Cyclaholic

All of it is diet/exercise related... it's a very simple equation, a sedate lifestyle + a diet of highly processed foods high in fat & cholesterol = obesity

I can clearly see from these pictures that these children are obese and are eating junk food. I presume that they have an adult paren or guardian that condones and enables their eating pattern. Without the consent and support of the adult these children would not have the means or sufficient opportunity to consume enough junk food to be obese. This is obviously not the result of the occasional burger, this is a situation where eating in fast food restaurants is an integral part of their lifestyle. The responsibility clearly lies at the feet of the adult.

Can you cite research to support this? From what I have read, the overwhelming majority are a produc of their lifestyle, as has been concluded by mediical studies numerous times.

There does not appear to be changes in the human genome between the time before the obesity pandemic and today which can possibly account for the increase in obesity rates in the past 30 years (I can try to find the study if you like, I don't have it at hand). While some diseases or conditions may contribute to obesity in rare cases (rare enough to be statistically insignificant) the vast majority of obesity is lifestyle & diet based.

I-Like-To-Bike

Good Luck! I wouldn't bet even money on those "high chances." You do the best you can raising children but don't be so sure that you control their future.

Just don't jump off any bridges, or more likely, develop some sort of emotional problem (like an eating disorder) if your best laid plans don't develop along the course you are so sure is set by you.

Believe it or not. there may come a time when your children no longer accept your lifestyle guidance as Gospel. Might start about the time when they acquire role models and friends outside of your control.

maddyfish

Maybe, but we have a dusty ninentdo Wii and games around here somewhere if they want to play it. They don't.
Right now each day I ask; ride bikes to school or walk they choose.
Right now what sports they play are up to them, my older daughter just in fact decided not to play basketball this year. It is completley up to them and they choose activity over sloth.
Anything is possible in the future, but they are being brought up in a very active, atheletic family, with strong values.
No programing- just parenting. Or they could grow up to be like you and just sit around attacking anything for no reason whatsoever.

maddyfish

This is brought up too much when talking about fat lard-people. Most are fat because they eat too much and don't move enough. Very few have serious medical conditions to cause obesity.

dr. nate

I have to say that I have noticed a decline in the level of kids playing outside at any activity. I remember as achild, a bike was a symbol of freedom, and being outside was a must!

My teen years saw the bicycle as a way to get from my house to friends to play video games, to/from school, and to go to the store. By the time I had given up my bicycle.

I would love to see more family based cycling, more children cycling, and more options such as bike lanes for those of us who are faster, bike paths for slower riding,family riding, and more communities accepting bikes as a good thing.

There is no reanson why I should see morbidly obese children in the volume I do. In Houston we just built our first hospital dedicated to obese patients. That is not a good thing.

I know that if we as a nation don't take more responsibilty for our health, that we are going to face an economical burden that is going to push the limits of most chairty based healthcare programs.

I hope we can secure funding and help people see the error in our nations ways. Not only does exercise improve your phyiscal health, it does wonders for your mental health.

-Nate

closetbiker

I still think a lot of it has to do with the idea that has developed that cycling is "dangerous".

Some "advocacy" groups have put a great deal of effort to show how many people on bike have "injured" themselves without putting anything in context or considering the benefits to balance the "risk"

I-Like-To-Bike

No reason to think that you might just be shocked, shocked in the future if and when your values are not held in such high esteem by your teenagers? Even if they seem adored and followed without question by 5 and 7 year olds. Hope your future is as rosy as your dreams. Yeah, that's right every wayward teenager's behavior would have been set straight if they only had a parent with your "good values". Yeah, that's the ticket, Reverend.

Enjoy being the cocky perfect parent with perfect children, and the center of your children's universe while it lasts.

