...this kid is it. (http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006020536,00.html)

By ALASTAIR TAYLOR for The Sun Online

A LAD who only ate chips, toast and baked beans was killed by his junk diet — aged just 20.

After years of unhealthy eating, Scott Martin’s liver began to fail, he developed hepatitis and his blood would not clot.

Sixteen-stone Scott refused a life-saving liver transplant because he was too scared and was so weak he needed a wheelchair.

He finally bled to death after an op to remove three infected teeth.

His devastated family told yesterday how they had tried to get Scott to eat proper food since childhood.

His sister Gail Fairweather said: “Scott would never eat any fruit or vegetables. There were only a few things he would eat — McDonald’s chips were his favourite.

“He would eat toast — but only if it was made from sliced white Danish bread, with a thin spreading of Lurpak butter.

“ He would eat baked beans, but only Morrisons’ own brand and only now and then.

“He was always like that, from being little. Finding stuff he would eat was such a struggle.”

Scott, of Sunderland, fell ill last year and at first his family thought he had flu. Mum-of-six Gail said: “He was tired all the time and could not walk far. He got out of breath very quickly and could barely get across the room.”

Medics discovered liver problems — although he rarely drank. Scott was sent to a dietician after refusing the transplant — but didn’t like nutritional supplements on offer.

Doctors insisted on the teeth op, fearing Scott would be killed by blood poisoning — but afterwards his gums would not stop bleeding.

Mum Margaret, 48, said: “The hardest thing is he was so young. I’d do anything to have him back.”

Perils of too many carbs

SCOTT’S liver may have been damaged by the huge quantities of carbohydrate he ate.

Dietician Catherine Collins, of St George’s Hospital, South London, said: “He probably exceeded the limit on a regular basis.

Doing that can cause a fatty liver and lead to liver disease.”

Err, I guess...but it sounds rather sensational. Classic poor reporting by the media.

Sounds more like a genetic issue than poor diet. I'm not discrediting his diet....but sometimes when your number's up, it's up. You try to blame anything and everything for it. What I mean is that this kid could have ate really well and maybe sqeezed out, I dunno, 5 more years (I'm being generous). In the end he would have died from the same thing.

Yes he had a really horrible diet but something sounds fishy about the way it was reported. Maybe it's just 'cuz it's the Sun?

His devastated family told yesterday how they had tried to get Scott to eat proper food since childhood.



What they MEANT to say:



His irresponsible parents told yesterday how they couldn't be arsed to take responsibility for their child, gleefully taking him to McDonalds since he was three.

His irresponsible parents told yesterday how they couldn't be arsed to take responsibility for their child, gleefully taking him to McDonalds since he was three.

Interesting point.... I know my kids give me flak over certain foods but the general rule at my house is finish your plate or that's all you get.... if they don't finish and ask for something else later....guess what I pull out of the fridge.

They eventually see it my way. ;)

Some kids can be really picky though. My brother once had a 2.5 hour standoff with his daughter regarding something she refused to eat :(

The uninformed or people with blinders may think their doing the kid a favour in that they think it's better to eat "something" rather than nothing.
Maybe they were embarassed to admit they couldn't understand the problem?
Maybe they didn't know how to ask for help?
Maybe it wasn't really the same 3 items everyday and this has been overblown as a "speculative" cause?
Who really knows?
It'd be hard to judge the parents without knowing all the facts or basing it from simply a "sensational" article in one paper. It didn't mention that they were being charged with negligence in any way.

What they MEANT to say...
:tucool:

Or...

Mum Margaret, 48, said: “The hardest thing is he was so young. I’d do anything to have him back.”

Change that to:

Mum Margaret, 48, said: “The hardest thing is he knowing I may have been able to prevent this.”

Agreed, it is definitely his parents responsibility, at least till he's 18. But aside from the bad parenting my point was that getting out of shape isn't the only thing that can happen from eating poorly- there are other serious health concerns to take into consideration as well.

I recall reading an article sometime last year about a guy who got SCURVY because he was eating a diet of soda and cheetos or something like that. The doctor didn't even recognize what it was at first because really, who the heck gets scurvy nowadays!? They got him to start eating a bit healthier and start taking vitamin C tablets and it went away. Jeez. It's not *that* hard to eat a few things to keep yourself healthy!!

On the other hand...

My older brother eats exactly these things:
Plain pasta with salt (no butter or sauce)
Roast beef
Plain mashed potatoes with salt
Turkey
Toast with butter, cinnamon and sugar
Popcorn (popped in coconut oil)
Peanut butter & jelly on white bread
Potato chips
Coca-cola

That's it. His entire diet, since he was about six years old, when our parents gave up force-feeding him because he would throw up after eating something he didn't like. He's turning 40 this year, and is a little overweight, but his job is incredibly physically demanding and he plays ice hockey three nights per week.

