Too Fat To Toddle (Childhood Obesity Documentary) | Real Stories

this one-year-old baby is so overweight he made news around the world but soon stories like these won't be shocking anymore in Britain our kids are also getting fatter one in four preschool children in the UK is overweight or obese and unless the trend changes our kids could become too fat to toddle it's a really serious public health issue has probably not been one more important for last 100 years [Music] professor Paul Gately is on a mission to tackle childhood obesity he's organizing Britain's first weight-loss camp for under-fives in just three days he'll teach parents how to get their children fit and healthy but putting those lessons into practice won't be easy if you don't want the salad don't eat the salad eight out of ten of these children will become obese adults so this is their big chance the earlier we can nip this in the bud the more successful we're going to be at tackling childhood obesity [Music] he'll be helping children like Tegan who had over six stone wears twice what she should she's constantly putting weight on all the teams she has been since she was a very months old gonna be the next exercise although only five Tegan now needs clothes designed for a twelve-year-old as either too long but its same not waiting off on the hips it was very difficult to get clothes for TV not sexy enough I'm carrying so much weight makes exercise difficult she's not very active at all which gets to tie up too quick she remembers on from the front door to the end of the garden her back okay and she'd be exhausted I feel quite sad when she needs a kiss and cuddle because I can't laugh that up playing card late T according to the doctor did some metabolism I'm not happy that for the last eight years professor Paul Gately and his team from Leeds Metropolitan University have been running weight loss camps for obese teenagers Britain is facing an epidemic which isn't too strong a statement given four and a half million children in the UK are overweight or obese but still there's absolutely no mainstream services for weight loss in children the government realizes there's a crisis and has announced plans for a multi-million pound campaign but overweight children need help now we know that obesity predicts heart disease diabetes cancer children get taunted teased and bullied that has then a profound impact on their self-esteem on levels of anxiety on depression and a whole range of facts like that Paul is now turning his attention to younger children with a brand-new project for families have signed up for the under-fives fat camp but before they all get together Paul wants to make them in their own homes hello there guys hello so you can I assume and Paul Antiguans family by his birth cool very helpful aren't you know in a bit of luxury yeah we're gonna have some lentil soup under it cool for now Paul just wants to observe the problems facing mum Sonya so he can work out where she's going wrong no no more going off just one just one you have enough that's enough if I had four slices of that now this should be a stone a thing for Tegan because that's laying there so if she won't eat there until it's finished so who's up true for all mealtimes what's Meal Time Jeff right next Paul studies the family's shopping habits heroes that Tegan madhavan's get from that right as she feel that she was a before Donna call me it would be for the sanguine just writing up bedtime yeah if she was feeling about no more cereal or the usual I'm not here to blame her she's just not recognizing where she's slipping up in terms of managing Teagan's diet over the course of a day and I think that's going to be the key to this he's gonna be helping her understand where those little extra calories are coming from that causing teegan's weight gain or indeed the weight uh she's at now next stop is London to meet four-year-old grace she's nearly 5 stone and like many obese children her parents are also overweight and typically they think Grace's weight gain is inevitable she can't do nothing about she's one of these people's gonna be exactly like me I look at a cream cake and I've got a couple of pounds on before I've decided to eat it blaming our genes for our size is common but according to Paul it's a myth his studies showed that obesity is almost always a result of diet and lifestyle so is this a normal lunch yeah they would normally have a sandwich or a roll or something like that she might fall for such as wrong as well dad Tony chooses to eat in another room leaving dawn to take responsibility for the children at mealtimes Paul wants to know why perhaps out there a few times at the minute they start arguing I'll get up and come in here so basically that's the norm and are you interested in changing I would play yes yeah not so much for me but just for the sake of my children really Paul's third family live in Hartford sure he's meeting five-year-old Eden and her baby brother town their parents Jeanine and Remmy are at odds over what the children should be eating mom tries to be strict but dad usually gives in to their demands for chocolate and sweets attend because of her personality to wear you down and show great she will smooth the me and she will go around me and all that I love this I love it so I can tell I know what Al you know very happy to give him