We are all to blame for Britain's fat kids

I have a little sympathy for 34 year-old unemployed mother Liz Thomson, who has written to the health secretary requesting government support to send her overweight daughter to a 5-week fat camp, at a cost of £4,250, which she cannot afford.

I say a little sympathy, because this woman does seem to be one of those ‘Everyone but me is to blame’ types, who think everything is the responsibility of some-one, be it the government, society, you or i: anyone but herself.

Her daughter, she says, has a “behavioural issue,” in holding an “emotional attachment” to food. It is, she insists, an addiction and, “I’ve tried everything, but I can’t stop her.” Actually, Miss Thomson, you could. You could tell her know. You could buy healthy foods which won’t do her any harm if she consumes them in larger than average quantities.

At 10 years of age, you can sit down and talk to her about healthy eating next time she asks (as we’re told she has done), “Mummy, why did you make me fat?” 

However, notwithstanding Miss Thomson’s evidently abundant failings as a parent, I do acknowledge that she is up against it in trying to tackle her child’s weight. Indeed, whilst research from King’s College London published in January 2015 does suggest that the rise in childhood obesity is beginning to level out and stabilise, it isn’t getting any better, and I think society is in part to blame.

It is truly astonishing that any parent, apparently on the recommendations of a GP, would need to consider a 5-week residential fat camp at 4 grand to help their child get in to good shape. What’s wrong with using school sports facilities, local parks and children’s play areas? In truth, nothing.

The unhealthy habits of Britain’s children today constitutes an entirely avoidable problem of our own making.

Endless crowing on by the health police about us not doing enough exercise, and doom merchants who think absolutely every single social ill came about because of ‘Tory cuts,’ both see the problem through prisms that are far too narrow for them to advance any real solution, or at least set us on a path to slowly but gradually improving the poor health of our kids.

What exactly is a child meant to do? We can lament their ‘sedentary lifestyle’ until the cows come home, droning on about the destructive impact of computers, televisions and video games.

In so doing, we don’t acknowledge the fact that too many parents have given their children little alternative. We are now so risk-averse that for many parents, the idea of their child going out with friends to play in the local park, or walking to school on their own, is out of the question as there is bound to be a paedophile lurking around every corner to harm their child.

This is, in fact, no more likely than it ever used to be, but everyone now lives with the expectation that they’ll be the one-in-a-million. In the name of a one-in-a-million risk, that realistically we can never eradicate, we’ve robbed kids of the simple delights of experiencing the good outdoors.

It is far easier to hide behind a risk-averse narrative than start to address this, and I can understand any parent not wanting to be the one who goes against the grain and gives their child this freedom, to the judgement and condemnation of everyone else.

It’s far easier to complain, than challenge that fear and try motivating people to set up a social enterprise, or a non-profit trust, to appropriately supervise areas children might frequent to play.

Given the limited freedom of a child today, it’s also quite understandable that a parent wouldn’t want to deny them at least the pleasure of playing a stupid video game.

Secondly, our attitude to food is all wrong, and we’re handing it down to generations of the future.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a dietitian, but it seems pretty obvious to me that the phenomenon of a majority in society being affluent enough to eat until full, is a recent one. Hunger is bad, it is the sign you must eat, and at that, you should eat a meal that is a third carbohydrate.

Attitude and guidance are both wrong here. Carbohydrate needs to be acknowledged as a leading cause of weight gain, as I can testify having lost 8 lbs in less than a month on a moderate carbohydrate diet.

Secondly, our bodies are capable of storing energy: that’s how we survive. You do not need to eat every time you are hungry; if you do, you’ll never shift the excess energy (the weight) your body has stored. 

As experts rush to condemn cheap, sugary foods, and do-gooder Nanny Statists insist it’s all down to poverty, I think they all need a reality check.

Kids are fat because we, the adults, have shielded them from the big bad world outside, and allowed them to copy our habits and complete ignorance about when we need to eat.

It’s easy to be annoyed with Liz Thomson, but before we completely dismiss her as a feckless fool, let’s all get our house in order.