Quote:A public service announcement (PSA) called “Rewind the Future,” launched as part of the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Strong4Life campaign, has garnered a lot of media attention—and considerable criticism—from health experts and parents alike. Although the PSA first surfaced in April 2012, it recently blew up on the internet, garnering an estimated six million views so far.

The PSA begins with a 32-year-old man named Jim who at 5’9” and 300 pounds is wheeled into a hospital while having a heart attack. After the doctor asks, “How the hell does this happen,” the video flashes backwards through the man’s life, attempting to illustrate how he got there. At various stages of Jim’s life, he’s shown eating ice cream and pancakes, being out of breath while playing with his kids or walking on a treadmill, hiding food in his room, playing video games, being rewarded candy by a teacher for earning good grades, being exposed to fast food by his parents (his dad orders pizza and his mom goes through a drive-thru), and acting up at meal time—and being pacified with French fries by his mother. The video ends with the message, “There’s still time to reverse the unhealthy habits our kids take into adulthood” and a link to the Strong4Life website.

While the PSA has certainly sparked conversation, I was surprised when a Good Morning America poll inspired by the PSA revealed that eighty-one percent of viewers believe parents are to blame if their kids are obese. Only nineteen percent believe they are not. Although parents certainly play a major role in their children’s eating habits, I don’t believe pointing fingers and playing the blame game are the way to inspire meaningful change and better physical or psychological health in children. And while I appreciate the idea of prevention of obesity and its consequences, I don’t feel that blame and shame as suggested in this video are the answer.

Several experts have also spoken out against the PSA. In his recent blog post about the PSA, Yoni Freedhoff, MD, a family doctor and Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa refers to the PSA as “…everything that’s ugly about society’s attitudes towards weight boiled into a two-minute video treatise on how gluttony and sloth are to blame for obesity….oh, and add in lazy parents.” Although he agrees that parents have a role to play in all of this, he believes that fear and shame aren’t likely to get them there. He writes, “If guilt or shame had any lasting impact on weight or behavior, the world would be skinny, as guilt and shame are the two things that the world bends over backwards to ensure that people with weight never run short of.” Freedhoff also says that shaming the symptom without tackling the cause is likely only to add to the belief that fat shaming has a role to play in fixing the environment.

In another blog post, California-based registered dietitian nutritionist Aaron Flores wrote, “Just like many other ads, the sensational tone shames both parents and kids. It says nothing of the fact that health comes in different shapes and sizes. It makes it seem as if a parent makes one mistake feeding a child at an early age, they’ve doomed their child to an early death. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s this black and white thinking that leads us to think of foods as “good” or “bad” and lead to a life of dieting and binging.” Flores goes on to suggest that what parents need is to learn how to help children feel comfortable with all different kinds of foods and to nurture children’s self confidence with food and their body. He adds, “The last thing we need is to create environment that leads our children to hate their bodies, seek diets and (develop) unhealthy relationships with food.” Terrific points, no?

Although obesity, especially among children, is certainly something we all need to be concerned about and address, the findings of a recent study from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University and published in American Journal of Preventive Medicine suggest that this video and others like it may not be the answer. The study found that stigmatizing obesity-related public health campaigns were no more likely to instill motivation for improving lifestyle behaviors among participants than campaigns that were more neutral.

As someone who always thinks you can attract more bees with honey, I, too, believe that rather than shocking or shaming parents, emphasizing what they can do more of—for example, offering more produce and cooking more at home, and choosing choose smaller portions while dining out—can empower them to feed their children better and help children actually eat better. It can also have a wonderful side effect of helping kids develop more healthful food, fitness and lifestyle behaviors they’ll carry with them as they increasingly make more decisions about what and how much to eat and move. Over time, this can help prevent many of the diet-related diseases many children, including those who are overweight, can develop as adults.

