1 in 5 preschoolers is obese

[EasyRider 3]

parents' fault

Mostly true but not in every case.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Well, it's down to education really, as usual. How many classes are taught in school on what constitutes a healthy diet in terms that the kids understand, and not simply some puritanical 'eat veggies'? It has to relate to the people that are being taught and relate to the 'whole body' in a holistic way but of course that's too hippy dippy so we can't nanny our kids like that. Drives me nuts really.

What's wrong with 'eat veggies'? I always liked veggies when I was a kid, I just don't see why kids hate them.

Nothing wrong with that, except that what mostly passes for veggies in the ave US supermarket is worse than useless and I can quite understand why most kids would turn their noses up at them.

What is different about US supermarket veg from any other place in the world? when I was a child the only veg I would eat willingly was corn......I just didn't like vegetables. I didn't like hamburgers and pizza either.

It is really not that difficult or expensive to eat a healthy diet.

[Peikko 1,575]

My mum's generation didn't have to cope with the overwhelming amount of ####### sold in supermarkets that we have today though, so I think some education is absolutely necessary. The eat what you are given thing has merit of course but I am not sure that giving kids choice has anything to do with 'building self-esteem'. Rather, there are other factors involved. I have asked my kid to choose what he wants to eat from time to time but his choices are limited to things that are nutritionally sound, something I have taken the time to learn for myself but again not everyone even knows that what they are doing is a problem, how would they?

[Peikko 1,575]

Well, it's down to education really, as usual. How many classes are taught in school on what constitutes a healthy diet in terms that the kids understand, and not simply some puritanical 'eat veggies'? It has to relate to the people that are being taught and relate to the 'whole body' in a holistic way but of course that's too hippy dippy so we can't nanny our kids like that. Drives me nuts really.

What's wrong with 'eat veggies'? I always liked veggies when I was a kid, I just don't see why kids hate them.

Nothing wrong with that, except that what mostly passes for veggies in the ave US supermarket is worse than useless and I can quite understand why most kids would turn their noses up at them.

What is different about US supermarket veg from any other place in the world? when I was a child the only veg I would eat willingly was corn......I just didn't like vegetables. I didn't like hamburgers and pizza either.

It is really not that difficult or expensive to eat a healthy diet.

How old it is for one. I have never seen such a sad and pathetic line up of shoddy veg in all my life as I see in some US supermarkets. I don't know if you have tried home grown, but it is absolutely a different experience and I am not quite sure how you can have a healthy diet without including a lot of these things in it. That's not some dig, I am genuinely curious.

No, it's not necessarily difficult or expensive, but you have to know what you are currently doing is not good for you and it is not that obvious.

[fozzie 41]

Well, it's down to education really, as usual. How many classes are taught in school on what constitutes a healthy diet in terms that the kids understand, and not simply some puritanical 'eat veggies'? It has to relate to the people that are being taught and relate to the 'whole body' in a holistic way but of course that's too hippy dippy so we can't nanny our kids like that. Drives me nuts really.

What's wrong with 'eat veggies'? I always liked veggies when I was a kid, I just don't see why kids hate them.

Nothing wrong with that, except that what mostly passes for veggies in the ave US supermarket is worse than useless and I can quite understand why most kids would turn their noses up at them.

What is different about US supermarket veg from any other place in the world? when I was a child the only veg I would eat willingly was corn......I just didn't like vegetables. I didn't like hamburgers and pizza either.

It is really not that difficult or expensive to eat a healthy diet.

How old it is for one. I have never seen such a sad and pathetic line up of shoddy veg in all my life as I see in some US supermarkets. I don't know if you have tried home grown, but it is absolutely a different experience and I am not quite sure how you can have a healthy diet without including a lot of these things in it. That's not some dig, I am genuinely curious.

No, it's not necessarily difficult or expensive, but you have to know what you are currently doing is not good for you and it is not that obvious.

Not everyone has the land available to grow their own veg! My 1 bed apartment in NYC just won't do!

[Peikko 1,575]

Has my post become tongue tied? I meant, I can't understand how you can have a genuinely healthy diet without including plenty of vegetables in it. To me, vegetables are the ground zero of a good diet. The home grown would be an added bonus - if you can get them/grow them, it's a totally different and more nutritionally sound experience.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

How old it is for one. I have never seen such a sad and pathetic line up of shoddy veg in all my life as I see in some US supermarkets. I don't know if you have tried home grown, but it is absolutely a different experience and I am not quite sure how you can have a healthy diet without including a lot of these things in it. That's not some dig, I am genuinely curious.

Really? Compared to supermarkets that aren't Sainsbury, Waitrose or M&S in the UK?

where do you shop that's so terrible?

[Peikko 1,575]

Yes, really. I don't shop in these places anymore, but Ralphs and Albertsons for a start. The only really fresh veg comes from either farmer's markets or the small produce stands that grow their own as well and it's rarely cheap or convenient to get to these. The nearest one to me is more than 5 miles away. The turn over is a lot quicker in the Brit supermarkets I have shopped in, and most of the produce is not irradiated either nor is it GM. Have you tried keeping some of the veg for a while? Seriously, the stuff from Ralphs lasts so far beyond a reasonable shelf life for something that is meant to be fresh it's not funny.

