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31 per cent of teens eat "a lot" of junk food

A new survey has shone a light on teenagers attitudes to health and nutrition.

A SURVEY OF 500 teenagers has found that just half of teenagers eat enough fruit and vegetables.

58 per cent of teens eat junk food at least once a week, 34 per cent have soft drinks daily and just one-third were aware that they should be getting an hours exercise daily.

The results of the survey by Behaviour and Attitudes were revealed to coincide with the launch of the second year of the Pumped Schools’ Video Awards.

The awards, supported by Bayer in association with the Irish Heart Foundation and the Federation of Irish Sport, seek to encourage young people to get creative about science and health and produce 90-second videos on a heart health topic.

The survey revealed that 12 per cent of teens felt they don’t eat sensibly and 7 per cent felt that they may not be the correct weight. 16 per cent said that they would trade feeling healthy for looking good.

Maureen Mulvihill, Health Promotion Manager at the Irish Heart Foundation said that some of the results were concerning.

These findings show that teenagers have a lot on their plate not only at school but literally as well, because many are eating too much unhealthy food.

The high consumption of fast food and soft drinks – both high in calories – is of particular concern, especially as one in five young people is overweight or obese.”

Read: New drug can lower cholesterol by 57 per cent

Read: More than half of Irish people over 50 have two or more chronic diseases

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55 Comments
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    Mute Jamie Edwards
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    Oct 10th 2013, 7:10 AM

    The other 69% is lying!

    63
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    Mute Frances Cody
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    Oct 10th 2013, 7:29 AM

    They wouldn’t be off buying bags of chips if there was a proper meal waiting for them at home. This problem has to do with what parents are feeding their kids from an early age. Fast food as a treat now and then is ok, but for some kids it’s their staple diet.

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    Mute dave muller
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    Oct 10th 2013, 8:07 AM

    Fully agree. Would really love to hear from the red thumbs as to what they suggest!

    11
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    Mute Gráinne Duggan
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    Oct 10th 2013, 10:45 PM

    Ah come off it, Frances. Kids will always go buying chips whatever is waiting at home.

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    Mute Rugby DadaiO
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    Oct 10th 2013, 7:18 AM

    That picture is hard to look at this early in the morning.

    50
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    Mute Paul Beggan
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    Oct 10th 2013, 8:14 AM

    Our kid’s school has a zero junk food policy. Packed lunch only. The idea being that the healthy habits are formed in primary school which will hopefully be carried into secondary. Eating habits of teens are a lot harder to police however. And yes, that picture turns my stomach!

    31
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    Mute Joe Bet
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    Oct 10th 2013, 7:23 AM

    73% of people know that 86% of statistics are made up

    47
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    Mute Dave Sherman
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    Oct 10th 2013, 7:58 AM

    And five out of three people can’t do fractions..

    44
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    Mute Shanners
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    Oct 10th 2013, 8:51 AM

    70% of the time they are right every time.

    18
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    Mute Burch Barlow
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    Oct 10th 2013, 8:42 AM

    When are parents going to take responsibility for their kids nutrition and diet? The amount of fat ass children waddling to school is shameful!

    37
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    Mute Alan Burke
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    Oct 10th 2013, 9:21 AM

    But he cries and moans if I don’t give him his Maccers for lunch and pizza and chips for dinner. I let him have a few bikkies then before bedtime and he buys a sausage roll (or 5) for brekkie before school.

    16
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    Mute David Keogh
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    Oct 10th 2013, 9:26 AM

    I agree that theres allot of parents out there that simply give the children what they want to make their lives easier but theres also allot who dont fully understand nutrition and exercise. I work in the weight loss industry and speak to new people every day about this. Many of them dont know even the simplest of nutritional guides. Having said that, its also tough to understand exactly which guides are the best for you, considering theres so much research and opinions out there now, even for the experts! Even the food pyramid that many of us grew up being familiar with has been turned on its head by researchers of the Paleo Diet!

    Having said all of that though, making a packed lunch with no fizzy drinks/crisps/chocolate wouldn’t go a miss!

