stepdaughter could change how she waved food in front of my stepdaughter's face all the time. Now, my stepdaughter is fighting obesity. She cooks her own food (often calling my husband for recipes), but she has a sedentary job that doesn't make it easy for her.

Not having good eating/exercising habits early in life can condemn a child to being an obese adult or fighting weight issues forever.

Specializes in Med-Surg/Neuro/Oncology floor nursing..

I was also watching a talk show a while ago(can't remember which one) and the topic was obese children. They showed this 8 year old boy who was pushing 280lbs and he would eat a whole(adult size) rack of ribs and be ready for more. The mother would say no and the child pitched a fit. I find a lot of these obese children kick, scream and pitch fits if they don't get the food they want when they want it. They also showed a 4 year old girl who was in the upper 100's who would eat fried chicken, bbq type food(mac and cheese, pulled pork sandwiches pretty much anything you can find at a bbq style restaurant). Again this little girl would pitch fits if she didn't get her food when she wanted it...and she would want second and third helpings of whatever was being served(they were showing home videos of these kids eating and throwing fits). It's amazing how much these obese kids can eat, they can eat the amount of food that's fit for a family of five, not for one person. I think I would vomit if I even ate half the amount of food these children just wolf down like it's a snack.

Now I am not going to lie, I occasionally eat at a fast food restaurant but it's not every day, maybe twice a month.

They need to change the slogans around (get rid of just say no to drugs) it should be just say no to your obese child. Because that's what many parents struggle with...saying no to these children because they would rather give in than say no and get an earful...it's like the child is in control not the parent. It's just a sorry state of affairs all around.

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