All his doctors say that every test is perfectly normal. No high blood sugar, blood pressure is fine, low cholesterol, etc. The man could live off air if he wanted to.

My Uncle John is 86, and eats an even more limited diet than that. He cheerfully says he's never had a vegetable in his life. He goes for a 2 mile walk every day, rain or shine, cold or heat. Never been in the hospital, never had a major illness.

Me, if I skip vegetables and fruits for two days in a row, I feel ill. Somehow, I think some of my relatives are made of something other than human genetic material. :confused:

On the other hand...

My older brother eats exactly these things:
Plain pasta with salt (no butter or sauce)
Roast beef
Plain mashed potatoes with salt
Turkey
Toast with butter, cinnamon and sugar
Popcorn (popped in coconut oil)
Peanut butter & jelly on white bread
Potato chips
Coca-cola

That's it. His entire diet, since he was about six years old, when our parents gave up force-feeding him because he would throw up after eating something he didn't like. He's turning 40 this year, and is a little overweight, but his job is incredibly physically demanding and he plays ice hockey three nights per week.

Jeez, I wanna be that guy!! :D

Did they mean that he ate too many "simple" carbs (processed)?

Or were they referring to all carbs (long-chain included)?

Can you get liver damage from eating too much 100 percent whole grain bread?

I eat lots of carbs (good ones), and now you've got me in a cold sweat...:eek: :eek: :eek: :o

I think you're okay, Hevy. You eat other stuff too, right?? :D

One thing that bothered me about this article was the line, "After years of unhealthy eating, Scott Martin’s liver began to fail, he developed hepatitis and his blood would not clot." As far as I know, hepatitis is a viral infection, not at all related to diet. I'd say this kid had a number of other problems in addition to his diet that caused his death.

Err, I guess...but it sounds rather sensational. Classic poor reporting by the media.

Sounds more like a genetic issue than poor diet. I'm not discrediting his diet....but sometimes when your number's up, it's up. You try to blame anything and everything for it. What I mean is that this kid could have ate really well and maybe sqeezed out, I dunno, 5 more years (I'm being generous). In the end he would have died from the same thing.

Yes he had a really horrible diet but something sounds fishy about the way it was reported. Maybe it's just 'cuz it's the Sun?

I agree. Healthy eating's definitely important. But I don't really understand the causal link from this account...

As far as I know, hepatitis is a viral infection, not at all related to diet. I'd say this kid had a number of other problems in addition to his diet that caused his death.

Yeah. Hep is a VIRUS.
Maybe he was shootin' up lard with dirty needles.

Hepatitis is a liver disease. The connection the article is making is that the bad diet the kid had put his liver in such a bad state so that it had no chance of recovery after being hit by hepatitis. Depending on the type of hepatitis, recovery is usually expected in a normal person.

Xingcat, your brother had beef, turkey and potatoes. Potatoes are incredibly nutritious, probably the single most nutritious food, or one of at least. It's not a terrible diet.

Compare that to chips, toast and baked beans. Baked beans, healthy? Sure. Full of protein and fibre. But this is the UK, and baked beans come in tin cans filled with tomato sauce, which is basically ketchup. Not so good anymore. Plus he's not really getting a diversity of nutrients in that diet. I can see how he died, but yah I can agree that genetics probably played a part. Nutrional genomics!!! :)

It was pretty big news in the UK yestarday. Wasn't just reported in the Sun.

Xingcat, your brother had beef, turkey and potatoes. Potatoes are incredibly nutritious, probably the single most nutritious food, or one of at least. It's not a terrible diet.

Compare that to chips, toast and baked beans. Baked beans, healthy? Sure. Full of protein and fibre. But this is the UK, and baked beans come in tin cans filled with tomato sauce, which is basically ketchup. Not so good anymore. Plus he's not really getting a diversity of nutrients in that diet. I can see how he died, but yah I can agree that genetics probably played a part. Nutrional genomics!!! :)
Mixing baked beans with tomato sauce doesn't make the "bean" part of the meal any less nutrient-filled, just gives the meal added sugar and calories, just as deep frying a potato in oil doesn't give the potato less nutrients, it just adds fats to the meal. I've never heard of a potato being the single most nutritious food. They do not make the list of the top five vegetables (http://health.ivillage.com/eating/ewproduce/0,,445g,00.html), nor this list of the top 14 (http://wholehealth.homestead.com/nutritious.html). I'll stick with my sweet potatoes, broccoli and spinach.

It's impossible to give a good assessment of a diet based on a list of foods eaten, without knowing in what quantities and timing the foods are eaten.

Well I suppose defining "most nutritious" and the guidelines for being a top vegetable/food depends on whether or not you make the list.
You can virtually live on potatoes it's so diverse in nutrients, is what I mean.