Your weight and your childrens' weight

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

Just to add my mum is fat, she has been nearly all my life. I dont blame her for my weight gain, i own it. I was lovely and slim in childhood, my parents provided us with a balanced diet and loads of sport.

But both my sister and i ended up very over weight. There has to be some relationship between our mothers weight and our....

I stand by what i said and i also add that most of the 'reasons' given for being fat and not exercising are excuses, plain and simple. I had three kids, a husband that worked away and a back injury. I was new to moving interstate, i was working. Theres a truck load of excuses, or i could have a blinding moment of IM FREAKING FAT. i can pretend that it wont affect my kids, i can say its ok im this way cause i dont feed my kids bad food, my weight didnt stop me being active with my kids...... BUT THE TRUTH WAS I WAS FAT, fat fat fat. I was not being the best mother i could, the best wife i could or the best person i could.

i have to work hard to stay fit and eat well, the only difference now days is i dont lie to myself.

My kids will have to fight their own battles, but im going to give it my best shot at teaching them better skills at dealing with life than i was taught/saw/lived!

Tegam i admire all the hard work you put in but just because it worked for you does not mean it works for everyone, i am the best mum i can be, i am a freaking amazing mum and i always will be no matter my size.
I am no less a person, partner or mother because i am overweight - i lead by example with my children, they eat healthily, we exercise regularly we get out and explore the world and they get love and dedication from me, in my eyes that is 100 times more important than me being a skinny mum.

I don't need to proove myself and while i understand your opinion it's such a broad statement to make.... size does NOT prove whether your an amazing mum or not, it's the love & dedication we have for our children that does.

[Tegam]

I never said it was everything and I didn't say skinny was best.

I said healthy was best and I do not believe you can be obese and healthy.

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

I never said it was everything and I didn't say skinny was best.

I said healthy was best and I do not believe you can be obese and healthy.

I get where your coming from but i know quite a few people who might be within a 'healthy' weight range but are far from it - they live unhealthy lives, they don't exercise, they don't involve their chidlren in things, they don't teach their children about healthy eating but no-one would look sideways at them in the street.

Where do we draw the line, who's defiinition of OBESE do we use, if it's BMI then some of our most high profile athletes & sporting stars are OBESE, therefore they cannot by your definition be healthy and they MUST be negatively impacting on their childrens lives - such horrible role models they must be.

I think we need to stop looking past someones weight, it's not a clear indication of their lifestyle - some people are extremely active, eat healthily etc etc but have thyroid issues but you can't tell by looking at them.
Some people really are just fat, lazy slobs who eat Macca's & junkfood all day but i'm not, according to my doctor YES i am obese according to BMI BUT she can find no ill effects from that, i don't have high cholesterol, i don't have high blood pressure, i keep up with my kids, i exercise i'm just not your typical body shape.
I'm nearly 6ft tall and broad i'm never going to be the 'ideal' weight for my height and my Dr has even told me NOT to get that low.

So again it's such a broad statement to make that can be quite emotional... I don't normally get into things like this and i'm not one to cause a fight but i'm standing up for myself and all the other mums here working our butts off and doing an amazing job with our kids, living healthy lifestyles but possibly not looking like we do.

[HotI]

If you use BMI, then Shaquille O'Neal the basketballer is obese.

[HotI]

Fat test fails on sports stars | adelaidenow

Fat test fails on sports stars

THE body mass index that doctors use as a guide to determine if patients are a healthy weight has rated some of our elite Olympians as fat.

Experts have questioned the accuracy of the body mass index after calculations showed cyclists Anna Meares, Shane Perkins and Scott Sunderland, ironman Ky Hurst and boxer Johan Linde had readings over 25.

The BMI is calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by their height squared and then compared against a set table which rates a result of 25 and over as overweight and 30 and over as obese.

For example, Johan Linde's height is 1.98m, which multiplied by itself gives a figure of 3.92. When his weight of 104kg is divided by 3.92 the result is a BMI of 26.53, which would make the boxer technically overweight.