When asked about the rationale for the PSA, Stephanie Walsh, M.D., Medical Director, Strong4Life at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta wrote in an email, “The video was designed as part of a larger movement to empower parents” and to “remind parents of the power they have to influence their child’s health and help them to consider making small steps towards lifestyle change.” In response to criticisms that the video unfairly blames and shames parents, Dr. Walsh added, “This video was not designed to place the blame on parents or make people change; it was designed to make people consider making a change.” She also suggests that people must first realize the importance of changing a behavior before they actually make a change. Although she concedes that the video dramatizes the problem, she notes that the scenes depicting unhealthy habits are real examples of the struggles many of their patients and families face— reigning in screen time, motivating kids to be active and decreasing the amount of sugar their kids drink. She adds, “The video was designed to focus on behaviors that we, as parents, can control.”

http://www.parents.com/blogs/food-scoop/...mfb1408194

Yes, overprotective helicopter parenting has gotten out of control. Let them play, even unsupervised. Heck, lock them out of the house. My son eats enough junk and "sugary drinks" to feed a third world country. He needs the fuel to keep up with the older neighborhood kids and he isn't an ounce overweight, The overweight kids in the neighborhood are the ones we never see.

There is difference between stocky and solid versus a child being obese. Poor diet and lack of activity is the certain reason.

I have heard from a pediatrician that children born via C-Section are more prone to have weight issues. I thought that was odd.

(08-19-2014 03:06 PM)South Carolina Duke Wrote:  There is difference between stocky and solid versus a child being obese. Poor diet and lack of activity is the certain reason.

I have heard from a pediatrician that children born via C-Section are more prone to have weight issues. I thought that was odd.

Mine was born via C-Section. He won't have any childhood weight issues, though he was a chunky infant.

(08-19-2014 03:06 PM)South Carolina Duke Wrote:  There is difference between stocky and solid versus a child being obese. Poor diet and lack of activity is the certain reason.

I have heard from a pediatrician that children born via C-Section are more prone to have weight issues. I thought that was odd.

no initial space or clearance worries at the very outset of life; it destroys your perception of the world at the very beginning.l

Actually it’s the CDC’s BMI that has made many people obese.

(08-19-2014 03:16 PM)AngryAphid Wrote:  Actually it’s the CDC’s BMI that has made many people obese.

lol. yeah, there was somene famous, maybe Michal Jordan (?), that was considered obese based on those CDC guidelines.

(08-19-2014 03:06 PM)South Carolina Duke Wrote:  There is difference between stocky and solid versus a child being obese. Poor diet and lack of activity is the certain reason.

I have heard from a pediatrician that children born via C-Section are more prone to have weight issues. I thought that was odd.

I have 3 c-section born kids. None have weight problems... at least not yet. I doubt they will either until they get a bit older (their mom put on some weight in her 20's).

Of course, my kids are constantly running around the back yard, riding their bike on the sidewalk, playing basketball, etc....

That's good news. My oldest (12) is in 7th grade and made the JV football team his first year, though he's tall and slim, but I was too at that age so I assume he'll bulk up after puberty... My two middles (8 & 9) play soccer (ugh) right now but want to follow their older bro's footsteps once they get to 7th, and my youngest (6) doesn't do shiit besides torment his 3 older brothers for now. But at play time, he throws the football with us all so I assume he'll head in that direction too.

I don't see many kids at all in our direct community that are obese. Most of the kids in my sons activities really are rather small. I wonder if that is a result of the ADHD meds that many of these kids are on. The side effects I think are weight loss.

Now in general public fat kids are everywhere as well as their parents.

Some of it's genetics, but IMO it's the actions set by parents that greatly influence their kids in damn near everything, not just eating. I mean, if mom is taking junior out to McDonalds 4 times a week junior will think that's normal. If mom is cooking healthy home cooked meals most of the time then junior will eat healthy and carry that into his adulthood. Exercise plays a big part as well. Too many kids playing video games these days and not riding bikes outside, etc. Again, parents can lead by example.

My parents let me get fat when I was 8. I struggled with my weight pretty much from then until I was 25/26. They probably should have worked to stop that from happening.

(08-19-2014 03:21 PM)LSU04_08 Wrote:  That's good news. My oldest (12) is in 7th grade and made the JV football team his first year, though he's tall and slim, but I was too at that age so I assume he'll bulk up after puberty... My two middles (8 & 9) play soccer (ugh) right now but want to follow their older bro's footsteps once they get to 7th, and my youngest (6) doesn't do shiit besides torment his 3 older brothers for now. But at play time, he throws the football with us all so I assume he'll head in that direction too.