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    Mute Daddy De La Noche
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    Oct 10th 2013, 9:44 AM

    Let him cry and moan and whine, you’ll have to listen to it more when he’s being bullied for being fat and he won’t be able to lose weight

    14
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    Mute Alan Burke
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    Oct 10th 2013, 9:56 AM

    My comment was very much tongue in cheek

    14
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    Mute Nick Beard
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    Oct 10th 2013, 10:56 AM

    Ah, in fairness, my diet took a downward swoop when I headed off to college. Not my parent’s fault, just laziness and a sense of newfound freedom since no one was monitoring whether I ate pizza twice a week. My college boyfriend lived on Subway during exams since he was always in the library (and it was convenient). To some degree, teenagers have to learn on their own that eating junk makes you feel like crap!

    11
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    Mute Andy Healy
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    Oct 10th 2013, 7:59 AM

    I think they should carry out the survey again and ask the teenagers to tell the truth. 42% eat no junk food at all each week, and 93% are happy with their weight???? This would probably make us by far the top country in the Western world for health and nutrition

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    Mute dave muller
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    Oct 10th 2013, 7:27 AM

    In my own school we have a canteen run by an outside source. They tried “healthy” food but kids refused to eat there. Instead they went down the town for junk food. Chips with curry sauce is by far and away the most popular. Now the canteen sells all sorts of junk food and fizzy drinks., otherwise the kids would have absolutely nothing. Parents campaigned for the canteen to continue even though we questioned the food being served. BTW they do sell soup and fruit too but to keep it going they need fatty junk food on the menu? What do you do?

    26
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    Mute Alan Burke
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    Oct 10th 2013, 7:54 AM

    The canteen idea is admirable but it won’t work unless the school and parents priactively educate children in nutritional health.

    The composition and dangers of junk food need to be addressed in a frank and unforgiving manner a la Jamie Oliver demonstrating what chicken nuggets are to schoolkids.

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    Mute dave muller
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    Oct 10th 2013, 8:02 AM

    being done day in day out! Home economics, Physical Education, CSPE. Food education is top of the list but making inroads to this problem is so so difficult. Our recent survey showed that 65% of 2nd years had chip served at home more than 4 times a week for dinner?????

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    Mute dave muller
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    Oct 10th 2013, 8:04 AM

    BTW many many of our kids (girls) are veggies!!!!! and so chips and curry sauce is food to them!!! Parents are aware of this!!

    9
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    Mute Jenni Harrison
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    Oct 10th 2013, 8:07 AM

    Kids should not be allowed off the school grounds during school hours. I know that would negatively impact local business but the cost of obesity is much higher to society. Parents should send in healthy food and canteens should only sell healthy food. If they’re hungry they’ll eat but of course they’ll get chips if they’re an option…

    25
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    Mute Ted Carroll
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    Oct 10th 2013, 8:14 AM

    Jenni restriction doesn’t work either, if kids are forced into a certain path they will naturally rebel against it! There’s no easy answer in this but the whole thing needs to come from goo seating practices at home! As with everything else I think are always going to be kids who have such poor eating habits from a young age that no matter what the school does it won’t change anything!

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    Mute dave muller
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    Oct 10th 2013, 8:56 AM

    Jenni, I understand your comment but you have to understand that most schools do not have any space for a canteen to accommodate up to 600 students. Leaving kids in their classrooms to eat lunch is a massive problem as food can and is left all over the place. This then means problems of furry friends starts to crop up. We have it compulsory that 1st and 2nd years stay in for lunch. We have to deal with many many “notes” from parents requesting that their children be given permission to go down town. When refused….hell hath no fury like a parent scorned!

    11
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    Mute Jenni Harrison
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    Oct 10th 2013, 9:01 AM

    Dave – can it be staggered like they did in my school? eg 1st & 2nd years 12-12:45, 3rd & 4th yrs 12:45-1:30, 5th & 6th yrs 1:30-2:15 … Presumably canteen has space once it’s staggered?

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    Mute Jenni Harrison
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    Oct 10th 2013, 9:02 AM

    Ted – I understand but if they can’t leave the school then the majority won’t … Of course some kids will get out whatever rules are in place but I honestly think kids shouldn’t be allowed off school premises between 9 & 4 or whatever the hours that each school keep.