extra portions but really shouldn't be giving him anything off it but I do enjoy the same you know clean his plate no miss food is lovely yeah would you define them as normal way overweight or obese I don't know I think something's all right I don't know how you do everything I would say that they probably and it's painful yes I've spent some time with each of these families and the thing that they have in common is they don't realize the true extent of the problem that they're facing with all the homework done Paul in the team get ready for the weekend camp this house in London is the venue for the crash course that could change these families bad habits for good there'll be no miracle cures or revolutionary treatments on offer just a simple message about healthy diets and exercise really excited about this we can be the younger children because they've not really developed or ingrain these behavior so we can sort break them down work with their parents and be successful in terms of changing their lifestyles for the future the group is joined by one last family who aren't desperate to take part just want them to be like every other kid who come on about properly and without being at Brenda time and finding everything I struggle good morning everybody welcome you're all here for lots of reasons and I think the most important reason you're here is because you care about your kids professor Paul Gately is in charge [Music] he doesn't promote fad diets or gimmicks just common sense advice about eating less and exercising more this will do fine he's hoping these parents will take it on board and help their children get to a normal weight really this whole program is about you learning what kids learn through having fun if you're not having fun without doing the right thing throughout the weekend he'll lay down some golden rules the first is get active so the course begins with a treasure hunt the good thing about working with younger children is that we can make it much more gain focus for underpinning those games is lots of learning lesson and education and the kids won't even realize that they're learning [Applause] [Music] activity leads to appetite but the second rule is about militant the amount of food kids eat these guys are sort of you know the five-year-olds need about 1200 calories a day if they more calories and what their body uses up they will gain weights as simple as that is it the fat I'm looking out for or is it the calories or Beaufort up that that is a really good question and ultimately it's about the calories Hayley's here with her three children and their father Tim at age seven Shane weighs nine and a half stone he sees an obesity specialist every six months but he's still gaining weight and now Hayley and Tim are concerned about their younger son I first noticed that Luis was putting on weight about a year ago I was trying to fool myself I think and thinking that he wasn't but he was just want to try and catch you all right with Luis boy sort of sort of staged it Shane's up sorry for him and I don't blame myself because I think a lot of the time it is what I be feeding them as part of the course Shane and Lewis's height and weight are measured to work out their body mass index or BMI this will show whether they're in the normal weight overweight or obese range it also takes into account their age and to be in the normal weight range four-year-old Louis should have a BMI of under seventeen to be overweight be seventeen to nineteen and for obese it will be 19 or above and Louis's BMI is twenty three point six oh baby so he's quite well into the obese range thank you very much Shane's is thirty six point nine if an adult had that BMI the the chances of diabetes heart disease of cancer of all those other things isn't even a debate just that's forward to it all I want to do is give them more every other kike dance but unfortunately my kids are different they must I don't know if it's like metabolism at best anything to do with it but I obviously can't burn things off as quick as other kids can it's got nothing to do with slow metabolism it's got nothing to do with anything other than the amount of food they're getting the amount of activity they're doing so it is this is totally within your control yeah the trouble is Haley's lost control of her children's behavior and their home can be like a battleground right you're gonna pick now the behavior thing is really really important particularly you Haley you will threaten and they keep going and you don't do anything I know what you can't do is throw out an idle threat I work with lots and lots of of went B's kids and Shane's behaviors he's not uncommon but it's horrendous a problem then is it to do with being overweight does something trigger up I'll tell you what triggers that behavior is how they get treated every single day he gets teased and bullied and that is shaping his behavior that's why he fights that's why he's in such a desperate situation to know what to do you okay it's going to be painful what they're gonna hear but we need to go through that and then we move on to stage two which they give them the skills and strategies so they can solve their problem one of these strategies is to get out and exercise as a family as much as possible if you look the main aim is really to get the families and the kids to work together