I think karate would be one of the best sports for a child to partake in. Not only does martial arts teach discapline but it also burns a lot of calories (see slimfast calorie burn calculator)  and tones muscle groups that keep the calories burning while inactive.

I also would like to thank all of you for taking the time to answer my questions. There were a lot of good topics in your responses especially about the breastfeeding, and I too appreciate the open honesty!

Like others here I always thought I was HUGE as a child, but looking at old photos tells a different story.  I was tall, like 4-6 inches taller than many of my female and male friends and I wasn't thin by any means, but not fat either.  I was filled out so to speak.  I developed really early, people were always thinking I was much older than I was.  But what counted was that I thought I was fat and I knew I was different than most of the other girls.  I remember hitting the 100 pound mark in 5th grade and thinking it was some kind of terrible thing.  I was also probably like 5'4" at that point.  Middle school and high school I began putting on weight even though I played all kinds of sports (tennis, basketball, field hockey). I never ate breakfast, only occasionally ate lunch, but would eat everything in site when I walked in the door at home.  My parents both worked and weren't there to monitor my food intake during those dangerous hours of 3-5.  My mom cooked nice meals, but portions were too big and we ate out often.  I also drank a lot of diet soda, never water.  By the time I was getting ready to head to college I was up to 190 pounds.  It has been an uphill climb since then until my all time high of 310.

I have 2 boys (age 4 and 8), neither of whom are overweight.  I make it a point to include fruits and veggies with every meal and there is no soda available at home.  They are allowed to drink milk and fruit juice but I have lately been trying to get more water in for them.  We do have  Wii and my oldest likes to play but only a few hours a week.  They are involved in multiple physical activities like soccer and karate and we occasionally hike and bike as a family.  My older son's school does a great job with phys. ed, in fact we are friends with his PE teacher, who is an amazing influence on all the kids at school.  He is like a Rock Star to them and leads by example.

I really don't know what the answer is for childhood obesity.  I think like most things is is part genetics but probably more environmental.  Emotional issues are always a part of the equation whether as a cause or as a result.  Good luck with your paper, interesting topic...

This might be a little deep for your purposes, but there is a strong corrilation between morbid obesity and childhood sexual abuse. Greater than 30% of women who have the gastric bypass surgery are survirors of this abuse.

It's obviously not the only factor, but if you already have genetics stacked against you and poor coping skills - food is the easiest and more available form of self medication for a child. Without intervention it seems like a sure thing. Good Luck with your paper, seems like a good topic.

You are so right! Its like the advertisers say "They are all over weight all ready. Let's run with that". Our Granddaughter is teenage sensitive now, so when we went to a fast food place my husband orders a "ba-donkey-donk butt" and my granddaughter was moritified.  When we got to the window the girl says "If you keep eating here you will get one!" 

I thought of one more thing!  PORTION sizes are so much bigger.  When we used to get a kids meal, a small drink really was small and a small fries really was small.  After the super size thing...which used to be sort of a treat became a regular thing and a small is now what we used to consider a large. 

I think a lot of kids eat because of stress. Families are under so much more stress these days. When parents argue the kids find ways to block them out and one way is video games and another is eating. I can see the effects of this in my own grandkids. And then add in a quick fast food meal as a regtular thing because everyone is so rushed and less exercise, because the kids can't go out and play while their parents are gone and you have a weigh disaster in the making. And like you said you  can't say anything, don't want to hurt their delicate egos or push their buttons.  And at a certain age kids can get the  food they want at school or out or from our own freezers. We got to my granddaughter's house one day about noon and came to the door with a bunch of corn dogs stuck between her fingers... she was making breakfast for herself and her brother. I think many times our hands are tied. All we can do is try to be a good example for them.

So interesting and I applaud all of you for being so honest and heartfelt with your responses.  I have 4 children...when they were little, they were all normal to underweight.  There really was no way that I could have overfed them...when they were done eating, they were done eating and I really let their appetites be the guide.  When I saw an overweight child, I really couldn't relate.  I tend to not judge things when I don't know the whole story, but I just couldn't understand how a child could be overweight because when they were done being hungry...they sorta just stopped eating.  My 17 year old son has started to have a "little extra" and I normally wouldn't worry about it because I find most kids get tall, then wide, then tall then wide etc.  However, his weight problem started about a year ago when we tried a medication for Tourettes Syndrome and he ballooned 30 pounds.  We took him off the meds as they weren't working, but his huge appetite never went away.  He eats huge amounts.  I know not to tell him he is fat, but I look for ways to keep him active and put healthy options in the house.  The downside of being 17 is that he can drive to taco bell with his own money and buy whatever he wants when I'm not with him.  My youngest daughter is very underweight and we try to put extra calories in her when possible.  I really think she has a different appetite control.  Same as my husband, she doesn't always recognize hunger.  When she's crabby I can usually guess she hasn't eaten in a while.

Myself and my 2 sisters were not overweight until adulthood.  My brother was always a little tubby.  My parents were both overweight.  Our food and sugar intake was definately monitored and we were not allowed to eat whenever we wanted.  We had to have permission.  I also believed I was heavy, but looking at all my photos as a child, I was thin.  (Except as a baby.)  Interesting.  My sister grew really fast and she was really thin.  I'm sure that was why I thought I was heavy...because compared to her, I was. 

While you are doing research, a great thing to look at is breastfeeding.  There is strong evidence that babies that are breastfed are less likely to be obese adults.  I'm sure learning appetite control is part of this as well as calorie intake with formula vs. breastfeeding.  When a baby is done breastfeeding, she pulls away and it's done.  When a baby is strictly formula/bottlefed, there is a temptation to make sure she finishes so not to waste despite cues that she is no longer hungry.  Just some "food" for thought.  =)

I wish I had a complete understanding as to why the weight came on.  Regardless, I am committed to getting it off. 

