I know the obvious answer: get him to exercise more and eat less food, especially less fatty and sweet stuff. My problem is that he was severely underweight for the first four years of his life, so doctors recommended a very high fat, high sugar diet. Eventually it worked and he got an appetite but now it's unstoppable. As he was always in pain when he ate due to chronic reflux, he never learned to associate food with hunger, and satisfying hunger. He was forced to eat when he didn't want to and now he has no natural brakes on his appetite. He's now nearly 9 and his BMI says he is well overweight, half way to being obese. He doesn't look it. He's very sturdily built any way - chunky bones, and stocky body but he does have a chubby tummy with cellulite on it.
We have a healthy(ish) diet - freshly cooked meals every day - not fatty, always eat 5 a day, but he seems to constantly ask for snacks. I do say no, but often find he's helped himself to yoghurts (3 a day sometimes) and big glasses of juice and milk. If I see, I gently suggest water instead, and am not buying yoghurts as often as I used to, but this doesn't seem to have made much difference.
Is it best to try and just stabilise his weight and wait for his height to grow into it iyswim, or should I be actively helping him reduce? He is 132cm and weighs 34.8 kg.
I'd love to hear from people who successfully helped their children lose weight or get slim. I have horrible memories of my sister being put on diets as a child and she is now medically obese. She hated all that denial so as soon as she had control of her own food she crammed full of sweets and crisps and never stopped. I do let my children have treats every day because of this, as I don't want them to be these forbidden temptations. But he doesn't seem to have more than other kids do. (E.g Quavers a smoothie and a frube in packed lunch, small cake or couple of biscuits after school.) Is that far too much every day?
Sorry this is long. I realise I feel very emotional about his weight. I spent so many years trying to coax him to eat, and feeding him up, I probably didn't ease off soon enough. I can't bear now trying to stop him from eating so heartily, but know I have to change that attitude.
All tips welcome.
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How do you help a child lose weight?
37 replies
menagerie · 17/06/2011 00:05
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