so they're working as a team and the activity and the energy that they use you know they're not even thinking about that's what family activity is all about doesn't need to be going to the gym our structured this is just play a day out in the park with both mum and dad is a novelty for four-year-old grace during Paul's home visit he saw how Tony doesn't get involved in family life which goes against the next golden rule and this is when I was you know spending the day with you I've got I've got the end of the dinosaur I know what the issue is that you two don't work as a team Nobby probably done you don't you just you know I run everything in the house um you know I've got all of that weight on my shoulders but I just deal with it I don't think you realize how important you after this you're absolutely critical to this yeah should change I know I don't do any family activities and that's what this weekend's teaching me I've got to take a bigger role in Gracie's life the way she eats the things she does I just got me around there a lot more he's made us both look at in a different light I'm just more upset that it's taken an outsider to realize the effect we're having on their children that the way the way we're bringing them up you drunk got lean mince meat red peppers onions and smart appear in a bit of egg just find it all together so you've got no extra fat in their top Tony's making a new start already by getting stuck into a cookery class when we're talking about portion sizes an easy sort of rule to use is if it fits in the palm of your hands that would be a portion for you obviously that wouldn't be for a five-year-old child that would be 40 big nutritionists Laura birch leads the session on healthy dinners and correct portions so what we've got on the plate here this would be sort of the correct portion size for a child full of given the kids and yummy was that go and the children are learning about balanced diets - what peas Lois the message is getting through by playing games no I sent it you know what it is it's really important to try and get in your five fruit and veg everything and ideally you actually should be aiming for sort of ten portions today no I son like that which one of these do you think it was like other parents here Sonya says she can't understand what's causing her daughter's obesity but with Tegan twice as heavy as she should be her BMI is literally off the scale at twenty seven point two in terms of trying to interpret that she's really really are the far end of the spectrum I knew it was high but those are high that's kidding in real simple terms you overestimate how much food she needs and you underestimate her ability to be active Dugan come on get some done up so you can see that there's four meals around the table we've got a 14 year old boy and love you know girl another female and a fine girl now they're getting the right portions and she's getting the wrong portion she's getting far too much I feel awful knowing that it's basically my fault about me but for anything when it comes to doing something of it sickens me and helping her and stop it not from having all these all nurses that she could her when she's 2530 usual have you got anything to ask me in terms of I know you mentioned before you got concerns about talking to Tegan about this as you naughty gonna she's build that skill and every day she's been told that she's found out yesterday nothing what did you say you remember you're not no idea until I should not fat decide blister confidence about well first it's the wrong thing to do I would be the corporate tail or not because I've told her soft and she's not and I was supposed to be the one she trusts but I don't see it as a sit down taking your fat all to Euro bigs I see it as from this point we are going to change and that's why you have to talk to teaching about this [Music] after this chat with Paula I actually feel better more and exactly weirder what's gone wrong the things that I do need to change the one thing that's going to be a struggle is to taken ho shares and and what the problem as well [Music] it's Sunday and the children have made lunch for their parents time for Paul to lay down another of his golden rules discipline at the table one of the most challenging times is at mealtime you are in charge of what the e you are in charge of their activity levels and what you've got to do is overcome the challenges that they put forward because if you don't overcome the challenge that they put forward once they finish something they've had an appropriate sized portion and they're saying I want some more and they know mom or dad are not going to say no they're gonna keep saying I want some more I want some more I want some more I want and they'll grind you down and the point is these parents saying no is one of the most important tools to help your kids live a healthy lifestyle Eden's misbehaving because she wants another Pizza button but I want you to sit down on the table first a chance for Paul to show how to handle her behavior your other choice is to go and sit in the lounge mom stays strong but it's all too much for dad Janine and Rami don't think their children have much of a weight problem but Paul disagrees a child has a BMI over nineteen point one they would be in the obese category and Eden's BMI nineteen point six which would put