many doctors are nervous of informing parents that their children are overweight

Research done in America shows that half of all parents who have children with weight problems are not aware that their children are overweight. Maybe it is not that they do not actually realise the problem but that they are in denial about their children’s eating habits and do not want to face facts.

Part of this problem stems from the fact that the parents themselves are overweight and have unhealthy eating habits and if they are to properly instruct their children how to eat healthily they will first have to change their own eating practices and show a good example. Parents who take their overweight children to the doctor often want to know if their children have some sort of thyroid or obesity problem that is not related to their eating habits but in the majority of these cases the children are perfectly healthy except for the problem of eating too much and not getting enough exercise.

A survey done with over 3,000 parents saw that just over 90 percent said that they knew that there was a problem with childhood obesity in the country yet so many of these parents did not recognise the problem in their own children. It is estimated now that around 25 million children in America have a weight problem which greatly increases the chances of them suffering from obesity related disease as they grow up.

Another thing which is becoming apparent in America is that many doctors are nervous of informing parents that their children are overweight for fear of offending them. It is estimated that only one third of parents with overweight children have been told by their doctors that they need to do something about it and the majority of doctors just steer clear of the issue. 

It has been known for many decades that children who have overweight parents are much more likely to end up being overweight too and this is not because of genetic reasons but because bad eating habits of the parents are passed on to the children. If your children are overweight it is no good preaching to them about healthy eating and diet unless you are prepared to lead by example and show them the way.