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    Mute Michelle Dooley
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    Oct 10th 2013, 9:30 AM

    You keep the healthy food on the menu and sure enough if kids are hungry they’ll eat it. Then, refuse to allow children into the school with curry chips etc.
    They will still go downtown surely to get them but maybe they won’t be so inclined if they can’t come back to the school to eat them.

    3
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    Mute mary jones
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    Oct 10th 2013, 11:37 AM

    @jenni harrison I thought it was the norm that kids stayed on school property during school hours for insurance purposes? If a kid is off school premises without parental consent and they get in an accident, for argument sake, the school is liabial because they have a duty of care to the child during the school hours? Correct me if I am wrong?

    1
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    Mute Jenni Harrison
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    Oct 10th 2013, 11:38 AM

    @ Mary Jones I also thought that was the case but you see loads of kids milling around the local shops during lunch hours. I think it’s strange that parents would want them off the premises as it makes it easier for them to eat junk, smoke & generally be mischievous!!!

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    Mute mary jones
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    Oct 10th 2013, 12:03 PM

    @Jenni Harrison And here was me thinking that those kids were out because their parents arranged with the school for them to leave and then gave them lunch money. It wasn’t how I was raised but I had a stay at home mum who made me a lunch I rarely ate!

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    Mute Jenni Harrison
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    Oct 10th 2013, 12:08 PM

    @ Mary Jones – sure those were the days … dry cheese sambos (with coleslaw if I was lucky), an apple & a caprisun! Ate it if I was hungry, binned it if I wasn’t. It never would have crossed my mind to have chips in school! But as a previous poster said, some parents give their kids chips 4 times a week as part of their dinner. Those parents will never be convinced on the issue of healthy food in schools. Sure a primary school headmaster I know sends note home to the parents every term reminding them to send in healthy lunches with a big list of what’s considered a healthy snack & lunch (as they “ban” chocolate & crisps) but some parents still insist on sending junk in for their 4 year olds…

    1
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    Mute mary jones
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    Oct 10th 2013, 12:30 PM

    @ JEnni Harrison hahaah Yeah, marmalade and butter sandwiches. Roast beef on the odd monday after the sunday roast. Ham MAYBE..on a tuesday. Banana occasionally and easi singles. Any combination of that was what the rats fished out of the bins after school most days! We didn’t have a chipper in either of the towns my schools were in. (I use the word town VERRY losely)! But then again there wasn’t far you could go with 10 or 20 pence for your after school money, if you even got that much.

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    Mute Jenni Harrison
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    Oct 10th 2013, 12:34 PM

    Gosh Mary you were posh with your beef & ham :) !!!
    I never thought I’d turn into one of these “Back in the old days” … but seriously think it’s weird that parents are happy for their kids to eat that junk. I’d prefer mine to eat nothing than junk as at least they get a healthy breakfast and a healthy dinner. Obviously the odd time they have pizza, etc but chips every day for lunch & 4 times a week for dinner is child abuse … what hope do their hearts have in the future?

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    Mute mary jones
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    Oct 10th 2013, 12:59 PM

    hahahahahaha Jenni I know what you mean! Especially as I knew back then that these were not anything like “good days” Watching parents decide between bills and food. Or seeing which one of them didn’t eat so that the rest of us could. Nothing good about those days. And I’m not anyones grandmother either! I don’t understand though, people on a budget, HOW can they afford the junk food to give the kids? I mean, real food is cheaper, goes farther oh, and it’s healthier!

    Really, am I the only one?

    2
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    Mute Sharon Larkin
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    Oct 10th 2013, 7:47 AM

    I popped into a shop yesterday morning after dropping the son to playschool. There were really about 12 secondary school kids getting breakfast rolls for before school then a tayto roll for lunch.

    26
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    Mute Alan Burke
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    Oct 10th 2013, 7:55 AM

    How can they afford it? – Parents giving pocket money and not giving a f*ck about their kids health

    31
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    Mute Ted Carroll
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    Oct 10th 2013, 8:15 AM

    Depends on the age, I had a job when I was 15 so had access to my own money!

