In defense of a hot mom on Facebook and fat children in England

The other day I read this great article in The Daily Mail.  It was written by a health professional at a weight management center, or centre as he would write.  This morning I was greeted with the obvious bait link of a headline, “Hot Mom on Facebook Defends Herself”.  That story was not what I thought it would be, but it was also a great read about motivation, exercise and parenting.  I simply combined the two stories in my head to come up with the train wreck of a headline: In Defense of a hot mom on Facebook and fat children in England.

Both stories have similarities, but in the end it boils down to this:  the hot mom on Facebook is responsible for her own self and the children in England need to play more soccer, eat fewer sweets and have parents who set boundaries.

The Fat Children in England

To be fair, the statistics and situations that the health professional described could happen anywhere, not just in England.  He tells the story of a 12 year old boy that weighs 15 stone (over 200 pounds)and  is getting bullied at school-when he shows up.   The boy’s mother, who is obese also, insists that he eats healthy food and that this isn’t a problem.

The boy’s mother also refuses to use the term ‘fat’.

Certainly every child’s story is unique and some may not be driven by their parents.  However, the doctor said that his office sees hundreds of parents and children like him every week.  A third of children in the UK are overweight or obese and the vast majority of the parents take the news the same way that this mother did, by doing nothing.

I can offer a defense for the children, but not for the parents.  When you’re a parent you regulate what your children eat and putting that much weight on a body that is still growing is neglect.  Kids don’t know the power of exercise and how it makes the body function.

I’m no Johnny fitness; I eat a bit of junk food and do love some beer, but also am active because I want to live comfortably as long as possible.

The Hot Mom on Facebook

Maria Kang is a hot mom who has a blog about life, parenting and working out.  She’s a fitness enthusiast from California that posted a ‘fitsperation’ post with the ages of her three young children stating, ‘What’s your excuse’?

She posted that photo over a year ago, but recently traffic picked up and she started receiving lots of comments.  The majority of the comments were positive, but some were negative, calling her a poor mother, accused her of body shaming others and a bully.

Kang had issues with her weight in the past and the photo, according to her, was meant to inspire and motivate others with their workouts.  I understand the lack of time in raising two boys during the day.  My work outs have scaled down and occasionally they flat out disappear, but I’m responsible for it.

If I really wanted to have 6 pack abs I’d wake up at 5:30 AM and work out before the kids woke up.  The onus is entirely on me.

To me the hot mom on Facebook is no different than the meme that you might have seen about the marathon runner.  The runner in the picture was older, not in the best physical shape, but was wearing a shirt that said on the back, “I’m 65 years old, have bad knees and a bad back-but I’m ahead of you”.

Why are people more apt to ridicule a 32 year old mother than the 65 year old runner?  They’re both exercising, trying to inspire others and doing what they want without hurting anyone.

Criticizing her won’t do any good, she’s happy, has a healthy family and a war hero for a husband, so kudos to them.

What’s your take on the hot mom on Facebook or the doctor’s story?