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Is childhood obesity an important issue?

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This report pulls together research done by the Liberal Democrat Health, Education, Sport and Transport teams on childhood obesity. The key findings are:

-Hospital treatment for obese children and teenagers has more than doubled since 1997.
-Prescriptions of the obesity drug Orlistat have increased by over 300% in four years and 30% in the most recent year alone. Around 3,000 of the prescriptions were for children that year.
-The average person in England is overweight and getting bigger.
-One in five English people is obese.
-Surgical operations (like stomach stapling) to treat obesity have nearly doubled in England since Labour came to power, and the Government plans to increase this figure eight times.
-There has been a 78% increase in Hospital treatment for obesity since Labour came to power.
-The Government failed to meet their target to “raise significantly, year on year, the time spent on sport and physical activity” by children. In fact, it declined.
-Official figures show that only £8.5 million of the £750 million promised for school sport by Tony Blair in 2000 has been spent.
-A Liberal Democrat survey on physical education and activity in schools found that 50% of all Heads of PE believe sports facilities at their school have deteriorated over the last 5 years. Only 10% of all the Heads of PE described the general health and fitness of their pupils as ‘good’. None described it as ‘very good’.
-If all the children driven less than a mile to school walked instead then the nation would shed up to 6.5million lbs.
To read the whole report click the following link: http://www.libdems.org.uk/documents/obesity_apr04.doc

Admin note: Moved from "Come in and say Hi forum"
 
This information apears to have come from England which means I really don't care. However there is a problem with obesity in this country also. We have become a nation of lazy, fat, coutch potatoes. Some of this can be blamed on technology. the TV, the internet you know the mindless activities we all have to partake in. Some of this can be blamed on the food manufactors for using excess amounts of bad ingrediants and polluting our bodies. Perhaps we should take some freaking responsibility quit blaming others and get off our asses. GO walk a mile or run one. The only way to battle this problem is to take responsibility for our actions and to make the change.
 
I supposed you want to blame this ALL on the parents as well CSA_TX?

Obesity actually beats smoking in deaths per year.
This is society breeding this - not sure what we can do about it.
Political Correctness has taken over and all we can really do it bitch.

If you do something - that line is crossed.

Mediate the food for kids in schools? Some parents will sue.
Regulate the media for commericals about fast food resturants? Nope freedom of speech!
Tell the parents to do something about thier fat kids? Noppers - someone will get offended.
 
I think Parents should bear some responsibility if they have an obese child yes. Parents are the teachers and protectors of their children. It is there Job and reponsibilty to raise there children. As I said in my previous post We as a nation need to take some freaking personal responsiblity for our actions. If a parent lets there kids eat or feeds there kid nothing but crap then who else is there to blame? That is their business but don't come whining to me when your kid has diabetes or gets picked on for being fat. Parents should be at the schools demanding that there kids get more than 1 day a week of PE. Yes my 11 year old niece has 1 day a week of phsyical activity while under the guidance and supervision of our wonderful government run school system. That is crap in my opinion. And I tell you what If my kid goes to public school when he reachs that age I will be at every damn meeting demanding that he gets daily PE. However I will also take the responsiblity to limit his TV, Playstation, Computer couch potatoing time. Why because I take personal responsibility for myself and my Son until he is old enough to make his own desicions. That way I have at least done my job and taken the responsibity to give him the building blocks to lead a healthy life.
 
Yep it all comes down tio is the parents. the kids don't happen w/o the parents! hmmm imagine that! If the parents would get the hell out the office and out from in front of the tv more often and actually see what their kids are doing/eating/watching/playing with/etc. and then do something about it this country would be a better place. In this particular instance FOOD and lazyness, for example, parents need to cut out all the junk and presurvatives the kids are eating and give them better choices, ie in the fridge etc. most people today don't take the time to cook a decent meal because they are in a hurry. so they get things like easy mac, power bars, spagetti in a can etc. oh and lets not forget about fast food, check the ingredients in that stuff. then get the kids out from in front of the tv or pc and go do someting, sports, ride a bike etc. parents need to be more involved with their kids and TEACH them the correct way to handle things that they incounter. And as time goes on it gets worse. the kids that were not raised properly grow up and have their own kids and they continue to not raise them.

Just think of what it will be like a few generations down the line......
 
I didn't learn "everything" from my parents - Thank goodness.

FWIW, I thought my parents were full of it and realized at a young age that the pain of spanking only lasts a few minutes.

