. My now 14yr old is addicted to sweet food

[Notwaving01]

I am now getting desperate. When she was young my daughter used to be called ft btch by her father (ex not so dh) who saw nothing wrong with it. She now has a very unhealthy liking for sweet and rubbish food. Unfortunately my mother was a serial dieter who passed her food neuroses to me and I try but have yo-yo'd all my life.
I don't know how to help my daughter who has been v ill this term so I have been supportive but maybe in the wrong way.

I don't think it's about food. It's about other overwhelming feelings & problems which we don't cope with well, so we focus on comfort from something safe & fundamental (like food).

Not much help I guess, I think maybe find out & make progress towards fixing what else in her life she could be happier about (could fix or face up to better) and the food won't be such a big deal.

Is she becoming (or already) overweight? Or does she simply prefer junk food?

Tbh, I think it's better to focus on providing healthy food opportunities for children rather than overly commenting on their diet. If you stop buying chocolate and have a fruit bowl on the table (for easy access) then she may be, for example, more likely to snack on an apple than a chocolate bar.

If she doesn't have any weight issues, then just work on improving her diet - and buy some multivitamins in the short-term. For weight purposes, it's not what you eat but how much you eat. It is entirely possibly to live entirely on chocolate and crisps and be as skinny as a rake... you'd just be an extremely unhealthy rake with vitamin deficiencies!

If she does have weight issues... increased exercise, (again) gentle dietary changes and - if reassuring - a quick word with the practice nurse for dietary advice (as she is still a growing child). Any sports she likes? Maybe a new hobby such as swimming or horse-riding? Dance classes? (Dance is always a nice choice as it isn't 'obvious' exercise!) Do you have a pet dog that she take for a walk? (Or is there a neighbour's dog that can be borrowed? Tell her it's to earn pocket money. lol) And so on.

GL xx

Thank you both for your support. I need to break my bad habits to give her the example. She is not overweight but at 5'11" is more statuesque than waif like.

The no rubbish food in the house issue is a great idea but I need a certain amount to feed up my son who does so much sport he needs constantly feeding or he starts ketosis.

My dd has now taken up daily gym sessions and hopefully with real food will head back to normality.