It's also quite possible thatyour good values and a dollar just might be good for a phone call from the emergency room or jail cell in the future.

maddyfish

^^^Maybe but not likely. Good parents raise good children, bad parents raise bad children.
I guess in your universe I could give up and let my children go bad right? I think I'll stick with my way thank you.
Let's hear about your children if you're so great.

donnamb 

While I'm in no position to comment on parenting styles, how about some numbers from the National Safety Council? (United States)

Lifetime Odds of Dying

• Heart Disease (1 in 5)
• Cancer (1 in 7)
• Stroke (1 in 24)
• Motor Vehicle (1 in 84)
• Suicide (1 in 119)
• Falling (1 in 200)
• Firearm Assault (1 in 324)
• Drowning (1 in 1,140)
• Fire/Smoke (1 in 1,167)
• Bicycle Accident (1 in 4,472)
• Air/Space Accident (1 in 5,552)
• Lighting (1 in 81,949)
• Earthquake (1 in 125,655)
• Flood (1 in 171,348)
• Firework Discharge (1 in 1,884,832)
• Sharp Object Assault (1 in 1,183)
• Assault by Means Other Than Firearm or Sharp Object (1 in 1,032)

Although there isn't precisely a category of "Assault and Death by Means of Scary Strangers", I interpret this sort of data as that a child is far more likely to die of complications associated with obesity than of Stranger Danger. I'd have to find some numbers from criminology research to be sure, though.

closetbiker

Yeah.

I just kills me that people who are running a 1 in 5 chance of dying tell me I'm taking my life in my hands when I'm running a 1 in 4400 chance of dying.

SunFlower

girls dont want to ride their bike to school because it will mess up their hair and sweat isnt lady like. its also hard to ride a bike when you are wearing a 4 inch mini denim skirt. school is about looking good, not being responsible.
when i was in elementary school i used to ride my bike all the time. however, kids werent allowed to ride their bikes to school for two reason. #1 the school didnt want to be responsible for bike thefts or damage. (even though i lived in one of the safest communties in america). # 2 - the school didnt want to deal with all the sue happy parents and lawyers if a kid got hurt while riding at or to school. therefore, no bikes for kids at school.
the result - fat kids and polluted air

I-Like-To-Bike

You really do believe life and parenting success is just that simple, donca? You are indeed a Simpleton.

I-Like-To-Bike

And posed pictures, staged for effect at that! A successful effect, I might add, as a catalyst for emotional responses from know-it-all medical experts as well as simple minded purveyors of generalities and Conventional Wisdom about other people's Health Problems.

SunFlower

I dont want to turn this thread into anything political but the "National Safety Council" is a well known liberal anti-gun organization. The stat on "firearm assualt" is just absolutely absurd. There are over 300 million people living in America. In the year 2003 31,000 Americans died from a firearm. 16,000 were suicides and 12,000 were homocide. That would theoretically put your odds of of dying from a firearm at 1 in 9677, a far cry from 324. Also, if you are able to control yourself and somehow NOT commit suicide then your odds would be 1 out of 25,000.
I am sure that further analysis of the other means listed would show inaccuracies as well.

Here are some good stats : Despite the media telling you otherwise, the average number of students under the age of 18 killed in school shootings per year in the last 15 years is 11. The average number killed while drowning at school is 108.

I-Like-To-Bike

It might also take more research to show any significant relationship between bicycling (NOT obesity) and its effect on any of the other listed causes of death. Research other than the BF Conventional Wisdom, that is.

rando

this is not a certainty. there are plenty of bad kids from good parents and good kids from bad parents.

maddyfish

When you have lost an arguement you resort to name calling. That is a compliment to me.

As far as life sucess. I am 34. I have been retired for 6 years. I have volunteer job at my children's school. Life sucess. Check.

How about you? What is your life like?
How are your kids doing?
No answer? Again?

maddyfish

Again anything is possible, but not likely.

syn0n

Yeah, because you sound like a great parent to me. Remember this?

