I was thinking the SDT this parent might not even be over weight!!! Some kids think "fat" is big boobs! Some think if you can pinch any skin you are fat! 99% of these posters / commenters piss me off because they just assume... But maybe it's OPs fault for not noting if they were fat/skinny whatever she is. I AM overweight, but my sons (6 & 8) say they love my 'fat' cos they can squish me more. Haha!!!! I was hurt by it the first time they said it, but now, I don't let it bother me.

The truth hurts....

not all overweight people eat a lot... just throwing that out there for consideration

All overweight people consume more calories than they burn. The fact that some of them don't consider what they eat to be "a lot of food" makes their problem worse, or at least, permanent.

Their bodies are just more efficient at storing calories. When the Apocalypse and the ensuing famine comes, you will rue the day you made fun of the fatties... You will rue it!!!!!

Not always true. My mom was 80lbs overweight until she went on dialysis. The excess weight was there because her kidneys weren't working properly and it wasn't fat since she lost it all in about a month. But to anyone not knowing any better, they'd think she was fat.

#48, you really are on to something. Through most of human history, obesity hasn't been the issue, starvation has. In many times and places, my ability to eat a lot and store energy would enable me to spread my seed successfully. Now, I have to eat less than I want and exercise a lot to keep in what our current society considers "fit." Let me know when the Apocolypse is imminent. I'll meet you at the buffet to prepare for the famine.

#51, that's a fluke. When something is true 99.999% of the time, it's common to say it's ALWAYS true. Your mom obvious did not have excess body fat, but no doctor had correctly diagnosed it until they decided to put her on dialysis.

I was overweight and I found out I had a hypoactive thyroid, got on meds and now I've lost quite a lot and am back to the way I was before. So no, not all overweight people are ruining themselves from eating too much, that's a cruel assumption for those of us who just had a medical problem not yet discovered.

#55. Yes, you were ruining yourself from overeating, but your excuse was a treatable medical condition, and not just gluttony and sloth.

Some people have a legitimate reason to be overweight, but those are the minority. I'm overweight due to a combination of genetics, poor food (ramen is empty carbs), a country in which food is abundant and so we eat bigger portions than we should, a sedentary lifestyle, and just plain laziness. I'm healthy in every other way, but eventually my knees, hips and back will break under my own weight. I don't eat any more than any of my skinny friends. But the fact is, because my metabolism is slower, I have to eat less than most people to maintain and much less to lose weight. So people need to quit making excuses and own up to it. I'm on my boyfriend's military diet and exercise regimen. It sucks, but it's working.

I agree^ I have an extremely slow metabolism BUT I wear size 0 jeans (I'm not just bones though, I have C boobs, not starving myself) because I eat about 250 calories a day and exercise like crazy, so jealous of my naturally thin friends but it l doesn't make me give up, it's almost always possible to lost weight.

69- I really hope you're joking right now. If you're not and your body goes into shock from malnutrition don't be surprised.

@69 - 76 is right. (i tried commenting before but i think it failed -_-) you really shouldn't have any less than 1000-1200 calories/day. Just having 250/day and exercising like crazy is doing your body more harm than good & is likely the reason why your metabolism is slow.