Mine (5) is all about basketball and soccer (ugh), but more basketball than anything. Only 5 year old I know that can hit a 3 with a hand in his face. He plays all day, everyday if we are home. Rain, snow, sleet, doesn't matter, he is out there. It just grew into an obsession.



He is one of only 2 white kids in his league and literally scores like 70% of the points.

Most parents play a pretty big role in what their kids eat and what they do inside or outside. I would say that makes them somewhat responsible

(08-19-2014 03:31 PM)EverRespect Wrote:  

(08-19-2014 03:21 PM)LSU04_08 Wrote:  That's good news. My oldest (12) is in 7th grade and made the JV football team his first year, though he's tall and slim, but I was too at that age so I assume he'll bulk up after puberty... My two middles (8 & 9) play soccer (ugh) right now but want to follow their older bro's footsteps once they get to 7th, and my youngest (6) doesn't do shiit besides torment his 3 older brothers for now. But at play time, he throws the football with us all so I assume he'll head in that direction too.

Mine (5) is all about basketball and soccer (ugh), but more basketball than anything. Only 5 year old I know that can hit a 3 with a hand in his face. He plays all day, everyday if we are home. Rain, snow, sleet, doesn't matter, he is out there. It just grew into an obsession.



He is one of only 2 white kids in his league and literally scores like 70% of the points.

That's awesome. I hope my kid likes basketball.

(08-19-2014 03:35 PM)blunderbuss Wrote:  

(08-19-2014 03:31 PM)EverRespect Wrote:  

(08-19-2014 03:21 PM)LSU04_08 Wrote:  That's good news. My oldest (12) is in 7th grade and made the JV football team his first year, though he's tall and slim, but I was too at that age so I assume he'll bulk up after puberty... My two middles (8 & 9) play soccer (ugh) right now but want to follow their older bro's footsteps once they get to 7th, and my youngest (6) doesn't do shiit besides torment his 3 older brothers for now. But at play time, he throws the football with us all so I assume he'll head in that direction too.

Mine (5) is all about basketball and soccer (ugh), but more basketball than anything. Only 5 year old I know that can hit a 3 with a hand in his face. He plays all day, everyday if we are home. Rain, snow, sleet, doesn't matter, he is out there. It just grew into an obsession.



He is one of only 2 white kids in his league and literally scores like 70% of the points.

That's awesome. I hope my kid likes basketball.

I don't know where he got his ability from... certainly not me. I tried to get him into basketball for a long time to no avail. Took him to all the ODU games and struggled to get to halftime before he wanted to leave. Last Christmas, he asked for all this Power Ranger and super hero schit, which he got. A week later, he declared he didn't like any of that stuff anymore, picked up a basketball, started playing, and never stopped and hasn't toched an action figure or a costume since. When we went to the games after that, he wouldn't even let us leave a 30 point game with a minute left so we could get out of the parking garage. My advice is to just expose yours to as much as possible because you never know when that switch might flip. If you would have told me a year ago that my kid was an athlete, I would have laughed at you.

(08-19-2014 03:25 PM)VA49er Wrote:  Some of it's genetics, but IMO it's the actions set by parents that greatly influence their kids in damn near everything, not just eating. I mean, if mom is taking junior out to McDonalds 4 times a week junior will think that's normal. If mom is cooking healthy home cooked meals most of the time then junior will eat healthy and carry that into his adulthood. Exercise plays a big part as well. Too many kids playing video games these days and not riding bikes outside, etc. Again, parents can lead by example.

When I was a kid (90's), there were fat kids, but they were few and far between and most of them weren't even grossly fat.

Today, I see disgustingly fat little children everywhere. Some that are probably no more than 8 years old.

When I was a kid, I played outside all the time. I had video games, but they were more of an evening / bad weather entertainment option.

Combine that with the fact that a lot of parents these days find it easier to just pick up food through a drive through or make some kind of a frozen dinner than it is to actually cook a full meal. Let's not forget the sweets and junk food all over the house to keep the kids occupied when they're bored.