her in the obese category what you thoughts on that I'm not I'm not I'm not surprised you're surprised I'm actually not surprised I don't know I mean she's still young still five years old so I'm not worried about it like now nice and slowly bring it down so we don't bash the BMI school for Eden's younger brother towel is also a cause for concern in the norm weight category would be below of 18 and the obese would be 20 plus and tallies 20.6 if I were to say 8% of obese children carry on being obese then the risks are already there we have some it changes and it has hit home because you know I was here yesterday I thought embarrassed to be here you know which was not not you know big you don't think but you know it's bought at home don't we have to do something about it because our society is getting fatter year-on-year we don't recognize what normal way is and I don't think I've convinced Rami that it's a problem but it has been slightly a wake-up call for Janine and I think Janine will take control of that whether Ramy chooses to be involved or not as the weekend draws to a close the children have one last play and the parents get a final pep talk I want you to take control of this this isn't me taking control of your home environment this is you taking control of your home environment each family's given a tailor-made manual to take home but before they leave Paul's invited some visitors Joe clock spent years trying to get medical help for her daughter Molly who twelve months ago was severely obese then finally she took her to see a new doctor I used to always spell out SAT can you help me cuz my child is f80 this doctor actually said why you spelling out the word fat your fact Molly you know you're fat you knew she's fat why is filling it and she was crying I'm not fat you're horrible I was like how dare he he went on and says you do need help but actually yes you do she's six in a bit stone she's five years old it's disgusting she you've made her what she is so actually since we've been truthful with her and said to her you are different you are bigger you are eating all the wrong foods you need help from that point that's where it got better because when we work together as a team [Music] last year Molly's family changed their lifestyle going on a calorie controlled diet and becoming more active Molly lost a stone and is now on track to reach normal weight within six months Molly you've been fantastic as well tell us about what it's been like [Music] after the emotion of the course it's now down to the parents to put what they've learned into practice I feel that we've learned a hell of a lot this weekend from Paul I think we'll just go out and start a brand new day tomorrow and that's that could be it for the rest of our lives hopefully [Music] I'm really nervous about that but I'm excited on the same token because at the end of it has posted the rewards of huge [Applause] it's just been unbelievable we've learned more this weekend and we have in an hour seven years of back and forwards to the hospital we're getting in and I've been in for so many years to just get an answer and this to me has been my answer I'm really pleased with how this weekend is gone what we can see is families bonding with each other and sharing their experiences so they actually don't feel isolated they feel part of this sort of unit in six weeks time Paul will measure the children again to see if the new lifestyles working in Scotland Tegan and Sonya are settling in back home with new rules and a new diet plan I'm going to search on effect lunches fatigue and that way I can count exactly how many calories she's having but there's a lot to learn I don't know whether together one half of a sanguine just two decisions I'll get back to you because it's all me all bed a little bit further than anything else five-year-old Tegan severely obese her body mass index is more than double what it should be I see a lot of things definitely know that Paul has made me aware of what's going on and what Tegan's BMI is it scared me there's really scared me him and the sense that I just lost control somewhere along going just doing things for them easily for think really but introducing the new regimes proving difficult teegan's now faced with a potato a quarter of the size she used to get if you don't want the salad don't eat the salad stop taking away from have you cry I'm making you know you don't have to eat the salad five minutes later and teegan's back that's terrible behavior Teigen fullest race to the maximum allowed mealtime Tegan's just totally exhausted me I'd cry in my head just couldn't enjoy my food because she was screaming because she had a small portion she was now for the portion of the potato that you've got there one chocolate that you can eat you know go oh wait you're God no you can't have a piece of fruit then instead I can't obviously satisfy you Teigen good eat the potato or don't have anything at all can't compromise with fear go and eat your potatoes because you want your own way to win Teagan's cooperation Paul's told Sonia to explain to her exactly why she's changing the family's diet and lifestyle I don't know how I feel about Taylor I think it's another stepping stone to to help getting better and dealing mastership me remember we went away for a weekend well you know why we did that is because you