Pass the cheeseburger - Johnny had one - I want one too!
 

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The focus should be health...

I've come across an article by Patricia Pearson of USA Today, she shares my views on the subject. Because being raised in a third world country we did not have the eating disorder problem, we would normally eat bread and sugar water in the morning for breakfast at about 8am, then at noon or 1 o'clock if there is such thing as dinner we'd eat whatever we can put our hands on from rice and peas to corn meal and/or boiled green plantain and sweet potato and yams with fish or pork, and for supper at 8pm we would have oatmeal or flour pourage (cream of wheat). The only day we'd have a decent meal is Sunday. But between meals we'd be outside playing, because there was no such things as video games, better yet, we could not afford atari. Or our parents were not worried about somebody kidnapping us. Who would? Please do! They'd say, too many of you to feed. Here in the US we have our fridge and pantry stocked up with food an snacks and they spend 90% of the time in front of the screen chewing on something.
Anyway here's the article:

Arkansas has tipped the scales on the childhood-obesity crisis - literally.

Last week, officials there announced that they had weighed 276,000 schoolchildren during the past year and discovered that 40% were overweight or obese. Notes have been sent home to parents. Diets, presumably, advised.

Laudatory as this effort sounds, the focus on poundage sends chills up my spine. Are we quite certain that a focus on weight, rather than on health, is the one we wish to convey to our children?

I ask because my 7-year-old daughter and I came across the final episode of Fox's plastic-surgery makeover show, The Swan, a few weeks back, and it was a striking reminder that this society remains one in which the cruel adage still holds: You can never be too rich or too thin.

Even as we wring our hands about the obesity epidemic, we look to television and see ordinary American women submitting to a months-long regimen of dieting, fitness and plastic surgery, to be, not strong and fit, but pretty.

A putative swan song to self-esteem, the show crescendoed to a pageant, in which the ladies were pitted against one another in bathing suits and lingerie, and one got to become the Swan Queen. The lunacy lay less in the liposuction than in this final pageant, in which every woman but the winner was made to feel that she was still lacking a certain je ne sais quois.

Beware of message

We need to be careful that as we prepare to declare war on obesity, we don't knock down the gains made to combat eating disorders.

Our children are particularly vulnerable. Schools are asked, on the one hand, to make kids feel comfortable with "body image," while, on the other, advising them to watch their weight. How are they supposed to navigate such conflicting messages?

If roughly 15% of adolescents have been deemed "obese," it's worth bearing in mind that about 5% suffer from anorexia nervosa and bulimia, according to Michael Levine, a psychologist at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. He is a leading specialist in eating-disorders prevention.

Moreover, it is plausible that some overweight kids are merely the flip side of the coin, in which the currency is image and they binge-eat and crash-diet and lose control of their weight. "Obese girls are more likely to report binge-eating or extreme dieting," Levine says.

A study published by Harvard researchers in the journal Pediatrics last year found that kids between the ages of 9 and 14 who were dieting without medical supervision gained weight over a three-year period. Kids who weren't concerned about their weight maintained it evenly.

Yet here we have diet gurus such as Arthur Agatston of the South Beach Diet letting it be known that children and adolescents should feel free to use his program, as long as they skip the initial two-week phase of stricter food intake.

"The problem," Levine says, "is that we keep thinking in terms of weight, itself. Calories and BMI (body mass index) and optimal weight, and we're essentially fostering a dieting mentality."

This, I might add, is nothing new.

"We've lived with hysteria about obesity for how many years?" Levine asks, rhetorically. "Fifty?"

Obsessing over looks

Is it possible that the longtime obsession with appearance has fed into the very obesity crisis we face? It would be dubious to argue, then, that the answer is a redoubled effort at dieting.

"We need to coordinate obesity efforts with eating-disorders prevention," says Frances Berg, author of Underage and Overweight: America's Childhood Obesity Epidemic - What Every Family Needs to Know. "They are interrelated issues, and it's certainly possible to cause new problems (eating disorders) while trying to fix others (weight gain)."

Consider who it is that picks up the message about being overweight. A study reported last month by the staff at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, a world-renowned center for eating-disorders research and treatment, showed that among a sample of 2,279 girls younger than 14, one-quarter were "dieting to lose weight," even though fewer than 8% could be characterized as "above average" in weight for their age group.

"I do strongly feel that we might undo some of the work we've been doing on disordered eating for the last 10 years," says Gail McVey, the study's lead author.