Oh, and Stater Brothers, they are shocking!

Edited April 7, 2009 by Madame Cleo

[mawilson 2,133]

Not everyone has the land available to grow their own veg! My 1 bed apartment in NYC just won't do!

Yeah, but we have, like, five Whole Foods Markets in a ten square mile area.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Yes, really. I don't shop in these places anymore, but Ralphs and Albertsons for a start. The only really fresh veg comes from either farmer's markets or the small produce stands that grow their own as well and it's rarely cheap or convenient to get to these. The nearest one to me is more than 5 miles away. The turn over is a lot quicker in the Brit supermarkets I have shopped in, and most of the produce is not irradiated either nor is it GM. Have you tried keeping some of the veg for a while? Seriously, the stuff from Ralphs lasts so far beyond a reasonable shelf life for something that is meant to be fresh it's not funny.

Oh, and Stater Brothers, they are shocking!

I grew up in a household with a large garden so I'm aware of what "fresh" is like compared to store bought

since a lot of veg in the UK is shipped in from far away places (as far as New Zealand and Africa) so I'm not sure I'm buying the "fresher" angle, especially when most veg I buy here in Californa is grown within the state.

Considering the plethora of supermarkets you must have where you live I'm really not buying your argument that godo vegetables aren't easily available here. I work long hours and have the time to buy good vegetables with relative ease.

[Marilyn. 340]

I buy my vegies and fruit from Food 4 less.. I find the quality quite good..

mmmm the navel oranges are soo good there....

[Peikko 1,575]

Don't 'buy' it if you don't want to but it is what it is.

As for the 'shipped in' that really depends what you are buying I happen to like cabbage, root veg and all the typically English veg which is not shipped in. Yes, if you have to have fruits and veg out of season, sure they shipped in and old and I am not saying that everything about UK supermarkets is super excellent, that wasn't my first choice for veg in the UK, farmers markets were there too. What I am saying is that if you shopped only in certain US supermarkets (a lot of people buy food in Walmart and Target which is even worse than Ralphs et al) you would have no clue what veg should taste like because they sit on the shelves a long time which has nothing to do with where they have been shipped in from. My point was quite clear that you have to be a certain type of shopper in SoCal to get good produce. The best markets are ethnic in terms of turn over.

I guess what people understand as 'fresh' is relative. What can I say? People don't know the difference or don't care.

[Amby 490]

Well, it's down to education really, as usual. How many classes are taught in school on what constitutes a healthy diet in terms that the kids understand, and not simply some puritanical 'eat veggies'? It has to relate to the people that are being taught and relate to the 'whole body' in a holistic way but of course that's too hippy dippy so we can't nanny our kids like that. Drives me nuts really.

What's wrong with 'eat veggies'? I always liked veggies when I was a kid, I just don't see why kids hate them.

If you start feeding kids their veggies when they're really young they will like them. You sometimes have to play games and tell them they're other things. Emma wouldn't eat green beans until I told her they were green power sticks or something. Now she loves them. I was amazed at the things my cousin Max would eat when I lived in CA. My aunt said it was due to them introducing a wide variety of veggies at a very early age. Also, some people just can't cook. Have you ever ate something just completely disgusting and it turned you off from it?

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Don't 'buy' it if you don't want to but it is what it is.

As for the 'shipped in' that really depends what you are buying I happen to like cabbage, root veg and all the typically English veg which is not shipped in. Yes, if you have to have fruits and veg out of season, sure they shipped in and old and I am not saying that everything about UK supermarkets is super excellent, that wasn't my first choice for veg in the UK, farmers markets were there too. What I am saying is that if you shopped only in certain US supermarkets (a lot of people buy food in Walmart and Target which is even worse than Ralphs et al) you would have no clue what veg should taste like because they sit on the shelves a long time which has nothing to do with where they have been shipped in from. My point was quite clear that you have to be a certain type of shopper in SoCal to get good produce. The best markets are ethnic in terms of turn over.

I guess what people understand as 'fresh' is relative. What can I say? People don't know the difference or don't care.

You don't have to be a certain kind of shopper......you just have to drive to the supermarket. I have within a 5 minute drive about 7 different chains (Bristol Farms, Whole Foods, Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons, Trader Joes and Smart & Final) as well as several independent places that all sell good quality fruit and veg, much of it grown within the state just like your locally-sourced English cabbage. Most of the above have a decent line of organic produce.

Supermarket stuff will probably not be as good as the stuff that comes out of your backyard or a farmers market but most of it is perfectly fine and with a decent taste and not "inferior" to what is sold in the UK or any other supermarket.

It's just not a valid argument for someone not being able to eat healthy, especially living where we do.

[Amby 490]

Some people are too lazy to cook fresh foods. They find it much easier to just microwave some #######. I have a friend whose mom seriously does her grocery shopping at gas station. She told me they have everything she needs there