Uh huh. Okay, Mr. Good Parent. Whatever you say.

closetbiker

there are less girls (women) who ride bikes than men, but when they do, studies have shown (just as they have in other activities) that when they do ride bikes, they have less injuries and fatalities than the men do. (in Australia men averaged 0.58 and 39, fatalities and injuries per 10 million km and women averaged 0.3 and 21) Big suprise, eh?

The percentage of girls (women) riding bike dropped more than guys riding dropped when a MHL starts up, maybe, because of the hair issue? (Before the helmet laws women comprised 30% of the total time cycling and after the helmet laws the number of females counted was 14%)

It seems the people who stand to benefit are discouraged by unfounded scare tactics from taking part in what benefits them.

We should be getting kids back on the bikes by setting the record straight.

SSP

In my neighborhood, I regularly see mom's driving their kids to the middle school that's half a mile away!

It's ridiculous...no wonder their kids are fatties. I remember when I was growing up you often had a hard time finding a spot in the bike racks because so many of us rode bikes to school.

It appears that parents are more fearful than in years past. Our local paper had an article about this topic, and when I posted about it in their comments sections, several parents chimed in that they drove their kids because they were worried about child sexual predators.

I blame it on the sensationalizing by Faux News...kids are much more likely to be molested by Uncle Albert than some stranger on the way to school, but because of Greta Van Sustren, et al, parents are inappropriately afraid of stranger abductions.

Unfortunately, this kind of "protection" on the part of parents will do nothing to help their kids grow up, and may be setting them up for a lifetime of health issues...just look at the skyrocketing rates of Type II diabetes in teens and 20-somethings.

bmclaughlin807

Quite true. But 90%(or more?) of those are kids that developed poor nutrition and exercise habits from watching their parents.

My wife has medical problems that affect her weight... but it comes down to a simple fact: even WITH medical complications at least 90% of the time you CAN do something to control the weight.

And people go to great lengths to point the blame... at fast food restaurants, at junk food companies, at medical problems, whatever...

It all really comes down to a lack of exercise. I eat a TON of junkfood... and I'm overall in great health.

It's all a question of balance... and yes, some people have genetic makeups that tip the balance out of their favor. Sometimes way out of their favor. It just means they have to be that much more mindful of what they eat and that they're getting the right amount of exercise.

Then again... it's easier to just give up and blame someone/something else, right?

maddyfish

Nice gets you nowhere in life.

eubi

A very good attitude to have, especially in this forum.

It's gotten me quite far, thank you. Anyway, back to topic...

I took 14 Scouts and three dads on a 25 mile bike ride yesterday. It was a great ride in spite of the wind.

They have one more 25 and then a 50.

The best thing was that three of the participants have gone through the Cycling Merit Badge progam already and were coming back for more.

Treespeed

Wow, this one got out of hand fast. How very BF.
I don't understand the issue here, especially with ILTB, kids who have active parents are more likely to grow up to be active adults. How is this in any way controversial or an illusion of perfect parenting. It's certainly more likely than the converse, that lazy parents lead to active children. I don't know why this has gotten ILTB so worked up, I haven't seen anyone claim that they're perfect parents raising perfect children. But I think it's pretty obvious that active parents will lead to active adults. Sure there's the whole rebellious teenage phase, but most kids come back around. At least that's been my experience with mine and my wife's family. When you take your kids skiing in the winter, running in the summer, and don't let them sit around the house anytime it's sunny outside you end up as an adult wanting to take your kids hiking, running, and cycling. I don't know any eight year olds that are buying their own video game systems. I hear from other parents that their kids (toddlers) have to have their own TV. Well if the kid has never seen the TV on then they're not very likely to want to watch it, though you do end up reading "Green Eggs and Ham" over and over. But you also spend a lot of time running around outside and watching your daughter ride her tricycle until it's too dark out to play. ILTB can talk all he wants about teenage rebelliousness, but instilling an active ethos in your child is not rocket science or unrealistic perfectionism.