What McVey has found in her work is that girls' attention must be shifted away from food and weight altogether. Talk to them about stress management and peer pressure, teach them media literacy, show them that many of their problems "are displaced onto concerns about being fat."

Contrary to Iowa Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin's best intentions in proposing to ban junk-food vending machines in schools, there should be no such thing as "good" food or "bad" food. Kids should always have access to a variety of foods and athletic activities.

Berg agrees: "We need to shift to a new paradigm. I call it 'Health at Any Size,' and it means focusing on health, not weight, and helping all people be healthy at the size they are."
 
Damn fine post The_Liberal_Puke! I disagree to several key points the author is making, but the below quote says quite alot.

The_Liberal_Puke said:
I ask because my 7-year-old daughter and I came across the final episode of Fox's plastic-surgery makeover show, The Swan, a few weeks back, and it was a striking reminder that this society remains one in which the cruel adage still holds: You can never be too rich or too thin.

On one hand you have the parents - on the other you have society. I firmly believe that society is a much much stronger influence.
 
per vauge "On one hand you have the parents - on the other you have society. I firmly believe that society is a much much stronger influence."


I hate to slam ya but that is a freaking liberal cop out. Its societies fault
wank wank wank. Sorry I just don't beleive in blaming everyone or in this instance society for the fat ass kids. It not societies reponsibily to raise or feed my kids. It is mine. In my opinion it does not take a "village" to raise a child. Thank you very much Hillary for that touching socialistic view of rasing our kids.
Allowing society to be more of an influence is the parents damn fault. Instill some damn value and selfworth in your kids. Make then proud to be who they are, let them know its ok to give society the finger and that its ok to be there own person. That is freedom. When people take no responsibilty and they blame it on society they are no longer free. They are caught up in a tragic sence of helplessness taking no responsibility so they can't be held accountable for the ills they have caused.
Society is a bigger influence only if you allow it to be.
Just my thoughts

Liberal_Puke you are an inspiration to all third world imigrants and I am pleased to call you my friend. We Americans take a lot for granted having been raised in this great nation. Most of us have no concept of the standard eating practices you have described above. I am sure it gives you great pleasure to have the fridge and the pantry full to provide for your family. To take the responsibilty bestowed upon you and to deal with it. That is a good thing. That is Freedom at its finest.
 
Sorry I just don't beleive in blaming everyone or in this instance society for the fat ass kids.

Unfortunatly there are more folks that think like you do.

Ahem... the PARENTS are PART of society!!! The very bottom of the chain.

If you learned everything you needed to know from your parents - you would:
a) Have no street smarts or common sense.
b) Be lost when it comes to new circumstances that your parents never had.
c) Not be able to think for yourself.
d) Not be influenced by new fasions (NIKE, parachute pants, swatch watches...[late 80's kid here] )
e) Not be influenced by commercials or movies.
f) Not eat that cheeseburger cause your best friend said it was good without asking your parents first.

Perhaps your right.
 
The simple truth of the matter is that we are raising a generation of spoiled and indifferent children.
 
vauge said:
Sorry I just don't beleive in blaming everyone or in this instance society for the fat ass kids.

Unfortunatly there are more folks that think like you do.

Ahem... the PARENTS are PART of society!!! The very bottom of the chain.

In the grand scope of things, yes. However, society is not responsible for the parents giving in to the crying and whining when kids want a cheeseburger from McDonalds. No, that would be the parents who have lost touch with how to deal with their own children. A lot of the fault can fall squarely on parents, not society as a whole.
 
Ok so what you are saying is that its my fault because I am a part of society that little Jonny down the street is a fat ass. Granted I have never talked to or had any interaction with Jonny or his parents but because I am a part of the american society I am part of the problem. Wow what ever your smoking you need to pass around.
So I have taken your theory on society influences and taken a look at my life how and where I was raised and this is what I came up with. Had I been influnced by the society I grew up in located in Lafayette Ca in the liberal Bay Area. I would be a liberal, I would have voted for Clinton, I would beleive that bigger govenment influnce in my life was good, I would beleive the government is the answer to all our problems. I wouldn't own a gun, I would think that the terroists that want to kill us just need to be understood and that perhaps a hug from our society to theirs would get rid of their hatred for us. I would actully buy the horse shit John Lennin was signing about in that song Imagine.
So with the way I turned out, I guess the society I grew up in didn't have much influence on me. Perhaps it was because I listened to my parents and heard what they were telling me when we discussed values and personal responsibity. Because of them doing their job I was able to form my own opinion and give the society I grew up in the finger. I was the only kid in JR High and High School to wear cowboy boots. I am the only person I know that showed up at the beach to go surfing but had to take off my cowboy boots in the sand .Ya the fashion scene of that society sure did its part on me. When Kids made fun of me for listening to Hank Williams Jr did I cry or feel left out and blame society hell No I turned it up.
AS for my political beleifs they sure as hell didn't come from the society that influenced me. I own many guns, never voted for Clinton, Would like the govenment to stay the hell out of my life and quit trying to make eveything better cause all they do is spend my money and **** everything up. I think the only way to stop the terrorist is to kill them first.They do not have a right to exist.
So to some it all up I think your theory rates right up there with that wonderful song all the liberals sing (Imagine) full of horse shit. but then again thats just my opinon
 
