Obesity is offensive apparently..

[Debian]

.. the word that is.

According to the beeb the Liverpool Schools Parliament (whatever that is) has voted to declare that the word is offensive and may demotivate overweight children. The city council apparently agrees.

And this from a city where half the boys and 40% of the girls are overweight and 5% of children are clinically obese!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/8615839.stm

 

[Norm]

My favourite ever joke, Jimmy Carr taking shots at fat people and someone, I think it was Phil Jupitus, accused him of being "fat-ist".

JC's immediate response "I think you'll find that you're fattest"

 

[Yellow Fang]

It's odd how a word becomes considered offensive, then gets swapped for another term which is considered less so. I wonder what euphemism will be the new term for FAT and how long that will remain inoffensive.

 

[marinyork]

It's a hard balancing act between motivation, compassion and a kick up the backside where needed.

 

[psmiffy]

It does not say what it might demotivate them from - In my opinion "unhealthy weight" is a fair but probably harsher description

 

[gb155]

So if Obesity is a word we cant use , what can we use ?

Obesity is something that is very close to me (Obv) and I hate to see the way people are demonised, this I find to be a bloody joke tho.

 

[ChrisKH]

It does not say what it might demotivate them from - In my opinion "unhealthy weight" is a fair but probably harsher description

"Unhealthy weight" as a term is far easier for a child to understand and take on board than "obese" or "morbidly obese" IMO.

 

[Yellow Fang]

"Unhealthy weight" as a term is far easier for a child to understand and take on board than "obese" or "morbidly obese" IMO.

I'd have thought fat was an even easier term to understand. Unhealthy weight is not accurate anyway. What's a healthy weight for one height and build is not healthy for another. It doesn't differentiate between fat and muscular either, although neither does BMI.

It's not a word itself, but the way it's said to imply something wrong that gives it negative connotations. In this case, obesity is bad state as it's unhealthy, so whatever term is used to describe it will eventually collect a stigma.

 

[darkstar]

There is no excuse for obesity in children but i suppose you have to remember that it's not the child's fault, the parents are the problem. If it were up to me i'd send off all children of an "unhealthy weight" to a fat camp for a few weeks during summer, teach them how to eat and exercise properly, then fine the parents if the children's weight does not go down.... Thats just my extreme view though

 

[summerdays]

I don't think its entirely the parents though ... there must be some element of genes/personality to it: none of my 3 would come under the obese heading but they definitely carry different levels of fat, from skin and bones to slightly chubby/curvy. The skin and bones one has never been very interested in food even as a baby (health visitors recommended he was put on solids early due to his failure to gain weight) and I assume will be unlikely to have a weight problem, the other two will have to watch what they eat more. And having seen how all the rest of my siblings carry more weight than me I have to be very grateful for cycling.

 

[marinyork]

Well banning words can be daft enough I was a bit more concerned with this story http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/8615076.stm

 

[darkstar]

I don't think its entirely the parents though ... there must be some element of genes/personality to it: none of my 3 would come under the obese heading but they definitely carry different levels of fat, from skin and bones to slightly chubby/curvy. The skin and bones one has never been very interested in food even as a baby (health visitors recommended he was put on solids early due to his failure to gain weight) and I assume will be unlikely to have a weight problem, the other two will have to watch what they eat more. And having seen how all the rest of my siblings carry more weight than me I have to be very grateful for cycling.

I'm sorry but if a child is classed at Obese it is not the genes, it's the fact their parents don't know how to feed them.

 

[summerdays]

Probably depends on the age ... younger children yes the parents largely control what they eat - once they are at secondary school age the parents have less control over what they eat outside the home. However I think that in the way that one of mine is at one end of the scale for his interest in food, that there will be children at the opposite end who are obsessed by food even despite their parents.

There are also children with medical conditions which can cause their children to put on weight due to the drugs affect on their appetite - my cousin piled on the weight when he had a heart condition diagnosed and put on medication, and I know a small child who piled on the pounds after being put on medication to control seizures.

 

[Brains]

New words

Over BMI = A BIT FAT (as in; "Yo' bi' Fat bro' ")
Obese = VERY FAT (as in; "Yo's ver' Fat bruv")
Morbidly Obese = DEADLY FAT (as in; "Yo's DEAD fat man!")

I think the kids (and the council) will understand these new terms.

It would also help if clothing was marked S (small), M (Medium) L (Large), BF, VF, DF (see above)

 

[MacB]

I'm sorry but if a child is classed at Obese it is not the genes, it's the fact their parents don't know how to feed them.

Yes but I'm not convinced you're comprehending Summerdays point correctly. I have 3 sons and the eldest is very slender yet does the least physical activity and eats the most, by far. The middle boy is also middle for physical activity but is significantly heavier and of different build. The youngest is thin but spends his days in perpetual motion, almost enough to give you motion sickness just watching him The middle boy is the most food orientated of the three but they all receive the same sort of balanced diet. If he ate the same as the eldest did at his age he'd become very overweight, yet he's a lot more physically active.

We work hard to counteract this without making it an issue or creating any stigma. If we fed them all identically then someone's going to be overfed or someone will be underfed.