All of this adds up to the obesity epidemic we're facing now.

(08-19-2014 04:01 PM)Niner National Wrote:  

(08-19-2014 03:25 PM)VA49er Wrote:  Some of it's genetics, but IMO it's the actions set by parents that greatly influence their kids in damn near everything, not just eating. I mean, if mom is taking junior out to McDonalds 4 times a week junior will think that's normal. If mom is cooking healthy home cooked meals most of the time then junior will eat healthy and carry that into his adulthood. Exercise plays a big part as well. Too many kids playing video games these days and not riding bikes outside, etc. Again, parents can lead by example.

When I was a kid (90's), there were fat kids, but they were few and far between and most of them weren't even grossly fat.

Today, I see disgustingly fat little children everywhere. Some that are probably no more than 8 years old.

When I was a kid, I played outside all the time. I had video games, but they were more of an evening / bad weather entertainment option.

Combine that with the fact that a lot of parents these days find it easier to just pick up food through a drive through or make some kind of a frozen dinner than it is to actually cook a full meal. Let's not forget the sweets and junk food all over the house to keep the kids occupied when they're bored.

All of this adds up to the obesity epidemic we're facing now.

lol, that's a great pic. I still think genetics plays a role but feel obesity is more impacted by both food choices and lack of exercise.

(08-19-2014 04:02 PM)VA49er Wrote:  

(08-19-2014 04:01 PM)Niner National Wrote:  

(08-19-2014 03:25 PM)VA49er Wrote:  Some of it's genetics, but IMO it's the actions set by parents that greatly influence their kids in damn near everything, not just eating. I mean, if mom is taking junior out to McDonalds 4 times a week junior will think that's normal. If mom is cooking healthy home cooked meals most of the time then junior will eat healthy and carry that into his adulthood. Exercise plays a big part as well. Too many kids playing video games these days and not riding bikes outside, etc. Again, parents can lead by example.

When I was a kid (90's), there were fat kids, but they were few and far between and most of them weren't even grossly fat.

Today, I see disgustingly fat little children everywhere. Some that are probably no more than 8 years old.

When I was a kid, I played outside all the time. I had video games, but they were more of an evening / bad weather entertainment option.

Combine that with the fact that a lot of parents these days find it easier to just pick up food through a drive through or make some kind of a frozen dinner than it is to actually cook a full meal. Let's not forget the sweets and junk food all over the house to keep the kids occupied when they're bored.

All of this adds up to the obesity epidemic we're facing now.

lol, that's a great pic. I still think genetics plays a role but feel obesity is more impacted by both food choices and lack of exercise.

Absolutely.

When I was growing up, there was "the fat kid" in every class.

There wasn't suddenly an explosion in genetic predisposition to obesity in the last 20 years.

Diets changed and people have become less active.

Just go to any wal-mart in America and watch what the fatties buy for their kids to eat.....

(08-19-2014 03:35 PM)blunderbuss Wrote:  

(08-19-2014 03:31 PM)EverRespect Wrote:  

(08-19-2014 03:21 PM)LSU04_08 Wrote:  That's good news. My oldest (12) is in 7th grade and made the JV football team his first year, though he's tall and slim, but I was too at that age so I assume he'll bulk up after puberty... My two middles (8 & 9) play soccer (ugh) right now but want to follow their older bro's footsteps once they get to 7th, and my youngest (6) doesn't do shiit besides torment his 3 older brothers for now. But at play time, he throws the football with us all so I assume he'll head in that direction too.

Mine (5) is all about basketball and soccer (ugh), but more basketball than anything. Only 5 year old I know that can hit a 3 with a hand in his face. He plays all day, everyday if we are home. Rain, snow, sleet, doesn't matter, he is out there. It just grew into an obsession.



He is one of only 2 white kids in his league and literally scores like 70% of the points.

That's awesome. I hope my kid likes basketball.

Aren't they cute when they're that age? It reminds me of my grandson when he played pee wee basketball and later high school ball. He loved the game, made all state in oklahoma. I don't think he plays anymore but he's still slim like his grandpa because his dad isn't. LOL