Ok so what you are saying is that its my fault because I am a part of society that little Jonny down the street is a fat ass.

Well... YES and NO! Not directly. But, very indirectly.

If you think that your parents are the ONLY thing that gave you values. You are dead WRONG.

You formed your own values growing up in SOCIETY. Yes, your parents (the starting point) gave you direction - but you have a choice. If something is considered WRONG...you didn't do it. Your parents sat you down and said no CSA - that is not acceptable. Then you rebelled when you got older - hrmm.. not much different than the rest of us.

Back to society thing. In California there are LESS obesse children than many other states... why? Because it is accepted to go out and play. To drink grass, put some energy powder shit in a glass, and workout. Other states that its not so popular like Oklahoma and Arkansas are fat asses. Sorry man, it's not just the weather or your parents telling you to get off your a$$ and go out and play. There were other kids to play WITH. You had to have a reason other than momy and daddy said to like it.

I grew up in New Mexico - a very democratic state. Is that relivant? Well yes and no. My dad always seemed to change his party every President.
I consider myself a hard conservative. Does that mean that my dad didn't teach me values?

Most folks will not vote for someone if they think they will loose. Unfortunatly, that means that they cannot think for themselves either. This is where society comes in and we are different than the rest.

Look at the whole picture man.. not just the mirror.

The simple truth of the matter is that we are raising a generation of spoiled and indifferent children.

The word "WE" sums it up well.
 
Not going to reply to this utter nonsense. Opening the debate to get others points of view. We are to far apart on this. Other Users please join in and let us know what you think.
 
How about stop the bitching about other people's "fat asses" and educate them.

First of all, some people that have these "fat asses" can't 'help' it due to emotional or physical reasons (i.e.: need to see a shrink/dr.). Secondly, healthy, nutritional diets aren't always available/affordable. And lastly, some people are simply uninformed and molded by gluttony, availability, ease and aesthetics.

As far as the "Can't Help Its" here's my case. Somewhere in some people's psyches, food=comfort, food=peace, food=happiness, food=addiction. Addiction....hmmm...ever been addicted to cigarettes, alcohol, porn, tv, computers? Why don't you just get off your "fat ass" and take responsibility.

NOW!

Not so easy ehhh? So.... all of you fellas with the 'instant' answers have your own demons?

First step, the person has to realize the problem. Secondly, they have to admit their weakness. (That's a really demoralizing thing....knowing that you aren't perfect, right, in control.) THEN...you have to go to some stranger (in some cases, people don't have the wearwithall to vanquish the demon themselves...heck even Pru and Piper and Phoebe need the 'power of 3'), admit your imperfection or get diagnosed with one, hash it out, get all these recommendations, get in your car, go back home and use pills, surgery, diets, self-reconfirming talk, self-help books and stamina (which our instant society has lost sight of) to cure yourself. It is very difficult and not very successful to conquer addictions by yourself...we need to be supportive to the "fat asses" and not so judgemental and assuming. That doesn't mean condoning just not judgemental. Yeah, there are those that don't give a damn. But you don't know who they are until you get to know them. Once you find em then you can call them a lazy fat ass all you want. And if they get offended then *&^& them.


Now, as for the availability/affordability of a healthy diet, here ya go.

