Britain's Fattest Teenager - 33 st.

I feel so sorry for this girl : 

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/art icle1499935.ece

But she is very strong , look at her now :

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/237 4103/Britains-fattest-teen-Georgia-Davies-has -lost-12st-in-seven-months.html

When i see overweight kids,i always feel it is their parents fault . I would never let my kids get this big . What is your opinion ?

I guess on some level... my mother should not have let me get up to a fat five year old. However, there comes a point when a person has got to take responsibility for themselves. My mom tried just scads of things to get me to lose weight, but I never really wanted to. I actually kind of resented her for it, as she was telling me I was fat, and I did everything I could to derail her. No one, not kids and not adults, will lose weight if they don't want to. I would say after age ten the fault started to shift to me.

Here in UK you get health visitors,who visit you at home,when you get back from hospital with newborn baby,and they continue to visit you until the child is 3 i think . They do check your childs height,weight,development . And if there are any problems they let you know that there is a problem ( for example the child is overweight) and tell you what to do to "fix" a problem .So i dont understand how parents can say they had no idea the child was overweight .

Up to a certain point, it is the parent's fault. My mom did keep us slim as kids, by restricting what we ate, but she didn't really know how to teach us mderation and self control. For example, we could only have a chocolate bar once every 6 months. She was overweight her whole life, and didn't want us to suffer like she did as a kid. So when I got to middle school and had ice cream pies in front of me, I lost control. I want to teach my kids moderation and balance. All in all, I think most parents want the best for their kids, but some don't know any better cause they weren't taught well either. So at some point, you have to decide to break the cycle. I do get mad though, when I see 2 year olds with bottles of sprite or hot cheetos in thier hands. I see that WAY to often some days. Or 5 year old girls with so much body fat they almost need bras. i think some parents use food as a way to keep kids happy, or can't say no. It seems like some don't even make an effort.

Original Post by gi-jane:

Original Post by res0kkw:

Surgery is the lazy way out.

That's like saying having a caesarian section for a difficult birth is 'the lazy way out'.  When someone is 33st  ... 462lbs... surgery can be the difference between life and death. They don't do it to impress anyone, just stay alive.

And even after the surgery, they are not necessarily at a healthy weight (I assume she got a gastric band and not liposuction).  They have to work the rest off through exercise, proper portion control and a better diet.

I've read about this girl too, and it is a sad story- with a happy ending (hopefully).

There are so many different factors to take into account. I do agree there is a strong element of parental responsibility to a certain age. I don't have children yet myself but I can imagine getting the right balance can be difficult. I think it's important to teach children about health and nutrition from the get go, without banning the occasional treats.

I agree with saetum that no matter how you try to give your child good meals, they can still get hold of junk food at school. on the way home from school etc... There was another TV programme in the UK with Gok Wan, where he interviewed morbidly obese teenagers. There was one young girl who secretly bought chocolate and junk food behind her parents back, and if she couldn't afford it she stole it!

To get so severly obese, you have to consistently overeat a massive amount for a long time. Many people have an eating disorder.

Think of the flip side, the frustrations and anguish of the parents of an anorexic whose eating disorder is causing her to starve herself to death- they can't force her to eat! it's the same with the girl who is eating herself to death, she cannot be forced to stop. Both cases need to want to recover.