BY EMMET RUSHE: Last Friday I put up a picture and a short post on my Facebook page about how constant dieting can affect our children’s behaviour towards food and their body.
Over the weekend I kept going back to that post. Something about it bothered me. It was like an itch that I couldn’t scratch.
As I sat down at my computer on Sunday night, ready to write another article, I found myself still thinking about that image. The little girl, still in nappies, stands on a set of scales, just like she sees her Mammy or Daddy do.
The short post wasn’t enough, I need to expand on what I think is a huge issue.
Everywhere we go we are met with weight loss – in shops, on television, in magazines, advertisements on the radio, on Facebook and Twitter – absolutely everywhere. The message is always the same – We NEED to lose weight. Whether we need to or not is a completely different issue, but the media love to tell us how we could look and feel better, if only we lost a few pounds.
Walking to the checkout in any shop, we are surrounded by magazines all berating the celebrity with wobbly bits and the next one celebrating the celebrity who lost 10lbs and how YOU CAN TOO! Just buy the magazine and see for yourself. We are constantly being reminded that we aren’t perfect.
So we do. We try it and why not? Just look at the results that “so and so” got, using the diet to get ready for that film they did. We try it. It goes the way all diets go and eventually we give up and normal service resumes.
It is estimated that 1 in 4 adults reading this will be on a diet and that they will attempt 4-5 diets per year.
The question we have to ask is this:
DO WE HONESTLY THINK THAT OUR CHILDREN WILL NOT PICK UP ON THIS?
Every time we step on the scales, or complain about our weight or make a big show about not eating something because we are on a diet, our children are seeing and hearing everything. They are picking up on it, processing it and storing it. We are essentially moulding their outlooks on how they eat and how they will view their bodies in the future.
The trouble is that the future is not that far away.
A recent study done in the UK on more than 7000 13 year olds found that ‘overall, 63 percent of girls and 39 percent of boys were afraid of gaining weight or getting fat. Extreme levels of fear of weight gain or concerns about body shape or weight were seen among 11 percent of girls’
It also found that these children were more likely to have weight problems by the age of 15.
The media has a lot of influence on how we go about our day to day lives. We are heavily influenced by what we see and read day to day. Unfortunately, so are our children.
We have to take responsibility for our actions. We cannot expect our children to have healthy attitudes towards food and their bodies if we do not.
Stop dieting. Start eating natural, non-processed whole food and start being more active. It really is that simple.
#TrainSmart
For further information on Personal Training and Nutrition you can contact me through the link below.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rushe-Personal-Training-and-Performance/120518884715118
* Emmet is the owner and operator of Rushe Personal Training and Performance.
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