Have you seen the cafeteria food they serve lately to the common school kid? Fried, processed, starchy, oh...and did I say fried? There is no monitoring of what the kid eats unless they are on free/reduced lunch and they have to go through the hot lunch line. Usually kids go through the "snack" line and get fried chicken fingers, ice cream and chips. The cashier in the "hot lunch" line makes sure they get a state mandated balanced meal that includes all of the food groups: something fried, something starchy, some kind of processed meat (all meats sent to schools have to be pre-cooked now), fruit, veggie (french fries...my bad... freedom fries are a veggie now adays) milk and juice. Does the milk, juice and fruit cancel out the rest?) PLUS, if the student happens to come across a buck or two, the workers can't or won't stop them from purchasing the ice cream, chips, cookies, etc. that are strategically placed at the end of the "nutritionally regulated" hot lunch line. The cafeteria workers, teachers, nutritionists, school administrators (on a local level) all realize this dilemma and hence some do not dine at the school's fabulous facilities but cannot do much about it unless they have a pocket full of money or a whole heckuva lot of support and weight (pardon the pun).

That's basically what it comes down to in this case, there isn't the money there to afford anything healthy or whomever is allotting the money has other priorities.

And speaking of money....have you ever been sooo broke that all you can afford is those fattening ramen noodles, starchy potatoes, macaroni and cheese, bread, beans, surprise hotdogs, etc? Sometimes eating healthy is not conducive to the checkbook. Yes some of us need to eat less and that would take us a ways down the road. But it's rather costly to eat all veggies and whatever else it takes to be healthily thin.


Now, as far as the simply uniformed, gluttonous, lazy, selfish "fat asses" what can be said about them? Helpless bottom-feeders? Well, I guess education, encouragement, information, support, education, encouragement, information support, did I say education....you get the picture.

Education can happen on many different levels. By example, by suggestion (honey attracts more fat asses than vinegar :D ), by self-discovery, by need, books, computer, word of mouth, doctors, etc.


Solutions are not overnight or over a single generation. Though I doubt any of us "fat asses" (wether it's a reality or a mental obesity) will actually try and educate anyone on how to improve their emotional/physical health. You are either the type of person that will bitch or the type that will do. Effectiveness of the doers is up for debate but it takes all types to reach all types. So get out there and educate the fat asses!
 

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Well said, Constance. But let me also say that a great cause of this overall problem does lie with the "simplicity" of providing unhealthy diets, in the case of parents and children. It's much easier to throw together a hamburger helper than it is to cook a decent meal. Most parents who work 9 or 10 hours a day would rather take the easy way.

"And speaking of money....have you ever been sooo broke that all you can afford is those fattening ramen noodles, starchy potatoes, macaroni and cheese, bread, beans, surprise hotdogs, etc? Sometimes eating healthy is not conducive to the checkbook. Yes some of us need to eat less and that would take us a ways down the road. But it's rather costly to eat all veggies and whatever else it takes to be healthily thin. "

I've always said that healthy diets are expensive. :wink:
 
CSA_TX said:
If a parent lets there kids eat or feeds there kid nothing but crap then who else is there to blame? That is their business but don't come whining to me when your kid has diabetes or gets picked on for being fat. Parents should be at the schools demanding that there kids get more than 1 day a week of PE.

Ok I have to reply to a small part of this. The part about Diabetes. I want to educate you people on a subject that people commonly misunderstand, and it really pisses me. Mainly because I am diabetic, secondly because everyone thinks there is only one kind of diabeties.

So I found this artical on the causes of diabetes for everyone to read. Just for the record my brother delevoped Type 1 Diabetes when he was 5, I developed it when I was 29. Neither of us is overweight, we both grew up in the same household, same schools, eating the same foods, and pretty much doing the same thing.

While it is true that some of the causes for type 2 can be linked to diet, and exercise their are many more causes than just that. So please read and educate yourself.


From "http://my.webmd.com/content/article/3/1680_51021?src=Inktomi&condition=Health%20Topics%20A-Z"


Causes of Diabetes

Drugs such as steroids, Dilantin, and others may elevate the blood sugar through a variety of mechanisms. Certain other drugs, such as alloxan, streptozocin, and thiazide diuretics, are toxic to the beta cells of the pancreas and can cause diabetes. Certain syndromes (for example, Prader-Willi, Down's, Progeria, and Turner's) may result in a hyperglycemic state; if this state is prolonged, the result can be permanent diabetes.

Diabetes resulting in an insulin-dependent state is classified as Type 1 diabetes. While Type 1 diabetes affects only between 5 to10 percent of the diabetic population, its effects on the body can be worse than other forms of diabetes. In the past, Type 1 has been known as juvenile or juvenile-onset diabetes (because it is usually diagnosed in those under thirty), brittle diabetes, unstable diabetes, and ketosis-prone diabetes. People in this classification more frequently exhibit the classic symptoms, usually with ketones present in blood and urine. A blood-sugar level of 800 mg/dl (44 mmol) or more, especially if ketones are not present, indicates a diagnosis of hyperglycemic hyperosmolar nonketotic syndrome (a state in which the body is extremely dry (dehydrated), the chemicals in the body are concentrated, and the blood sugar is high).

