Discussion in 'CycleChat Cafe' started by Debian, 12 Apr 2010.
.. 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!
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"
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.
It's a hard balancing act between motivation, compassion and a kick up the backside where needed.
gb155 Fan Boy No More.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
I think the kids (and the council) will understand these new terms.
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.