Roberto Burle overweight Teigen and it's not anything to worry about but we need to fix that for you okay so that you can do more activities you can be so much happier you can but we can focus it yes we can you and me together you can fix it okay nice healthy we get old much healthier it's gonna make you a lot happier and it's not going to make mom sad anymore come on cuz you're making me upset if it over waiting another speech folks after a stout Sonya's also been told to encourage Teigen to play outdoors more but first she needs a space busy on the road in the garden today and the hope that we can get to you in time cleaning up so it can be more active know what happy added myself because I know takings a bit of what's going on I'm not laughing about rowing the boat anymore so yeah I think we're all quite happy [Music] Oh so please do this I'm so delighted for an achievement get a pearl hey gradually the new regime starts to show results I feel an absolute control I feel really good very positive about everything I think we're gonna do really well in his London it's Grace's fifth birthday party her parents are also overweight so the whole family is trying to work together to get healthy Paul's arrived to see how they're coping with the changes was it almost a sort of light switch coming on it was yeah if I hadn't have heard it from yourself that weekend we would have carried on just eating and eating the way we do it's a big change at one of the bag of crisps the other day but it wasn't there nice oh I had an apple winstead meal times have changed too dad Tony used to eat alone in the living room but now he has dinner with his family him sitting there has been more of a suppo and usually they would would have been arguing than that but they deny their behaviors changed a lil bit do you like him some air or prevention at the front is quiet there's a lot less chatting and arguing going on that makes these signs a feel part of a family again you can see that as a family they're working really well together and so even at the tough times one can support the other and keep great on the right path down the road in Barking Haley's taking her three children swimming this is their first time in the water [Music] seven-year-old Shane's morbidly obese wearing nine and a half stone Haley decided to take action when she noticed that four-year-old Lewis was going the same way I enjoyed the tone so she's a good family figure do I'll be doing it everywhere hundred percent it's brilliant but at home Haley suffered a setback the children's father had to go away for work leaving her alone hard to control sometimes but I've just trying to rise a puppy and obviously I stopped smacking please don't mind our up blaze is not nice yeah Chyna be really right now you got your bedroom pools come to give Haley a hand I found it hard I'm not gonna lie but I think they're finding it hard sometimes I spoke to understand that there is boundaries and that they can't go over their boundaries okay lice already talked so she doesn't want to add to the difficulties and challenge of their lives so adding these really strict boundaries he's something that Haley's not done and he saw a tough love approach he's gonna be critical in terms of trying to help her be successful and that's what I want to work on his opportunity comes at dinner time Shane's always refused to sit at the table for meals opting for the sofa instead and that's got a change nervous what you know show you now know what he's gonna create now okay so the key thing is not to go in there without a plan so what's the plan I'm just going in and I'm gonna put his dinner on the table right if you want to know he said the table of the table and that's it yeah make it very clear if he doesn't want to sit at the table he doesn't eat that's his choice well then if you know the new rule is it nice come and join us Paul believes mealtime should be a social event and by sitting at the table together parents can keep an eye on exactly what and how much the children have eaten I cake mom stand well aren't you close [Music] [Applause] the kids have been doing really well and I can see the chains in them already and this is a reward for me you know coming here let's have fun together and do something that's good for everybody ah good one professional I just needed that bit of encouragement off it where I'll be doing it on my own I suppose I we've shown tonight normally I suppose I would have let him sit there on the city and had his dinner but he only took about five minutes and he Danny so now I know that I will do that every night and he will sit on the table every night [Music] [Applause] five-year-old Eden and baby brother towel would just in the obese range I mean I appreciate you know there's one in four families like myself who don't particular coppice but could get that way and I've gotta make the changes now which is fine because it was gonna happen then maybe I'm doing it sooner rather than later [Music] mum Janine's been trying to stick to Paul's advice every mother likes to see their child eat but now you know I look up portion size you know he doesn't have to have the four squares of the sandwich I'll replace the other square with some carrots and cucumber and have a lots of salads fresh fruit around has helped a lot but Remy still isn't convinced about the new regime