As stated before, diabetes is a syndrome or group of diseases (rather than one disease), leading to the prolonged hyperglycemic state. Type 1 is most associated with the killing of the beta cells, most likely by the body's own immune system. Either the immune system cannot kill an infecting agent, which then kills the beta cells, or the immune system itself goes "wild," attacking the body's own tissue and destroying the beta cells. The cells of the islets of Langerhans are inflamed, resulting from an infectious-disease process (for example, mumps) or, more commonly, from an autoimmune (allergic to self) response.

The autoimmune process results in the circulation of antibodies that may either cause or be caused by beta-cell death. If it is found that the antibodies cause beta-cell destruction (the body fighting what it now considers foreign to itself), the body's response to the Type 1 diabetes is much less severe (i.e., easier to control) with treatment. Until then, the outcome is a lack of available insulin. While the onset is said to be sudden, changes resulting in decreased insulin availability may have occurred over a longer period of time. In short, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus is an inherited defect of the body's immune system, resulting in destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas.

Heredity is a major cause of diabetes. If both parents have Type 2 diabetes, there is a chance that nearly all of their children will have diabetes. If both parents have Type 1 diabetes, fewer than 20 percent of their children will develop Type 1 diabetes. In identical twins, if one twin develops Type 2 diabetes, the chance is nearly 100 percent that the other twin will also develop it. In Type 1 diabetes, however, only 40 to 50 percent of the second twins will develop the disease, indicating that while inheritance is important, environmental factors (for example, too much food, too much stress, viral infection, and so forth) are also involved in the development of Type 1 diabetes.

Causes of Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is an inherited defect of the immune system triggered by an environmental stimuli. The problem may be in the on switch of the immune system in which the viral stimuli do not turn the system on. The virus is then allowed to penetrate the beta cell and cause its destruction. Conversely, the problem may be in the off switch in that the system turns on appropriately and kills the virus but then does not turn itself off. The T-cells are then allowed to attack the beta cells themselves. This is a very simplified explanation. In point of fact, it is much more complex, involving many, many steps in the immune system. The beta cells themselves may contribute to this by producing antigens or chemicals on the cell surface that stimulate the immune system, and there may be many other environmental stimuli rather than just viruses. Indeed, there is some evidence now that protein in cows' milk may cause the formation of antibodies that can attach to the beta cell or that are similar to antibodies on the beta cell. When the immune system mobilizes in response to a stimulus, these antibodies will attach to receptors on the surface of the beta cell causing the damage to occur to the beta cells of the pancreas. For whatever reason, the beta cells are then destroyed by the immune system in what is called an autoimmune phenomena, in which the body has come to recognize itself as a foreign body and begins to eliminate certain parts.

Recently researchers have been attempting to locate the genes for diabetes. As a part of the genome project, in which researchers around the world are attempting to map the entire gene structure of all the human chromosomes, they have isolated 18 genes that appear to be involved in the production of Type 1 diabetes. Not all of these genes have equal potency. Two of them appear to be most potent, some others are least potent, and others are simply auxiliary or helper genes that seem to have some assisting effect in the process. There are also genes which are protective so that one might inherit the genes for diabetes, but if you also inherited the protective genes, you would not develop the disease. Thus, development of the disease is not 100 percent in those who have inherited the genetics for the disease. Those people may have the genes but may either have protector genes or may be fortunate enough to avoid the environmental stimuli.

The cause of Type 1 diabetes, then, is an inherited defect in the immune system that interacts in some way with environmental factors. These factors may be viruses or chemicals in the environment or perhaps other environmental factors that we have not yet identified, which team up together to result in the eventual complete destruction of the beta cells and the loss of insulin secretion.

