The Heartbreak of Obese Kids

I don't know about you, but my problems with obesity started long before adulthood. By the time I was in fifth grade, I had already developed a pattern of binge eating. This was by no means bulimia, because I wasn’t purging at all, but it was an eating disorder all the same. Of course, there were no experts naming such things back then. They just said you were fat and needed to go on a diet. As I continued to gain weight, I became tired and sluggish. The vicious cycle had begun. I realize that I was viewed as a fat, lazy child, but it wasn’t quite that simple. I know I didn't carry my share of the load when it came to chores in the house or the yard. My sister, Ann, shouldered the burden, and for that I owe her an apology. But as a result, she began to slim down, and the physical gap between us widened as I packed on every pound she lost.

Things seemed to worsen with each progressive school year. I was the last picked for any team physical activity at school because I couldn’t run as fast or throw as well as the rest of the kids, who teased me unmercifully. The resulting lack of self-esteem pushed me to bury myself in books and avoid the other kids. Soon I was living all my fantasies between book covers. Unfortunately, that meant that I was spending all my free time reading rather than moving. More sedentary time only sent me faster down the weight-gain spiral. My self-image was incredibly poor. When Ann teased me about having lollipop legs (fat at the top and thin at the bottom) or told me I looked like the dancing hippos in Fantasia when I wore my pink bathing suit cover-up, I was primed to be overly sensitive. Unfortunately, I took such comments to heart. And if you think such things don't have long-term effects, trust me when I say I was in my 40s before I ever wore pink again. (And it is such a good color on me!)

My heart goes out to all the overweight children I see today. There are so many more obese kids now than there were when I was in grade school. The reasons for this are dual. Kids don't get nearly enough exercise...they play their video games and X-Box instead of heading out to play tag or kickball. Then there is the food: the wrong food and far too much food. Parents these days work hard and lead busy lives. That tends to make them rely on prepared food, take-out food and restaurants. Those three choices are generally high in calories, lacking in balanced nutrition, and are served in portions that are two or three times what is recommended for adult consumption.

Kids don't have the where-with-all to make sound choices, so it is up to us to make sure that they learn what they should and shouldn't be eating. I guess we all need to bite the bullet and start doling out some tough love to our kids. Otherwise we are condemning them to a lifetime of obese misery, health issues and the jeers and taunts that ruin a child's self-esteem and mental well being. Sad to think that the biggest lesson a child may be getting at school is that he or she is worthless and an outcast. If you think that sounds extreme, then you were never a fat child. The cruelest critics of an obese child are the peers he spends every school hour attempting to ignore or avoid.

Okay, I’ll get off the soapbox. So how can we address the issue of preparing healthy foods when we just never seem to have the time? How can we make exercise more palatable for our kids? I'll have a few suggestions for you tomorrow!

M.E.