Tina Hobley bans the word 'diet' in her home

Working out right up until she delivered and eating from a sensible low-fat, low-carb menu has Tina Hobley in great shape for only being 8-weeks postpartum with daughter Olivia Kitty Alice.  But the 36-year-old UK actress — also mom to 8-year-old Isabella — says that she won’t rely on plastic surgery to maintain that physique as she ages, because she’s keenly aware of the dangers of raising two body-conscious daughters.  Tina revealed that "the word diet is banned" in the home she shares with husband Oliver Wheeler.

My daughter is only eight, but she and all her mates know about fat content on food labels. It is petrifying. It’s no surprise so many children are developing eating disorders.

Isabella is Tina’s daughter with ex-husband Steve Wallington; Tina and Oliver were married in 2006.

Source:  The Mirror; Photo by Simon James/WireImage.

Comments

Sarita on June 16th, 2008

The word diet can’t harm your children, it’s the attitude you have against food in their every day life that will influence them.

And there is nothing wrong with reading the labels on products, it’s healthy! Know what you eat and how to stay healthy. Eating disorders are not healthy but neither is being overweight.

phoebe on June 16th, 2008

There is something wrong with reading the labels and being conscious of what it all means for your body at 8! That should be something left to the parents to worry about for the kids! Good on Tina, she’s doing the right thing and she seems like a fantastic mummy because of it. Children should not be thinking about dieting at Isabella’s age, that’s so very worrying.

xena on June 16th, 2008

I totally agree … the other day I saw an article calling a 1 year old baby overweight. This is not healthy this is paranoia.

Sarita on June 16th, 2008

There is a difference between dieting and eating healthy. Eating healthy is something that should be taught from a young age.

I agree it’s not healthy for anyone, especially a young girl, to read the labels to lose weight but there is no harm in a young girl seeing her mother read labels to see what’s healthy and what is not.

cm on June 16th, 2008

hmmm. i agree with Sarita to an extent/ My younger sister is very overweight (she just turned 13) but has been so since the age of 7 or so. I also have a young cousin (now 11) who has also been overweight since she was 7 or so. My aunt tried to look over her eating habits but unfortunately while at school my cousin trades for things at school, she also sneaks extra food at home. She almost always wants seconds. I think there are times when parents should teach their children about portion control and reading labels. Not all children grow out of being overweight and some people need to monitor their diet more than other (meaning watching what and how much they eat).

MB on June 16th, 2008

i agree with the focus on being eating healthy and not dieting. the word “diet” has come to have additional meanings (at least in american culture). for a lot of young girls it has come to be something all mommies do (whether the women are overweight or not) and the connotations have caused them to have unrealistic ideas and expectations of their own bodies. there are exceptions, as cm pointed out, but i think many of us would agree there has become a problem across the country with little girls being preoccupied with their weight.

C on June 16th, 2008

I think it’s important for a kid to know that eating fruit and vegetables is better than eating candies all day. However an 8 year-old who reads the food labels and understands what is on them would be cause for concern. Believe me, I’m a doctor and my husband works in psychiatry and every year he sees an increasement in the number of children-and I mean children, not teenagers- who are admitted for eating disorders. It is really starting to raise some serious concern in the medical world (of course so is obesity).

UggaMugga.com on June 16th, 2008

My children are 4 and 2 (a son and a daugther) and we have always spoken openly about what is healthy and what is unhealthy. We’re vegetarians (my kids and me…not my husband, he’s a true carnivore) so we’ve always talked about what’s in food, where it comes from and how it’s made.

I believe it’s important to teach your children early on to be conscious of healthy eating and living…for health reasons, not body image reasons. And I believe that if you teach your children to eat healthily and to exercise, there won’t be any need for body image issues to arise.

At least there never was in my family where my father taught my brother and I from an early age the lessons of eating and exercising to be healthy…not to look good. But it just so happens that at 33 with two kids and another on the way that I’m now thankful for both advantages from a healthy lifestyle!

Kirstin on June 17th, 2008

I suffered an eating disorder in mid high school on into my early 20′s. I think it is excellent what she is doing! I just had my daughter 5 weeks ago and I am on the same track with mine once she is older. I will really do my best to always instill amazing body image in her and try to keep her on the right track as far as what is healthy and what is not & confidence from within. I want her to know that beauty is from within and that being healthy is GOOD…being super thin and concerned about body image is NOT. I TOTALLY agree with what she is doing and wholeheartedly agree!!!

Lauren on June 17th, 2008

If you look in any dictionary the meaning of diet is food and drink regularly provided, it is not supposed to mean atkins diet or in any other way, it was later changed to meaning cut out certain foods to lose weight. I know when you go to the doctor a lot of times they ask you what your diet is meaning what you eat every day.