Causes of Type 2 Diabetes

The cause of Type 2 diabetes is not as well understood. Two factors appear to be important in Type 2 diabetes. These are insulin resistance and insulin deficiency. There is a debate over which comes first, but the general consensus of the moment is that insulin resistance is the first factor. Type 2 diabetes is also a genetic disease, although the genes are carried on entirely different chromosomes than those for Type 1 diabetes. There are probably multiple genes involved in this disease. For whatever reason, this genetic factor, perhaps interacting with some environmental factors such as obesity, excess caloric intake, deficient caloric expenditure, and aging, may result then in a resistance to insulin. That is, the peripheral cell, a muscle or fat or other cell, does not respond appropriately to the insulin present. The body then begins to produce more insulin in order to try to overcome the insulin resistance. The next part of the sequence may involve two factors. One is that the increasing insulin secretion may ultimately exhaust the beta cells, thus resulting in insulin deficiency. Another factor has been identified recently and this is called glucotoxicity. It turns out that sugar in high amounts can be toxic or poisonous to the cells of the body. In the person with insulin resistance who is running high blood sugars that have been undetected and untreated, or even in the person who know he or she has the disease but does not treat it appropriately, the continuing high levels of sugar have a toxic effect on the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas, thus damaging those cells and reducing insulin secretion. So we then end up with a combination of peripheral resistance to the action of insulin and at the same time insulin deficiency, and those two can then precipitate a severe case of Type 2 diabetes that may in fact require insulin for treatment. There are many steps in the action of insulin at the peripheral cell level, and each of those steps is stimulated by a different enzyme, and each enzyme is controlled by a different gene. Therefore, there are many potential places where the defects can occur, resulting in the same ultimate end: resistance of the peripheral cell to the action of insulin. This is probably the precipitating factor in Type 2 diabetes.

There is an increase in the diabetes for both Type 1 and Type 2 disease but a more pronounced increase in Type 2. The increase is at the rate of about 6 percent per year, which means the number of people with diabetes will double every 15 years. In the United States this increase is occurring predominately in the non-white ethnic populations. The prevalence of diabetes in the Caucasian population is approximately 5 to 6 percent; in the black population it is somewhere between 12 to 15 percent; in the Hispanic population it is around 20 percent; and in the Native American population it frequently exceeds 30 percent. Indeed, there are tribes in which the prevalence may be as high as 65 percent. Likewise, diabetes is increasing in the world, particularly in developing countries. The disease is very rare in third world or undeveloped countries. But as these countries begin to develop and achieve industrial prominence and economic stability there is a mushrooming of the amount of diabetes occurring in these cultures. This was seen in Japan after World War II and most recently in Korea and Taiwan, and it is now occurring in other Southeast Asian countries as the standard of living begins to increase. It is thought that this increase is probably related to increased caloric intake associated with decreased caloric expenditure. The genes for Type 2 diabetes are probably widespread throughout the world in equal amounts for all races and ethnic groups, but the change in lifestyle from manual labor with a low caloric intake to industrial labor with a high caloric intake and reduced caloric expenditure, because of the use of machinery, can then result in a virtual explosion of Type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes is pervalent in certain geographic areas that are closest to the equator, and as one moves farther north to the arctic circle the prevalence of the disease increases. The highest incidence occurs in the Scandinavian countries; the lowest in the Mediterranean area except for the Island of Sardinia which has an incidence equal to that of Finland. The reasons for these differences are not well understood but it is believed to be due to a change in diet from Brahman cows to English cows a few years ago. It is believed that there may be in English cows used throughout Europe and the Western Hemisphere a protein that may somehow cause the damage to the pancreas and that this protein is lacking in the milk of Brahman cows used in Africa and Asia. Time and research will tell if this is a causative factor in Type 1 diabetes in Europe and North America.
 
Talon thank you for clarifying that and I graciously retract my statement regarding diabetes now that I have been educated. However I do not retract any other part of my post. Fat Kids = Lazy Parents.
 
http://www.naaso.org/information/childhood_overweight.asp

Here is a snippet from this article:

