Comments on: Australian National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey

By: Dani

Dani — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 05:42:36 +0000

It's the trends in adult weight that concern me Duncan and the lifestyle issues. The first three years have been touted by some research as critical in forming adult eating habits/palette. I know we can't assume that chubby kids will be overweight adults or that thin kids will be thin adults, we need more concrete knowledge. I wish we had data on previous generations to see if the 20% held true then. I only remember 1 overweight child in my primary school of 80 children and one who was chubby *shrug*.
It's also the quality of food and the nature of heavily processed food that bothers me. So not so much the 20% overweight but the whole picture that really bothers me.
Babble, babble, too tired to be coherent.

By: Duncan

Duncan — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:39:49 +0000

Hi Dani. Useful info thanks. I have to ask, though, why you think 20% of children being overweight is a problem? The classification of overweight starts at a relatively un-fat level (and is also somewhat contentious for children). Being chubby as a kid (or adult) isn't in itself a health problem. Eating badly and not engaging in physical activity are far more serious problems, and apply to all weights. There's little or no evidence of a causal link between (at the very least) mild overweight and health issues. Even the serious data on very overweight subjects appear to give no clear picture about health implications caused by body weight/mass.

By: Dani

Dani — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 21:15:15 +0000

The longitudinal study that my son is part of (life st 3 currently being televised on ABC) found tht living in a poor re was an indication of poor diet rather than the actual wealth of the family. Interesting stuff.
While I think the word 'epidemic' is hyperbole, it saddens me that roughly 20% of children have weight issues. It is a lot.

By: neil

neil — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:46:15 +0000

In a book I recently reviewed, the point was made that poorer families tended to have worse diets than the well off because high sugar and fat diets are cheaper than fresh food diets. It gave an example of a dozen doughnuts costing about $2, yet a dozen apples was something like twice that price.

By: Harry

Harry — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:48:21 +0000

Interesting stuff, indeed. I'd also be interested to know whether definitions of obesity and overweight vary between countries and cultures. In France, the same sort of anti-obesity frenzy has hit the media in recent years, mainly by those who bemoan the increasing influence of "American" eating habits on French kids. At any rate, regardless of the strict medical definitions, the French tend to label people as overweight very liberally.