Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Another questionable statistic

I heard a statistic on TV news this morning, and I've heard it or something similar before, but I really find it hard to believe.  The report said "One third of all American children are obese."  What is the definition of obese? I've always thought it meant really fat.  I was a substitute teacher for a couple of years about five years ago and in all the classes I taught, different ages, different social and economic backgrounds, there was never more than one, maybe two children in a classroom of 25 or so who appeared to be overweight.  Over the last three years I have picked up my grandchildren from various schools at least once or twice a week and again, as hoards of jr high and elementary students come streaming out of the schools I see very few who appear to be overweight.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a healthy diet and I think kids (and adults) in this country consume way too much sugar, but I really don't see that many obviously fat kids running around, so again, what's the definition of obese??

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