# Food Choices - diets higher in calories (including fats and simple sugars) and lower in fruits and vegetables are linked with overweight
# Physical Activity vs. Sedentary Activity - less physical activity and more time spent participating in activities such as watching tv results in less energy expenditure
# Parental Obesity - children of obese parents are more likely to be overweight themselves. There is an inherited component to childhood overweight that makes it easier for some children to become overweight than others. There are a number of single gene mutations ("genetic alterations") that are capable of causing severe childhood overweight, though these are rare. Even children with genetic risk for overweight will still only become overweight if they consume more calories than they use. Parental obesity may also reflect a family environment that promotes excess eating and insufficient activity.
# Eating Patterns - skipping meals or failure to maintain a regular eating schedule can result in increased intakes when food is eaten.
# Parenting Style - some researchers believe that excess parental control over children's eating might lead to poor self regulation of kid's energy intake.
# Diabetes during pregnancy - overweight and type 2 diabetes occur with greater frequency in the offspring of diabetic mothers (who are also more likely to be obese)
# Low Birth Weight - Low birth weight (<2500 g) is a risk factor for overweight in several epidemiological studies.
# Excessive weight gain during pregnancy - Several studies have shown that excessive maternal weight gain during pregancy is associated with increased birth weight and overweight later in life.
# Formula Feeding - Breast feeding is generally recommended over formula feeding. Although the exact mechanism in unknown, several long-term studies suggest that breast feeding may prevent excess weight gain as children grow.
# Parental Eating and Physical Activity Habits - Parents with poor nutritional habits and who lead sedentary lifestyles role model these behaviors for their children, thereby creating an "obesigenic" home environment.
# Demographic Factors. Certain demographic factors are associated with an increased risk of being overweight in childhood. For example, there is evidence that African-American and Hispanic children 6 to 11 years years old are more likely to be overweight than are non-Hispanic white children of the same age. Asian and Pacific Islander children of the same age were slightly less likely to be overweight.

Explained:
1. Not ALL food choices are by the parents (school - babysitter- etc...) as explained earlier by Constance (awesome post).
2. Diabetes - (See talon's excellent post)
3. Low birth rate - Up to mother nature.
4. Excessive wieght gain during pregnacy - This is of course the moms fault, but first time mothers it happens frequently due to shock of hormonal imbalance.
5. Formula - Not all kids are breast fed. Medication, physical, adoption, etc... (My kid was only able to breast feed for approx a month)
6. Demographics - Society

Now that I have explained what this chart says... are you still willing to say that the parents are the ONLY reason for "fat kids"?
 

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Yes I am because in all reality its simple freaking math and it was even in your post

Even children with genetic risk for overweight will still only become overweight if they consume more calories than they use. Parental obesity may also reflect a family environment that promotes excess eating and insufficient activity

Eat less & Burn More = less Obesity

Wow simple math and some personal responsibilty and a little self control and the issue is resolved. And look there in your post. You proved me right.


Parental obesity may also reflect a family environment that promotes excess eating and insufficient activity.

# Parental Eating and Physical Activity Habits - Parents with poor nutritional habits and who lead sedentary lifestyles role model these behaviors for their children, thereby creating an "obesigenic" home environment


Be sure to see the section above abot the role models parents play very important in my opinion.

Not the Demographics oh no. per the demographics given African Americans and Hispanics what do you expect eating fried chicken and refried beans as well as hanging out on the porch or the street corner they just aren't burning more than they are taking in simple math.

Society is not to blame for obesity in children its plain and simple. The fact you want to blame society makes no sense to me .If society is a bigger influnce in a childs life than the parents then the parents have failed. My thoughts on this subject
 
lock the fridge

There was an obese familyof 4 on Maury Povich show some time ago talking about how sorry they were to have allowed their kids to become uncontrollably fat. They eat what and when they want. Recently they have been to a psychologist and he suggested they lock the fridge and carry the keys around their necks. People need to start taking control of their children's stomach. You feed them what and how much you feel is healthy for them until they old enough to choose. But if they grow up w/o control they won't have a choice later on, it will become an habit that only the parents are to be blamed for. We have to start early with scheduled meal, give them a good eating habit because that's where it starts.
supposed you want to blame this ALL on the parents as well CSA_TX?

Obesity actually beats smoking in deaths per year.
This is society breeding this - not sure what we can do about it.
Political Correctness has taken over and all we can really do it bitch.

If you do something - that line is crossed.

Mediate the food for kids in schools? Some parents will sue.
Regulate the media for commericals about fast food resturants? Nope freedom of speech!
Tell the parents to do something about thier fat kids? Noppers - someone will get offended.

Yes Vauge, we need to start telling the parents to do something about their fat kids because that's where it starts. The truth always offends somebody.
 
I guess you all are not seeing my point.

Yes, it is the parents fault as well as society in general. The parents is where it 'starts' - but it has become acceptable to have "fat kids" or there are other influences (mentioned in my last post as well as Talon's and Constence's). The blame is not entirely and always on the parents. Ahem, sometimes the parents are influenced as well!

If that fat family was the only reason for obesity, then the solution would be simple. Put them all on a diet.

Sorry, it's not that freaking simple.
 
Ho hum, Wouldn't you know it...Brain cells come and brain cells go, but FAT cells live forever. :twisted:
 
Only Liberal_Pukes what Maury Povich and beleive that shit. :agree
 
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