and it's leading to friction between the couple any stricter than I was before for the past two weeks Rama's been undermining Janine's efforts to get the children to eat more healthily he chose me lip glaze chocolate everything doughnuts with sugar a little and jam in the middle do you tell your mummy why not don't it show yeah I'm on a mission saying no no no and then he'll come home early and he's giving them little treats and I already said no and that's why it's so easy actually he's not around I'm in control of situation I understand but there's two kids maybe when they go up they will look after themselves that lose weight today they're at Leeds Metropolitan University for their six-week weigh-in with Professor Paul Gately when I measure them today I'm gonna look at the height and weigh and while I'm expecting C's not a huge weight losses but that they're growing out of their way that's the key to successful weight loss in children Hayley and Tim have travelled from London with their two sons Shane and Lewis because I've really tried I've stuck to everything I mean so obviously today's the day were in a game why did he said it would be scary actually six weeks ago Shane weighed nine and a half stone his body mass index was more than double what it should be that's me that's your smile okay Hayley this is what's called a BMI chart that's where he started BMI 36.4 his BMI is now moved down to 32 point 4 X so you know isn't that his huge progress he's dropped seven centimeters from his waist thankfully she's fantastic any other waist is important because that's where the health issues of course to employ diabetes and heart disease younger brother Lewis had also been piling on the pounds but it's more good news he's lost nearly half a stone and three BMI points that is a big drop so you've done really really well over the next 6 to 12 months if we can keep that the progress that you made up now Lewis should be getting into the that was unbelievable because I didn't actually think that they lost that much so yeah grace is up next grace is initial BMI was twenty four point two it's now twenty two point six happy with that yes I mean judging on how much she's lost in those weeks I mean how long would you say we took in a year or that's a great way to think she starts to think about months and years not days and weeks it's about long-term lifestyle changes I suspect six to twelve months away you'll be getting grace toward the normal weight range it's quite impressed with the results let's find out she's lost that much we must be doing a good job [Music] Janine and Rami haven't been seeing eye to eye about the new diet I'm not happy about it I want to talk about to Paul about it from day came into our house everything is change he's grown the children were both just in the obese range towels BMI has stayed the same but Eden's lost a few pounds she's now in the overweight category so she's moved down nearly a BMI point and a half which is quite a big drop actually I'm gonna carry on as I have been carrying off but you have got to work with me you can't be giving them kids I don't like the sick kids grind I'm wicking that point the question is what's more important than being upset when they're being denied things that they want or the future health risks I cannot answer that question you're the only person I can answer it for you it's your daughter I don't thinks we should be in this part I think I'm doing a pretty good job work very hard set the cart of my convictions about carry on Sonya's had a big challenge with five-year-old Teigen six weeks ago she had trouble doing any exercise now she's more active than she's ever been we got on measurement from Teague and it was six stone - okay she's now five stone eight nine eight pound change well done the other good thing is she's lost six centimeters from a weight and in terms of like a mobility and all who Cena already can see him moving around better she's much more mobile I'm ecstatic that I'm really happy Tegan's done so well we've all done so well I'm gonna give me five do you guys have done absolutely amazing the results speak for themselves the next step is just to keep that moving forward this isn't a quick fix this as a whole lifetime change for you and for your families as well these families got help but for most of the four and a half million overweight children in the UK this sort of opportunity simply doesn't exist there's no way on the air I could have done this on and I'm so happy that we managed to find out what to do in six months team she's going to be so much better so much healthier and that's going to be fat she's going to look magic [Music] [Music]

Channel: Real Stories

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Rating: 4.7545824 out of 5

Keywords: real stories, childhood obesity, childhood obesity documentary, childhood obesity documentary uk, childhood obesity full documentary, full documentary childhood obesity, documentary childhood obesity, childhood obesity in america documentary, obesity documentary, full length documentaries, overweight children, overweight children documentary, overweight children full documentary, full documentary overweight children, documentary overweight children, real stories channe

Id: HW_e8iFwL_s

Length: 44min 15sec (2655 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 06 2018