Are we in denial about our overweight children



I was sitting eating my lunch and the lunchtime news had started, I like to keep up with the news. They covered a story about childhood obesity and how parents are failing to notice the signs and take action at preventing it developing in to adult obesity. I have been concerned for a number of months about my 8yr olds weight, but I keep getting told he will grow out of it and he will be fine, and not to stress about it. I am worried though! I can see he is clearly putting weight on around his belly area. He doesn't get sweets or crisps everyday, so it must be something else in his diet that's not helping. Then you think to yourself, if I take him to the doctors they will think I am overreacting and wasting their time. But what if it's the sign off things to come, who do you approach about these issues. They keep going on about obesity, but where in the NHS can you go to get your child checked over without making an appointment at the GP, there are no clear guidelines or clinics that I have heard off. Surely prevention is the way forward!

here is some interesting research I found.

The views of young people in the UK about obesity, body size, shape and weight: a systematic review - UCL Institute of Education, University College London http://www.ioe.ac.uk/research/98379.html

Related briefings. You are here:. The views of young people in the UK about obesity, body size, shape and weight: a systematic review. ... The views of young people in the UK about obesity, body size, shape and weight: a systematic review.

Your Child’s Fat, Mine’s Fine: Rose-Colored Glasses And The Obesity Epidemic | Affective Brain Lab

http://affectivebrain.com/?p=1258

Principal Investigator: Tali Sharot. Main menu. Your Child’s Fat, Mine’s Fine: Rose-Colored Glasses And The Obesity Epidemic.

Why are early adolescents from poor families at increased risk of overweight and obesity? http://www.icls.ac.uk/podcasts/adolescents_weight

Why are early adolescents from poor families at increased risk of overweight and obesity? ... Why are early adolescents from poor families at increased risk of overweight and obesity?.

                                                           homemade fizzy lemonade


                                            I got up to a beautiful sunny day this morning.
                                                     It made me think off all things bright
                                 and yellow like, daffodils, fluffy chicks(Easter's coming!)
                                                          eggs, had some for breakfast.

 

                                          And of course these lovely bright citrus fruits

 

So I got out the citrus  juicer, sparkling water and my trusty stevia liquid.

   and made fresh fizzy lemonade.

                                            


                                               I used two lemons, 600ml sparkling water
                                                         and about 3/4tsp stevia liquid
                                                            Mix it together and enjoy!

                                                                 Fluffy pancakes recipe

                                        The search for a good fluffy pancake recipe is over.
                                                  At last i found it, and so easy to make.


                                   Ingredients

                                   1 1/2 cup of self raising flour
                                   1/4 tsp of baking soda
                                   1 large egg
                                   1 cup of natural yogurt
                                   1/4 cup of milk
                                   3/4 tsp stevia liquid
                                   2 tbls of vegetable oil or melted butter.


                                   Directions 
                               
                                  1: Whisk the flour and baking soda together.
                                 
                                  2: In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt, milk, stevia liquid
                                     and the vegetable oil together till little bubbles are forming.
                                 
                                  4: Add the mixture to the flour and blend it well,
                                      the batter will look a bit lumpy, that's fine.

                                  5: Let it sit for 5 minutes.

                                  6: In the meantime you can get your pan ready. heat on a medium high
                                     and brush the pan with a little oil.

                                  7: Drop 1/4 cups of the batter onto the pan. The batter is quite thick,
                                     so i used two spatulas to spread it out from the middle.
                                     When bubbles start to appear on the pancake, flip it over and cook until
                                     golden brown.

                                                      I enjoyed mine with some juicy strawberries
                                                       and a little drizzle of honey and icing sugar.
                                                           My son enjoyed his with a dollop jam.
                               

homemade almond milk

                                                  

I thought I would give almond milk a go, you can find some in the fresh milk section of the supermarket . Of course it was  full off preservatives and the second largest ingredient amount was sugar(thought it was meant to be a healthy alternative to milk!) not that there's anything wrong with milk, of course. Just though i'd try it, as I have heard that almonds are good for you. They provide us with calcium and the antioxidant vitamin E. So then I thought about making my own and took to the net(as usual) I discovered how easy it is to make your own fresh almond milk. All you need is a cup of almonds, a blender, cheese cloth or something similar and a jar. What could be easier.

So lets get started: Soak 1 cup of almonds overnight. Then give them a rinse through with clean water

               Put the almonds in the blender with two cups of water and blend  for about a minute,
         or until you see the nuts are well and truly chopped up and the water resembles a white milk

                      Put the cheese cloth over the jar or whatever you are using to store the milk,
                               I hold the cloth in place by putting an elastic band round the rim.

                      Pour out the blended mixture into the cloth and let the milk seep through.
                         Once all the milk has been poured out, you will be left with the pulp.

 

                            Wrap the cloth round the pulp and squeeze out the remaining milk.

 

Put the pulp aside and either leave the milk unsweetened or add as many drops of stevia liquid to taste.

 

The good thing about the stevia liquid is, you can find your preferred taste drop by drop.

 

 

 

I store the milk in a air tight container in the fridge for about four days, not sure if it will lasts longer but that's as long as it lasts in my house, before it's all gone.

 

So that's it, as easy as that.

I hope you enjoy it and feel free to let me know your thoughts and if you give it a try.