Sunderland and Perkins, both Commonwealth gold medallists, have BMI readings close to 30, making them almost obese on the scale, which ignores muscle to determine if a person is a healthy weight.


Nutritionist Susie Burrell said Hurst, who has won seven Australian ironman titles, had body fat totalling 6 to 8 per cent.

She said athletes had to use more sophisticated testing than the BMI.

"BMI doesn't take into account body composition or where the fat mass is held," Ms Burrell said.

"In general, we work off skin folds or DEXA scans (low energy X-rays) which tell us exactly how much fat and muscle a person has.

"If you look at Ky Hurst, I think his body fat is 6 to 8 per cent which is low. He has an enormous amount of muscle mass."

Australian Institute of Sport head of sports nutrition Dr Louise Burke said the organisation also favoured the DEXA scans over BMI to asses an athlete's physique.

But the Australian Medical Association has backed the measure. President Steve Hambleton said: "No measure is going to be perfect because we all come in different shapes and sizes.

"But the BMI is a very good guide and tells a great majority of people where they should be."

[Kaydee]

I have always had weight problems (I yoyo like crazy) and I recognise why. Both my husband and I were obese children so we are determined to keep our kids healthy without going over the top. My husband now runs marathons regulary and is a fantastic role model for our kids. I encourage healthy eating (organic foods especially) but I still allow the occasional fast-food meal. I never talk about weight, but I explain to my kids more about why certain foods are good (or bad) for you.
I firmly believe education is the key, all parents need to understand how important a healthy lifestyle is and more importantly, fantastic positive role models.

When I was 12 my mother took me clothes shopping for a party, nothing fit so I had to find something in the plus size woman's section. On the drive home I clearly remember my Mother saying "you really need to do something about your weight". I was 12 and I was furious at my mother that she blamed me for my problem when it was clearly her fault. till this day I am still angry. So I am determined not to be like that with my children.

If i do notice my ds has put on a bit of extra weight (usually when he comes back from a trip to the grandparents, haha), I never voice my concerns to him, I just adjust his diet accordingly and he never notices

[trishalishous]

DH is currently overweight (but naturally is a big solid man) I am currently overweight (since last pregnancy, but Im naturally fairly slender) DD is very slim and tall.
We are both working on getting fitter for our kids sakes

[little_O]

I've started considering this point.
My side of the family is naturally slim, in fact I remember my bmi always being classed as underweight until I turned 20, though I have never dieted(still haven't, I don't have that self control). We were always raised active and with normal healthy diets, though I never stopped myself eating what I wanted.
DH's side though is genetically opposite, while I spent my childhood being called a twig, he was large. He was givem healthy homemade food, just LOTS of it. He had to make the decision to do something about it himself, which to his credit he did. Now the pictures of him as a child don't look like him.

Unfortunately now though, we could eat the same meal and he would put on weight and it wouldn't affect me. He has to watch everything. Now with dd(think I'm more paranoid because she is a girl) what happens if she had his sides genes? How do I as a mum help her and not make her go through what he did? How will she feel that mum doesn't have to not eat things but she does? Whole new ball game now...

[sushee]

I was big for a long time and my children, three of whom are now adults, were never overweight. Not even close. I didn't exercise, but they did, they were faction captains, and were active in all sports. I never commented on their weight (like my mother did with me) even obliquely because I loved them no matter what they looked like. So I think in my case, being overweight and having overweight children has no correlation.

Now I've lost the weight with the help of a lapband, they get annoyed with my obsession with keeping slim and fit. I love that. I LOVE that my children (and my DD is 22) don't worry about their weight. My DD various moves between a size 8 and a size 12 and she could not care less. And more importantly NOR DO I, because she is beautiful. And I will cut my arm off before I ever make her feel anything less than that.

I want to teach my kids to be active, healthy, strong-willed, ethical, determined and that's more what my focus will be than their weight. I agree with being a good role model, so I hope they model their behaviour on how I think that societal stereotypes about overweight people being any less worthy than a slim person is wrong, and from there, they can then make their own minds up about how much they want to weigh, knowing that I think they're amazing no matter what.