By the way, in my waitressing days, there was family that came in and fed their child, about 10 years old, huge adult meals at least once a week and I walked by the table and heard the mother telling the son he WILL eat dessert when he was begging her not to order it.  Really odd.

As I child I was never really overweight but always THOUGHT I was.  It wasn't until I really did become obese in my late 20's/early 30's did I look back and realize that I was never actually heavy back then.  I do wonder if my current weight issues stem from always feeling too heavy as a child, always comparing myself to other girls, the crazy bad examples that Hollywood and society set, etc.  I'm definitely an emotional eater.  When I'm happy, I want to celebrate by eating, when I'm sad, I want to comfort myself with food, etc.  I'm learning to deal with that now, but as with any other addiction it's an ongoing process. 

I do know a few overweight kids.  (Thank God my own kids have never had a weight problem, although honestly it's a miracle, because I was NOT teaching them good eating habits in the past.)  Anyway, with the kids I know, I think it stems from a variety of reasons just as it can with adults.  However, for the very young children, in my mind I do start to judge the parents first.  I wonder, "do they just let the kid eat whatever they want?"  I know a little girl in one of the kindergarten classes I work in who weighs well over 100 lbs.  The poor baby can barely run more than a few steps on the playground without stopping to catch her breath. 

I think this is a very interesting subject. When I was a child there were no videos and almost no TV and no fast food. We played outside all the time.

I was not an obese child, but my favorte Grandmother was. I lost my birth father when I was a year old and I believe that I was fed for comfort. My brotehr talks about what he calles "the Grandma Anne guilt syndrom" which he says is "means if you are good I will love you". I never saw her like  this growing up but I think I may have absorbed te guilt part real well.

Did you ever hear of a sin eater? In some rural areas in the old days the family of a deceased person would put food all over the body and a sin eater would come in and by eating the food they would take the sin away. Well I think I am a guilt eater. As if I don't have enough guilt in my own life I will borrow it from others. The whole time I was growing up I thought everything was my fault all the way back to my Dad.  When I heard someone on TV say they didn't feel like they deserved to be "normal" weight, that just about knocked me out. I didn't deserve it either because I was so guilty.

I had managed to hold my weight down and look good for nearly 40 years then several additional factors came into play.  I had always had jobs that I needed to look good for like being a dance instructor. Then we moved to a place where my looks were not  much value. There I was working outdoor construction in our family bussiness which was very physical, fun and extremely tiring. Then my husband, thinking he was being nice to me, just used me when he needed extra labor so I started working only a day or so a week and was still eating like a construction worker! I felt lost and unimportant and  guilty for not working. Then financial problems with the bussiness really put me over the top.  

I guess its too late to make a long story short. but I believe my problems are lack of self and  worth/guilt added to a basic change in physical activity. I think my Grandmother taught me to deal with problems by eating. I am done taking on other people's guilt, I have enough of my own to deal with and I am starting to feel more confidence just by how I feel about my diet this time. My life is changing now!

Congrats on the 20 lbs! Fantastic! And I also love your subject for the research paper! 

Ummm, let's see....I grew up in the middle of nowhere...Iowa...very rural...didn't see other people outside the family except for school & church...maybe catch a glimpse of the neighbors if they happened to be chasing cattle in their pasture at the same time we were getting ours to the barn...pastures connected. My mother had acres of garden and we canned, froze or ate fresh off the farm...we had our own beef, chicken and pork so the only time we need to shop for groceries was for flour, sugar, cereal and such....very healthy life except when mother baked...she made homemade bread...we never ate boughten except at school...she made batches of oatmeal raisin cookies of 12 dozen at a time...she would make several cakes, apple desserts from our apples, lots of fruit pies, oh and don't forget the cinnamon rolls....but in the end, everyone wore those calories off...lots of work on the farm and we kids would ride bikes everywhere....just for entertainment as no one traveled the road...we had free rein to bike back and forth whenever...sure, out of 10...some of us were a bit overweight...but not huge...my brother that was rail thin growing up is now in his 50's and is very obese...over 400 lbs.

I have always wondered what it would have been like to been aware of 'worldly things' while growing up...because we never were exposed to much candy...that is what I crave...chocolate!  and of course, we didn't have deep fried foods and I love french fries...sometimes it seems that I crave what we didn't have and want to eat so much of it in case I wouldn't ever be able to have it again...that has been an eye opener for me...one that took awhile to become aware of...now I can tell myself that if I don't eat that chocolate candy today...I know it will be available next week if I want it then.  It has become my comfort food...whenever the world becomes too much to handle...that is when I crave those high calorie foods...

But as for young children that are obese....it makes me very sad because I have only a glimpse of what their life is going to be like...a little boy in our town...small town here!...is very obese, and he is the cutest kid...sweet as can be....breaks my heart to hear him cry cause other kids are teasing him...in kindergarten he weighed over 100 lbs.  His parents are both large and they encourage him to eat!!  Once in the grocery store, he wanted a banana and his mom told him No and said he could have a candy bar instead....and he cried cause he wanted a banana and she wouldn't let him have it!!!!  That kid has no choice, he is too young and can eat only what is provided...by the time he is old enough to drive and buy for himself, he is going to be so large and have that eating pattern fixed in his mind...he hates school, doesn't want to ride the bus, and cries...That is why I am planning the next step of my healthy lifestyle...once I reach my goal, I am taking some of my old clothes, pictures and stories into the schools...if I can change the life of one child, then I will be happy.  They need to know that changes can be made and it isn't that difficult...

Okay, hope I provided some info for you...can't wait to see other postings...and it would be great if you could share your final paper with us...we could critique it for you....LOL....Hugs, SisterC