Our XXXXL shame: Oversize Sussex school uniforms puts spotlight on childhood obesity (From The Argus)

Easy to laugh at this story but it's absolutely tragic. What the hell are we doing to our children and young people as parents/a society? But let's not interfere with the free market, eh, and impose levys on the food industry for pushing food/drinks full of fat and sugar!

I totally agree that there is a problem, but I would also take the year 6 weigh in figures with a pinch of salt. My daughter came in as overweight despite being very slim (but not skinny). She's athletic and does lots of exercise (Just like her mum). At the time I was actually rather annoyed about it, and of course I didn't tell her as I didn't want it to give her body issues!

kids are putting on weight because they no longer go out to play like we used to. there are various reasons for this, including games consoles, and parents, quite rightly, being more aware of perverts and paedophiles wandering our streets. diet is also an issue, as more families having both parents working and home cooked meals being put on the back burner and ready meals substituted. people don't have time, allegedly, to prepare and cook nutritious meals any more. kids come home, sometimes to an empty house, and just help themselves to crisps and cakes etc.

5 point plan:
1.Continue to make it as awkward as hell for parents to drive & park outside schools.
2.Create more bike friendly routes to schools.
3.Make school PE a mandatory subject.
4.Get rid of non-sport PE modules.
5.Stop kids from leaving school at lunchtime to romp off to the local corner shop or chippie.

I walked or cycled to school everyday, every season.
Sport was twice a week and after school & Saturday mornings.This was only 20 years ago and at a bog standard local school.
What the hells happened over the last 20 years. Just building up a drain on the state when these kids need health care for diabetes later in life & are so overweight they can't walk, let alone work.

kopite_rob wrote:
5 point plan: 1.Continue to make it as awkward as hell for parents to drive & park outside schools. 2.Create more bike friendly routes to schools. 3.Make school PE a mandatory subject. 4.Get rid of non-sport PE modules. 5.Stop kids from leaving school at lunchtime to romp off to the local corner shop or chippie. I walked or cycled to school everyday, every season. Sport was twice a week and after school & Saturday mornings.This was only 20 years ago and at a bog standard local school. What the hells happened over the last 20 years. Just building up a drain on the state when these kids need health care for diabetes later in life & are so overweight they can't walk, let alone work.

A good start and let's:
tax food companies for non compliance to healthy food standards;
make school meals healthy;
put more money into after school sports in schools and the community.

Look in the average shopping trolley and you will understand why.

It is a complicated problem. Helping to raise self esteem (difficult for many poorer members of society accused of being scrounges), availability to buy good quality healthy food and how to cook it. Also, integrating cycling and walking into a regular routine. We also have to fight the companies that adulterate food with transfats etc and take on the media only too happy to accept adverts for junk food. That is a start.

kopite_rob wrote:
5 point plan:
1.Continue to make it as awkward as hell for parents to drive & park outside schools.
2.Create more bike friendly routes to schools.
3.Make school PE a mandatory subject.
4.Get rid of non-sport PE modules.
5.Stop kids from leaving school at lunchtime to romp off to the local corner shop or chippie.

I walked or cycled to school everyday, every season.
Sport was twice a week and after school & Saturday mornings.This was only 20 years ago and at a bog standard local school.
What the hells happened over the last 20 years. Just building up a drain on the state when these kids need health care for diabetes later in life & are so overweight they can't walk, let alone work.

I totally agree.. I'm only in my early 30s. How can things have changed so much within twenty years ? I walked to school every day, in fact I barely remember kids being dropped off by their parents in a car or by bus. We had PE every week, twice when I was in secondary school. We had cookery lessons, no one was allowed out of the school at lunch time. Where did it go so wrong ?

I know it sounds awful, but I think it was when kids felt they had more 'rights' than everyone of authority. It's gone too far now. We'll never claw it back until we have leaders of our country who are not in the pockets of food companies and big tobacco.

The current headmaster of my old school, PCC, is being berated by parents and news outlets alike for cracking down on kids at school for being 'too hard'. Well, welcome to the real world kids. If anything, this guy should be commended for what he's doing.

Sorry went a bit mad, what I meant was privatise the NHS, vilify the poor, deregulate and cut back services. That should do it. Vote Tory and feed the fat cats!

