'Obesity' Construct Fans are Not the Ones to Shape a Child's Sense of Self

Parents know instinctively that 'obesity' is some kind of attack on children's unworldliness. That it will mark them out for another kind of lesser, sidelined existence. Understandably, they're hardly drawn to this.

@besity fanatics aren't trying to give up though. Lindy West rightly encourages parents not to permit such infractions on those they love for sorties of cynical self-interest.

To protect and nurture a child's nascent self respect, trust and esteem, even if that means disobeying a largely unquestioned clique. Only in the case of the most worthless parents, do adults not have vivid memories of parents trying to shield them from the more painful realities of life.

Children trust their parents unblinkingly to steer them on the right course. To allow their degradation by those who don't matter is to slap that loving trust right back in their faces. There's no need to sell them out in this way. Not to those who's only interest is to justify their dubious attentions.  

These people are nothing if not solipsists. Parents failure to see their beloved progeny as an 'epidemic' is clearly a source of frustration for arrogant @besity wallahs who think anyone should do whatever they say, whenever they say it.  How we fat people have spoilt them.

The misapplied premise here is if you cannot recognize the "problem" you cannot put into place the(ir) solution. That only scans when either the diagnosis or solution are correct, can be implemented are functional and haven't already failed.

In this case, falling short on all counts is where its at. The issue is, folks feel weight needs to become reversible for anyone who needs or wants it. That mean metabolic function needs to be changed, in order to change the outcome it produces. We've tried assaulting that outcome, it hasn't worked because that very metabolic function regulates back to its norm.

So get on with pursuing that, through greater knowledge. Do you see how that doesn't involve imprisoning children in demeaning constructs?

And if you wish to feed children you have charge of properly-then do it as was stopped when government policy 'liberated' nutritional standards. If you wish to teach them to cook again, do it. Ditto, teaching them to grow things.

All and more were in place before and went during this very same 'obesity' crusade. That sums up its worth, aptly. The crusade has been useless in implementing its own strategy for children. It's had its chance-during it, school playing fields? Gone. The roads children used to play on? Taken over by private cars.

Even fast food etc., giants got into children's hospitals, all during the reign of @besity. No one in their right mind, let alone those in charge of children would let another round of this fantasy continue.

Branding their child @bese isn't going make up for that. People don't need to see their children through the crusade's ugly eyes. Those grifting on it themselves need to recognize they have neither the will, ability nor indeed, the inclination to implement a society based around restricting and pointless expenditure of calories -which doesn't even work anyway! Face the reality of who you are and what your society is and get on with a strategy that makes sense for that.

Aim for healthiness for all children, regardless of class, race etc., And separately, through objective endeavour, find genuine ways of affecting metabolic function for those who genuinely need help-who won't get that from social engineering.

Give people the knowledge they want and let them decide what they do and don't wish to eat.  And get out of damaging their children for your own ends.

One of the reasons why I never imagined things would come to this current state of barmy hysteria is I never thought people would be prepared to be this openly abusive to children, in what was supposedly an overly child-friendly atmosphere. By that I mean, child-friendliness had assumed some real social status.

Consider my surprise when the crusade was able to roll over that with its fetid air of pseudo-science. It took me a while to notice this had revealed that  beneath the"friendliness" lurked a real resentment, if not anger with children's blameless status.

Child @besity became a vehicle to through off the demands of child-friendliness without a loss of social kudos. Any excesses of which come out of adult vanity and its attendant parental competitiveness, in the first place.

Being able to finally blame children without quarter has been a real catharsis for many and not just the usual piss 'n' vinegar types who resent anyone and anything they feel is getting a more generous judgement than they.

The sheer aggression in  the child@besity and the determination nail children with it, is motivated by a sublimated anger towards children, a wish to topple them from their pedestal, often by those who did most to put them on there in the first place-for social kudos. Seems the demands of that has gone too far for them.

This ugliness is in stark contrast to the way high status children are valued, prompted and emboldened-anyone falling for this mess must be either very desperate or very defeated.

I'd add to LW's words, regardless of your child's size/weight-reverse your learned oversensitivity toward weight. Re-train your mind to become calm again around this area, use the way you feel about height as a marker. This de-sensitization is also a way of beginning to tackle an eating disorder. And no, that isn't co-incidence.

The first and enduring theme of @besity wallahs is to over-sensitize your nervous (system's) response to any mention of weight, by continually pushing it to a heightened response and you to maximum hysteria. Repeating that eventually leads that to become a more permanent reaction. Children especially can pick up on this from you, regardless of your words.

The great thing though is that you can use the same process in reverse.

• Get yourself into a state of calm first, then think of weight and seek to maintain that feeling. Don't worry if you aren't able to remain calm at first, keep repeating it.

• Drop all your own fat hating behaviours and thoughts, characterise all people as people. @besity blocks your ability to recognize you are talking about and attacking people. 

• Especially drop "child/hood @besity", its a worthless and disgraceful construct. And do not also, permit any unwise professionals to use it on your child/ren either. Make them address your child as a being, not as a mass.

Once you can remain calm and cool around the subject of weight, you'll probably be able to figure out what you want to say to your or someone else's child. Make sure you let them know they are whole beings. Teach them to be aware of and reject any attempt to compartmentalize themselves-for one thing it discourages ease of movement by for example; undermining a child's sense of self connection, their calm and confidence around the idea and reality of moving.

• Encourage/strengthen/preserve their sense of self connection, i.e. get them to express how they feel when they are show physical ability/enjoyment-from the trivial to important. Try and get them to retain those as memories to draw from, building up a store of positive feelings about their physical presence. 

In the end it comes down to a choice between your child and a crusade that's had its chance and failed.