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    Mute Alan Burke
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    Oct 10th 2013, 8:56 AM

    Very few jobs for 15 year olds these days

    11
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    Mute Carina Clarke
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    Oct 10th 2013, 8:18 AM

    What do they expect when the dept of health go around schools giving out healthy eating leaflets branded by Kelloggs suggesting their foods as a good choice for breakfast and snacks and says beans on toast is a good lunch. My 11 year old daughter got it spot on with her comment ‘if we were meant to be eating it they wouldn’t need to be fortifying it’.

    24
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    Mute Alan Burke
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    Oct 10th 2013, 8:25 AM

    Beans on toast is relatively healthy.

    Kellogs cereals are not healtby at all, a hearty bowl of weetabix, porridge or muesli is a far better option.

    28
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    Mute Keith Shanghai Irish
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    Oct 10th 2013, 9:30 AM

    I heard that muesli is not actually that healthy for you, but then again If I believed everything I heard about foods good and bad aspects I’d be having celery water for every meal : )

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    Mute Daddy De La Noche
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    Oct 10th 2013, 9:52 AM

    I don’t see how some oats, nuts, dried fruit and some seeds are unhealthy

    5
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    Mute Jane Travers
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    Oct 10th 2013, 10:25 AM

    Mouths of babes, Karina :)

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    Mute Keith Shanghai Irish
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    Oct 10th 2013, 10:48 AM

    I wasnt suggesting it was true, I was just saying is all : )

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    Mute Sarah Clifford
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    Oct 10th 2013, 6:38 PM

    Very true. kelloggs and nestle use sinister brainwashing campaigns to persuade parents that their products are good for you. Its no wonder most kids are overweight

    5
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    Mute Deco
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    Oct 10th 2013, 7:25 AM

    KFC is the champion of junk food

    14
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    Mute Alan Burke
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    Oct 10th 2013, 7:52 AM

    Gone downhill in recent years but. Chicken from the chipper is far nicer.

    20
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    Mute David Keogh
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    Oct 10th 2013, 9:28 AM

    KFC is nowhere near as bad as others when you look into the additives that companies use and their cooking methods!

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    Mute Emer Daly
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    Oct 10th 2013, 7:58 AM

    Mmmm that pic looks so nice !

    5
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    Mute Jane Travers
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    Oct 10th 2013, 10:31 AM

    Our school has a no-junk-food policy but it’s not enforced. My daughter comes home daily with tales of other kids’ lunches that consist of entire packets of biscuits and massive slabs of chocolate – these kids eat this every day! And not a fruit or vegetable to be seen amongst it all.

    Most of the kids who live around us dine several times a week from MacDonalds, KFC etc. I see them all suffering from obesity, sleep problems, concentration problems etc but the parents don’t seem to have a clue. Then the ice-cream can comes around and they all get ice-creams; the rest of the time they have packets of crisps in their fists! It boggles my mind :(

    4
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    Mute Alan Burke
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    Oct 10th 2013, 11:51 AM

    The ice cream van should do laps of the estate and make the kids chase after it. First one to catch it gets a free ice cream.

    At least they’ll be getting some excercise in.

    11
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    Mute Jane Travers
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    Oct 10th 2013, 12:05 PM

    Lol Alan :)

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    Mute Michelle Mc Loughney
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    Oct 10th 2013, 10:11 AM

    The habits are ingrained early on, we continously reward with food. We give ‘treats’ for good behaviour and wonder why people who are suffering emotionally reward themselves with jink food. The amount of chemicals in junk keeps them coming back for more. Children follow adults lead. If the parents are not wise to the nutrional impact of their food, kids are not going to be any the wiser.
    93% happy with their weight…ya right. I have weight conscious 4 yr olds in montessori.

    3
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    Mute mary jones
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    Oct 10th 2013, 12:24 PM

    @Michelle Bet your weight conscious 4 year olds are all girls.

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    Mute Michelle Mc Loughney
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    Oct 10th 2013, 4:58 PM

    Yup Mary 12 girls in the class, weight is mentioned with surprising regularity. Fat, thin etc. Boys are oblivious to most of it.

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    Mute Catherine Shortt
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    Oct 10th 2013, 10:51 AM

    Is it really bad that the picture is making me hungry?

    2
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