Too fat...too young

Those of you who watched Gok Wan' s 'too fat too young' on Wednesday will know as a teenager Gok was 21 stone. It seems that childhood obesity has always existed, but in the last 10 years figures have shown it has become a serious problem with 1 in 5 teens clinically obese.

As a child, I remember there were always the 'chubby' kids whose parents knocked off cruel fat comments with the it's 'just puppy fat' reason. As the years have gone on, parents have continued adopting that attitude, now there is an epidemic of obese kids.

In my opinion, it's a little to late to be whinging about fat kids. I think parents are solely to blame for how their children turn out. A lack of discipline and knowledge on good parenting has led to a breakout of fat and unfit kids, who know no other than eating Frosties for breakfast and chocolate and crisps for lunch.

I'm not hear to preach, because I'm far from perfect when it comes to healthy eating and exercising. However, I know when I need to get fit not only will my mum nag me to go along with her to the gym but also the weighing scales are cruel too. I'm fortunate to have healthy parents who regularly exercise and cook me healthy dinners. But for some, it has become a way of life to follow in the foot steps of their parents and become over weight.

Whatever happened to playing outdoors? Now it is apparent kids spend more time entertaining themselves on the computer or watching TV. If this is the case, then why don't parents encourage kids to walk with them to town or take them swimming at weekends? I remember as a kid, it was the norm in my neighbourhood to play outside if it was dry. My parents were strict that no friends could come into the house unless it was raining, seems harsh but I spent many happy Winter and Summer days outside in the park or in the garden.

As many will know, the 'nanny state' that we live in has acted as a barrier from living the life of how our parents and grandparents did when they were growing up. I'm fully aware times have changed, that it's not safe for kids to play in the woods and come back home as and when they feel hungry. But nevertheless it's not a reason to allow our kids to become twice the size they should be for their age or let media entertainment dominate their lives.

It's an ongoing debate that I think parents can really argue in defence.