Supermarkets promote foods with a high sugar content and should be regarded as drug pushers. Buy one get one free, sweets at the counter for example.

Try reducing the cost of renting an allotment to enable people to be able to make it worthwhile growing their own food.
The Green council has raised the cost cfor half a plot to the point that only middle class hobby gardeners play at growing veg.

The problem is people are generally lazy. They want to drive everywhere, they can't be bothered to cook and they don't do any regular exercise. This is what children are looking up to. It's no wonder we have a problem. Some people need to take on responsibility for their own actions. Teach children about good food choices, encourage them to walk/cycle to school, feed them healthy meals (and no it doesn't have to be expensive), and set a good example!

Parents are getting fatter and so are kids.......parents should be ashamed

Maxwell's Ghost wrote:
Try reducing the cost of renting an allotment to enable people to be able to make it worthwhile growing their own food.
The Green council has raised the cost cfor half a plot to the point that only middle class hobby gardeners play at growing veg.

How about getting people cycling and walking? I know, how about building cycle lanes and making the city more pedestrian friendly. Introducing a 20mph limit on most urban streets would be a good idea don't you think?

Posters mention 'parents'. Most responsible are mothers, ie, women. Stop being so scared and admit they are the biggest cause of the problem.

Recent UK studies, AND surveys of women themselves, show women in households (two parent households) have ALL the say on food, shopping, money, and how to bring up the children.


Not to mention Brighton has one of the highest rates of single parent families (ie, mothers) in the UK (in case anyone was thinking to blame it on men).


Don't believe me? Take five seconds to Google it. I am not misogynistic or any of the other tired cliched insults women throw at anyone who 'dares' to criticise them.


These are legitimate FACTS, relevant to the above article. Time society stood up against such infantile and messed up selfish women, if only for the sake of these poor children. How far before we call it child abuse, or speak out against such stupidity?

whereisthe...? wrote:
Posters mention 'parents'. Most responsible are mothers, ie, women. Stop being so scared and admit they are the biggest cause of the problem.

Recent UK studies, AND surveys of women themselves, show women in households (two parent households) have ALL the say on food, shopping, money, and how to bring up the children.


Not to mention Brighton has one of the highest rates of single parent families (ie, mothers) in the UK (in case anyone was thinking to blame it on men).


Don't believe me? Take five seconds to Google it. I am not misogynistic or any of the other tired cliched insults women throw at anyone who 'dares' to criticise them.


These are legitimate FACTS, relevant to the above article. Time society stood up against such infantile and messed up selfish women, if only for the sake of these poor children. How far before we call it child abuse, or speak out against such stupidity?

What a load of old rubbish. What a chauvinistic attitude. Why are women at fault? So fathers don't have any responsibly for their children? And what do single parents have to do with anything? Never heard so much tosh in my life.

whereisthe...? wrote:
Posters mention 'parents'. Most responsible are mothers, ie, women. Stop being so scared and admit they are the biggest cause of the problem.

Recent UK studies, AND surveys of women themselves, show women in households (two parent households) have ALL the say on food, shopping, money, and how to bring up the children.


Not to mention Brighton has one of the highest rates of single parent families (ie, mothers) in the UK (in case anyone was thinking to blame it on men).


Don't believe me? Take five seconds to Google it. I am not misogynistic or any of the other tired cliched insults women throw at anyone who 'dares' to criticise them.


These are legitimate FACTS, relevant to the above article. Time society stood up against such infantile and messed up selfish women, if only for the sake of these poor children. How far before we call it child abuse, or speak out against such stupidity?

Idiot !

Just because you use capitals for the word FACT doesn't make it so !

I'm a father and do half the cooking. Both of us make sure we use fresh ingredients and not processed food.

If you're stupid enough to believe everything you read on google then you should probably have your computer confiscated. I repeat again that you're an IDIOT ( assuming the capitals make it FACT ! ).

The rift between cyclists and motorists is now so great many parents fear for kids going out in bikes and as few roads have lanes it will never happen HJarrs.
Also the road design and topography of the city makes it very difficult to get about in a bike.
We aren't a town which lends itself to cycling.