How many friends you knew were fat?

[Les Sherwood]

[code][/code]How many kids you knew were fat?
We read a lot about too many young people being obese today.
How many friends you had who were obese when you were young in the neighborhood?
I don’t think there a lot but I would like to hear some opinions.
From my viewpoint the main reason most kids at that time were not fat was that they were too active. Of course we did not eat as much fattening food.
We lived at a time and place that were very conducive to being active. We lived in a neighborhood that had hundreds or more of kids our own age, and it seemed that our days were filled with playing games of mostly unorganized sports like stickball, basketball, baseball, football, etc during the day at the schoolyards etc. and in the evening, especially in summer, playing group games like ring-a leveo (I still can't spell it), Johnny on the pony, etc. Along with having many friends around, most of us lived in small apartments and could not wait to get outside..
It seemed on days off from school we would be up early and out and not home till dinner, skipping lunch as most did not have too much money. We were doing something that burnt calories, usually much more that we had taken in.
It seemed we were always were going somewhere like to Bronx park, Orchard Beach or some place interesting, many time having to walk a long way. And parents encouraged us to get out and doing something, many times to get the kids out and give themselves a rest from the kids.
How many did we hear parents say “these kids are too skinny and we need to fatten them up”? Now the adults say “kids are not active enough and eat too much junk food”. And now “they “say we were healthier because we were so active.” Oh well!
What do you think?

[regina buckley emilio]

i agree. there are too many kids now, including mine, who are somewhat overweight. my older son just lost an entire person. i believe that invention of nintendo was a horror. i used to throw my kids out the door at 10 in the am. take them to the park. riding bicycles, whatever. nintendo came along and that is all they wanted to do.

we used to get up go out, hell we probably made plans with each other before we wnet to sleep the night before. we used to ride our bicycles on the side of the bronx river parkway. came home forlunch, half hour later, back out. fight the boys for the baseball field, so the girls could play softball once in a while. there was always a handball game going on. and during the summers the public school was open all day. you ran around all day, the guys played basketball at night and the girls got to play ping pong or pool. i still love to play pool. plus we had teen club on wednesday. again the guys played basketball, we girls danced.

there was always somoething to do. now they claim they are bored all the time. go figure. wlel, got to run, take the youngest to school.

[marie-elena (ferracano) r]

Hello friends,
I have to agree with you on this subject. I have had this conversation with friends, co-workers and my doctor. We did do a lot of playing outside, as kids. we played in the winter as much as the summer. we also used our imaginations, a lot more too. we played "Lost in Space". as well as pirates and other wonderful games we could think up. we had used sticks, rocks, bricks, any thing we could find in the gardens of 1574 and our imagination. no fancy toys. a playing card could go on a bike tire or be used as a secret pass in a spy game. nothing went to waste either. once in a while we would get "bored". but it was probably, when 1/2 our "crew was missing (ex: doing something with their familes). how could any of us (upper beach ave crew) ever get fat. when we weren't climb on 'statues" of 1574 or the lots on beach ave. we were riding our bikes around the 1574 beach ave block. at least 20 or 30 times. rocko the owner of the gas station,yelling at us for riding our bikes over the hose near his gas pumps. so the bell could ring. just ask Kenny, Ralph, Todd or Michael. throwing out the garbage was a hike. Or going to the store. which no kid ever did by themselves. You always had a friend "walk you". I don't know how many times i ran up and down the stairs to my best friend lisa's house. or up my driveway & stairs to my house. we had no cell phones. when the street lights came on, we knew it was time, to "go up". even if we were in 102 playground, we knew when to go home. i work in a school that goes from k-8th grade. i sometimes see kids going to the nurses office. for the silliest little reasons from falling, during recess. we use to fall off of bikes, roller skates. lets not forget how many things we fell off of at the park. or maybe your best friend did. i never cleaned out a new cut and got a band-aid on it. until i went home and took my bath before bed. then i could wash off all my scrapes and cuts. after all who wanted to take away time from being outside with friends. Sorry due to what ever reasons. we just don't let these kids be kids. My ortho doc told me that almost anyone over 30, has some form of arthritris or torn something in one of their legs. because we took so many falls as kids. but as the weather is now staring to get warmer. i start looking foward to sunsets getting later, every night. a habit i got into as a kid.it meant we could stay out a little later with our friends. some things from childhood, just can't be taken away. like wonderful memories. stay safe dear friends.

[Marion Farrell Cronin]

I don't really remember anyone of my friends, acquaintances, or schoolmates whom I would call fat. I myself was "plump" and certainly there were some people who were large, but nobody I can recollect was obese.

Actually, there was one person now that I think about it, but he did not go to St.Anthony's. He was morbidly obese and I think lived on Taylor near Tremont. I doubt very much that he is still alive, poor guy.

