It is clear that the participants’ understanding is that obesity is a very negative issue. However, there is also evidence that they understand the complexity of the condition and are also aware being underweight maybe as much of a problem. The older children in this study seemed to understand that it is a complex issue and fully grasped the concept of moderation. They often refer to the fact that you can have a small amount of things that maybe classified as unhealthy, as long as you don’t eat them all the time or balance them out with exercise. I: And what sort of things for eating well? *: Like fruit and vegetables. *: Some Sugar. *: If you eat vegetables and fruit and you might get back to underweight. *: And you want to be in the middle. *: You need a bit of fat on you. This category of Fat is Bad highlights an issue that clouds all the children’s understandings of issues surrounding obesity and that is of conflicting mes- sages. This notion of mixed messages forms the final theme evident in the data. Mixed messages The evidence presented here would suggest the information intended to educate and inform chil- dren is often met with equal amounts of contra- dictory or confusing messages and behaviours. The result of this is easily demonstrated by comparing what the children know they should be doing with what they actually talk about doing. For the majority of the participants their knowledge did not always match with their described behaviour, their food preferences often overriding their knowledge. This was perhaps not so surprising; knowledge does not by any means dictate behaviour. I: Do you have breakfast most mornings? Do you normally have some breakfast, what do you normally have for breakfast? *: Miss I have chocolate cookies. I: What did you have for your tea last night? *: I just had for my supper. I: What did you have last night for your supper? *: Err sandwiches, cake and I: What about what did you have last night for your tea? *: Pizza Girls reception Children’s understandings’ of obesity I: *: You eat two, two pieces of fruit? Yes, cos my mam chops it into two halves. Boys reception Conflict existed in a number of forms in the under- standings expressed by the participants. It is worth reiterating that the younger girls who participated believed treatment for obesity was to go to the hospital and have an operation*something they have picked up from a TV documentary*this conflicts with diet and exercise education they receive at school. Other participants gave more specific and direct examples of receiving contradictory information. This ranged from conflicts in direct health messages to conflicting information and action between school and home. They felt that at times it was difficult to know which information was the right information, not only was it conflicting but it was forever changing. And people say if you make fruit smoothies its healthy for you but it said in the news some- thing about being obese again it said that if you drink a smoothie one a day you’ll put on 13 pounds, that’s nearly a stone in a year. I: What about at home? You know if you’re taught all this stuff at school what happens when you go home? Do Mum and Dad teach you the same things or is it different? *: Different I: And why is it different? *: I eat more sweets. Boys year 6 Girls year 6 In addition to this, older children also pointed out they felt that healthy lifestyle information wasn’t always delivered in the correct manner, there was a belief that stigmatising people who were overweight was negative. There was an awareness that there is a psychological aspect to overeating, and in some individuals it is this that needs to be addressed. Moreover, there was a feeling again demonstrated solely by the older participants that being over- weight/obese could be difficult to rectify and main- taining a healthy weight could be a challenge. *: So you need to be in the middle. I: Is it easy to stay in the middle? *: No, because sometimes you can’t be bothered to eat well and exercise. I: *: Do you think it’s quite easy to lose weight? Yes Girls year 6 Girls year 6 *: Citation: Int J Qualitative Stud Health Well-being 2011; 6: 7170 - DOI: 10.3402/qhw.v6i3.7170 9 (page number not for citation purpose)