Obese Children – Poor Diet or Abuse?

Last month, UK newspapers were filled with the story of Connor McCreaddie, an 8 year old boy who weighs a staggering 14 stone. His sheer size has led to Connor breaking 6 toilet seats, 5 bicycles and 4 beds as well as problems washing and dressing himself. Connor’s obesity and lack of fitness means that he often can’t manage the 1/2 mile walk to school so he has a poor attendance record and is missing out on vital education.                                                                

Connor’s mother, Nicola McKeown, admits that his diet is appalling with him “demanding snacks every 8 minutes”. Until recently, he would eat 4 packets of crisps a day, 4 Yorkshire puddings with his evening meal, 2 takeaway meals a week, as well as lots of processed sausages, burgers and deep fried chips.  Connor’s grandmother, Barbara Bake feels that the family haven’t had enough support in dealing with Connor and his weight problems. She wanted him to be seen by the leading child obesity expert at their local hospital to have tests for diabetes, thyroid problems and food allergies. An unidentified health official said in the press that appointments were made for the family to see nurses, nutritionists and social workers but weren’t kept.

But in  February, the family had to attend a “child protection conference”  to determine if Connor should be put on the child protection register or even taken into care in a bid to address his obesity.  Dr. Colin Waine, the director of the National Obesity Forum in Nottingham, England, called Connor’s lifestyle “extremely dangerous,” adding he is at risk of developing diabetes in his early teens, and cardiovascular and nervous system problems in his 20s.

“He’s really at risk of dying by the time he’s 30,” Waine said.

Connor’s case attracted national attention after his mother allowed an ITV News crew to film his day-to-day life over the course of a month. But with the well publicised rise in childhood obesity and associated health problems (including reduced life expectancy) can parents still claim that they’re unaware of the dangers their (not so ) little ones are facing? And are many of us simply too indulgent towards the wants of our children?

As an ordinary mum of two, I would have to question why and how Connor was getting snacks every 20 minutes. His mother says it’s because he would throw terrible tantrums if he didn’t get them. Studies have shown that fluctuating blood sugar levels cause irritability and behavioural problems and eating processed foods would significantly raise the blood sugar level.

I do know that children can be difficult to manage and they’ll try every trick in the book to get what they want, whether it be a toy, another 10 minutes on the PS2 or a chocolate bar. Chloe and Annabel do have snacks and treats but not all the time – they’re kept out of reach and out of the way of temptation. The fruit bowl however, is kept well stocked and they both know that I don’t mind them helping themselves if they’re hungry.

Connor’s mother has argued that if he doesn’t get the food he wants at teatime, he’ll sneak downstairs and raid the fridge during the night. My argument to that would be to simply not keep chocolate and crisps in the house at all! By allowing Connor to carry on eating in this way, his mother is, to all intents and purposes, killing him. And since when did 8 year olds rule the roost? A key problem though is that fresh healthy foods are more costly and time consuming than pre-packaged meals. For our family of 4, we spend in excess of £30 a week on fruit and vegetables alone which is a over 25% of our shopping budget. So should the onus go back to the government to perhaps subsidise the cost of fruit and vegetables? Or should that be for the big supermarkets to do….make processed food more expensive and fresh food cheaper. Should the government get compulsory sprots back on the school curriculum? I don’t know but would love to share views on these ideas.

I was glad that the outcome of this case was that Connor was allowed to remain with his mother but with  supervision and help. Since Christmas, he is said to have lost over a stone which is fabulous for Connor (and perhaps undermines the theory of a metabolic disorder…). It would be fascinating to se what happens to him in the long term though.

Why Should Children Learn to Cook?

Children and cooking is one of the things I feel passionately about. After all, it’s a life skill that so many grow up without and when kids leave home, they haven’t the faintest idea of how to cook meals. So they become reliant upon packets of processed foods that can be popped in the microwave for ease and convenience.  Processed foods that contain high levels of salt, sugar and quite frankly some off cuts of meat that you wouldn’t really want to give to your dog if you knew where they came from!!

Children CAN learn to cook from the earliest of ages – as young as 2 or 3. Give the youngest cooks a wooden spoon and a plastic bowl to stir some ingredients in and they simply love it. They can make dishes that require “assembling” rather than cooking like these Chocolate Almond Croissants – a recipe I put together for 3-6 year olds to make for Mother’s Day breakfast. Of course, they need help as hot ovens are involved but Annabel loves making this as a treat.

INGREDIENTS 
4 croissants
200g good quality chocolate
(milk or plain is fine)
50g flaked almonds
1 tspn icing sugar
METHOD
1.Ask your helper to preheat the oven to 180°c/fan oven 160°c/gas mark 4. Sprinkle the almonds on the smaller baking tray then when the oven is up to temperature, ask your helper to put them in to cook for 3 minutes, until slightly browned.
2.Whilst the almonds are cooking, ask your helper to slice the croissants in half for you. Put the 4 bases on the large baking sheet then break the chocolate into small pieces and sprinkle it over the top. When the almonds are ready, leave them to cool for 5 minutes before sprinkling over the chocolate. Put the tops back on the croissants.
3.Ask your helper to put the croissants in the oven for 5 minutes, until they are warm and the chocolate is melted and oozing. Pop onto a serving plate then sift over a little icing sugar for a fancy finish. Serve whilst still warm.

In Good Company!

I’ve long since been a fan of Nigella Lawson….indeed, her influence has led to the purchase of Kitchen Aid mixers and blenders as well as a fabulous Magimix food processor. I love her style and I think that’s because she’s a cook rather than a chef – she makes food that anyone can make, eat and enjoy.

I joined her food forum, www.nigella.com  a little over a year ago. I never thought I’d be a member of an oline forum but then again, I never thought I’d be writing a blog! But it’s given me chance to make some great new friends and explore some wonderful recipe ideas too.

So I was delighted a couple of days ago when Nigella’s Admin contacted me to say they would be adding Cottage Cooks to their list of UK baking stockists. So there we are…….up with the likes of Jane Asher, Montgomery Moore Chocolate and King Arthur Flour, and proud if it!

New Cottage Cooks Website Goes Live!

I’m delighted to announce the launch of our new look Cottage Cooks website, which can be found at www.cottagecooks.co.uk or www.cottagecooks.com . A fantastic new colour scheme and improved shopping cart is bound to be a hit with customers old and new.

By way of celebration, I’m giving blog readers 10% off all orders placed at Cottage Cooks until 1 April 2007. Just enter the following discount code during the checkout process and you’ll be getting your kids cooking (or maybe just treat yourself!)

Cookblog01

 Happy shopping!!

From then ‘Til Now

So Jay was fully recovered by the end of January and back to work. The run up to Christmas was extremely busy for Cottage Cooks which is great…..lots of people wanting ot get their children into cooking.

Like many small businesses, January was extremely quiet which gave me a chance to think about where I wanted Cottage Cooks to go and how to achieve that. I was still working 2.5 days at the local hospital but really wanted to give that up and focus all of my time and energies on children’s cooking. Afterall, it has always been my passion.

So I firstly went back to Daneswood Solutions and asked them to modernise the website then go on writing this blog. And now the Cottage Cooks story is upto date, it’ll get really interesting!