[Lydia58]

You know, I was thinking about it and I actually can think of quite a few kids in the neighborhood that were a bit plump. I won't name any names becasue that would be mean. I think the main issue is that being a little plump back then didn't have the same negative impact it has today. My God, I would hate to be a teenage girl now. If you're not a size 0, you think your fat. They didn't even have such a thing as a size 0 when I was a teenager. Back then, you could get away with a little extra weight and not be shunned. I mean, did anyone ever hear of anorexia and bulemia back then? I think kids now are bored. They aren't allowed to just simply go out and play. Everything is organized and planned. Parents are afraid to let their kids out of their sight. I understand their fear, but kids are not getting the same amount of exercise we got, unless their parents are fanatics who have them involved in every sport imaginable.

[MaureenBo]

My sister and I were chubby kids and we got persecuted for it like we were on the Top Ten Most Wanted list. Kids at school called us names all the time. Ahh, memories. Funny how you don't ever forget. To be fat was a super crime and people would rather their house burn down than gain 5 extra lbs. Hey I'm still fat and that's the way it is. Some people have it in their genes, some people just aren't active types (we aren't all athletic), and so on. When I was a kid I would rather read the Encyclopedia (and I did) than go outside and run around, though I did do my share of running around, too. I've always been studious, an academic and writer-type. My sister was naturally more athletic and loved dancing, so she's always been thinner than me. Of course she too had been chubby as a child and suffered for it.

I think when people treat you terribly because of your body type or size, there's a danger of becoming anorexic or bulimic or lowering your sense of worth. People don't realize how weight can leave permanent scars -- not so much because of the health problems but because of the truly vicious things people say and do to you when you don't fit into their idea of what you should look like.

And I might add that being thin doesn't equal being healthy. My hubby is thin as a rail and still has elevated cholesterol and eats a lot of junk which he shouldn't. People who are thin sometimes get the idea that because they're thin they don't need to worry about their health or eat low fat and healthful things.

[Lydia58]

Maureen,
I'm sorry you had such a negative experience regarding you weight. I think you're a bit younger than me. I wonder if things were changing already. Kids are mean. They will pick on you for anything and everything. Even if you're perfect, they'll make something up. I just think that overall it was not necessary to be rail thin as it is today, especially for a girl. I was never skinny, but I was never overweight (as a child/teenager). I just think that things are much worse now.

[MaureenBo]

Yep if you're thin you get called names too, and if you're beautiful the kids will hate you for that. Kids can be so cruel!

[Lydia58]

It's funny. So many people write on this site about how great it was growing up, and it was. I loved the old neighborhood and honestly wish I could live there now, but I wouldn't want to be a kid/teen-ager again for anything. You just have no control over anything and you're completely at the mercy of your parents and surroundings. I like being a grown-up better. Even if I'm a fat grown-up.

[MaureenBo]

Hee hee Lydia, it's true! It wasn't ALL fun. I remember some mean folks at St Anthony's and mean teachers, mean kids, mean neighbors. I remember a guy who was dead in our alleyway and another guy who was in the lobby of our building who'd been shot. The condition of the buildings on Beach Ave wasn't anything to rave about in the 80's, either. Our landlord (Louis Freedman) really let the place go to pot! Our building was purchased by Gilbert Peart in the late 80's and that's when they started changing the windows and painting and doing more for the building. We still had problems with the ceilings sometimes literally caving in, plaster falling off the walls, tiles falling into the tub and panes of glass in the windows that were loose. We sure had our share of yucky times in the Bronx! It may have been a LOT better in the 40's and 50's and 60's but I think when I lived there (70's and 80's) its heyday was already long gone.

[Lydia58]

You're absolutely right. I moved out in 1980 and it was already time to go. I knew when I was parked in front of my apartment building on Leland Ave at 2am (looking for a parking spot) and a cop made me show him proof that I lived there. He thought I was buying drugs, I guess. My building needed a lot of work also. I think the landlord (Pete) wanted my mom & dad out because the rent they were paying was so low. The people moving in on welfare were paying much higher rents and they were getting repairs. My bedroom was so cold we would sleep with our coats on. The snow would blow right through the window panes. Ah, the good old days. We're going to get thrown off this site for complaining. I remember when I was about 5 or 6, so you're talking the mid 60's there were 2 junkies shooting up on our roof landing and my mother invited them in for hot soup because she thought they looked sick (it was a guy and a girl.) I remember telling her, "I don't think you should let them in, they look scary." So yeah, it had its ups and downs even back then. But I think we learned some serious life lessons there. These stupid kids in Long Island are screwing around with heroin like it's candy and they're dropping dead like flies. Very scary stuff.