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Council to ban the word 'obesity' - so fat children don't get offended

11:32 PM on 12th April 2010

Council chiefs may ban the word 'obese' because it could offend fat children.

They want to replace it with the phrase 'unhealthy weight'.

Parents and health experts condemned the proposal yesterday as 'preposterous'.

The idea was dreamed up by 90 pupils in the Liverpool Schools' Parliament, a scheme to help children become more interested in politics.

Now Liverpool City Council will formally consider their proposal to drop the word from all local authority schemes aimed at improving children's health.

One Merseyside father of two said: 'Being an overweight child does have a stigma - but that is the whole point.

'Eating unhealthy food and not taking part in physical activity should be stigmatised so that children live a healthy, active life.'

A council spokesman said the pupils' recommendations would be considered 'with a view' to putting them into practice.

Tam Fry of the obesity prevention charity the Child Growth Foundation, said: 'If you’re obese you’re obese. 'I can see where the children are coming from and the word carries a stigmatisation but unfortunately some times schoolchildren have to be taught the realities of life.

Mr Fry, whose charity campaign for more measures to combat obesity in children, said: 'If you have a problem, particularly when it’s as serious as this, it needs addressing.'

A mother said: 'My 12-year-old daughter is tackling her own slight weight problem by improving her diet, joining a gym and taking part in sports at school and her main motivation for her drive to be slimmer and healthier is that she is not seen as fat by her school friends.'

Liverpool Council will consider the plans as part of scheme to examine the key priorities and ways to improve the lives of young people over the next two years.

Explaining the group’s recommendation, Jeff Dunn, co-ordinator of the Liverpool Schools’ Parliament, said: 'The idea is that obesity has a negative connotation behind it.

'They felt unhealthy weight is more positive and a better way to promote it. The term ‘obese’ would turn people off, particularly young people.'

A Liverpool council spokesman said: 'All the young people’s recommendations will be considered by the council with a view to include them in the delivery of the Children and Yound People's Plan.'

Other recommendations include appointing classmates and city sport stars as 'food heroes' to promote healthy living within schools.

Source; dailymail.co.uk

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Brummie Cabbie.

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They must have taken lessons from Birmingham City Council who some years ago banned the word Christmas & called it Winterval!!

And these w*nkers get paid for this sh*t out of our Council Tax!!!

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Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.

They would be better putting the Fat wee puddocks on an excercise regime to make them live long and healthy lives rather than glossing over the obvious fact of their unhealthy and life threatening obesity for fear of upsetting the pre-pubescent rotundites and their parents.

Tell them it like it is...if yer Fat yer fat....and if your young and fat you can still do something about it before you reach the key to the door (or Mobility car) age of incapacity benefit and disablity allowance.



School bloody parliament......Jesus..what ever next!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You've gotta learn the job somewhere.... them to$$ers in parliament didn't just spring up outta nothing

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Your so right Toots...they sprung out the Dung heap