Child obesity

What do you think can be done about this problem? What has caused the increase in childhood obesity over recent years? Is it a case of poor parenting? Or a case of bad diet? Or the schools not exercising them enough? Let's chew the fat on this topic.

There are a combination of reasons why this increase is occurring...

Poor diet - with the reliance upon fast food and ready meals nowadays, many parents think that they either can't or don't have time to cook proper meals anymore. The lack of a decent diet, and too much fast food and ready meals is affecting the population as a whole, with obesity increasing at all ages. I did try and do something about this and produced a recipe site to teach people that they can easily make good, cheap, yet healthy meals that provide a healthy balanced diet. It's really not difficult, and it takes a lot less time than you think (often around the same amount of time as it does to order the fast food, or heat the ready meal).

(typical naughty me... getting a plug in for my recipe site )

Lack of exercise - Thatcher's government sold off most of the school playgrounds and playing fields, so it's no great surprise that we now have a generation of kids that aren't getting enough exercise. Also, another cause of the lack of exercise is from parents driving their kids to school instead of them walking or cycling to and from school. Just the walk of a few miles per day, to and from school, is more than enough to keep a child fit, so stop driving the kids to and from school folks!

Kids playing on the playstations too much - many kids don't get to play out much anymore, they seem to spend way too much time on the computer or the games console. Solution... instead of buying them a game, make them walk to and from the shops

But at the basis of it all, this is one that you do have to lay on the parents. You are the ones responsible for the way that they eat and them getting more exercise I'm afraid. You can whine and blame everyone else as much as you like, but nothing's going to fix it until you accept responsibility and do something about it. Get the kids off the computer, playing outside and socialising with other kids (they'll get to run all the fat off running away from the bullies who are trying to beat them up for being too fat), stop driving them everywhere and find a bit more time to spend with them... it'll do you the world of good as well as your kids.

I think you've covered the main reasons already, Nick. Just to be picky, though, I see that you've blamed Thatcher's government for selling off school playing fields. Surely this is something that the Blair government is more guilty of. Child obesity has only become a widespread issue in recent years, long after 'Thatcher's children' have grown up.

All consecutive governments are guilty for continuing the policies, but it was under Thatcher that most of the damage was done.