Overweight toddler

[CMMum88]

My toddler is insatiable and has become overweight. Currently shes having heaps of fruit/carrot/cucumber as snacks as she constantly complains of hunger. I think I need to take her to the doctor after lockdown is over as she is packing on weight but just crys for food all the time.

A current day looks like this-

Breakfast - two weetabix and a banana
Morning tea - rice crackers, cheese.
Lunch - wholemeal pita bread with hummus or ham, grapes, carrot, cucumber, mandarin.
Afternoon tea- yoghurt. Maybe a sweet treat if we have baked. Maybe some plain popcorn if DP has made some.
Dinner- some sort of meat or fish with steamed veg and potato/pasta or stir fry on rice with lots of veggies plus some meat.

We rarely have dessert. I do give in and give her food when she crying for it but that tends to be a piece of fruit whereas she wants biscuits or bread all time. It is not helping being in the house all the time.

Arghh posted too soon.

What do people think? What can we do to feed her better or help her manage her hunger? I have been wondering whether I should be giving her a lunchbox so I can put a healthy amount in it but she can control how she is eating through the day.

How old is she? how over weight is she? How much milk is she drinking?

That seems pretty similar to my son's diet. He's 16 months. We don't have an afternoon snack though.
We give him 1.5 Weetabix in the morning with fruit. Sometimes banana but most usually a peeled and chopped pear.
It sounds like your girl has a healthy diet.
Is she walking because that'll make a difference

Lunch doesn't seem very filling, can you add more protein? Ditto for breakfast, scrambled eggs or Greek yoghurt with fruit. I'd be amazed by weight gain on that amount if portions are the right size. How overweight are we talking?

I would say breakfast and lunch could be more filling for her. For breakfast maybe try eggs or beans on toast? For lunch go for baked potato, left overs from dinner or maybe soup and a sandwich. She seems to eat a lot of fruit but it may be that she needs some more protein to stay full.

Definitely needs to be getting more protein and fat, nut butters, more eggs, more meat or fish etc.

I would also add more protein. Eggs for breakfast or porridge, weetabix is not very filling. What about adding some lentils into the pita as well?

Also limit her fruit due to the natural sugars and let her eat lots of veg.

You do seem to be doing all the right things though! Make sure she gets lots of good exercise. So PE with Jo and an hours walk at the moment.

That doesn't seem too much. Plus it is healthy food.

Which begs the question - why is she over weight?

Firstly, is she really overweight? How old is she and how have you judged that she weighs too much?

How much is she drinking during the day? What is she drinking? Is she drinking anything at night?

@FATEdestiny I feel she shouldn't be so hungry all the time with what she is eating, she is having full toddler sized plates of food and we don't give her small portions of protein, she will have a whole fish fillet, a piece of steak etc.

She is 2.5 years old and is visibly overweight with a large tummy. Shes 50th centile height and 90th centile weight the last time she was seen.

She hates eggs unfortunately but I will try her on porridge. Just greek yoghurt and fruit for breakfast would leave her hungry, she would want toast too with that. Maybe I need to up her carbs and give her two sandwiches at lunch?

She drinks water mainly with some milk. She always has a water bottle around.

More carbs won't help, her diet is quite carby anyway.

If she won't eat eggs try other protein such as chicken or fish. If not I would give more carbs (plus ideally something like a nut butter/avocado) and focus on how much exercise she's doing. Its tricky at the moment but make sure a lot of her day is spent moving as opposed to stationary play.

When the human body is hungry, it tells you you want carbs. So you eat all the toast in the world. But, you're still hungry a little while later.
That's because what you REALLY need to feel full for longer, is protein.

Greek yogurt, cheese, nuts, eggs, meats, pulses, soya products... That'll fill a person much longer than more toast.

Yes I think her diet is quite sugary. Natural sugars I know but they won’t fill her up

She drinks water mainly with some milk. She always has a water bottle around.

How much us she actually drinking?

I have 600ml bottles for example, at 2-3 years old I would expect to have around 3 bottles full during the day - say 1500-2000ml. Plus milk (250ml) at bedtime.

Toddlers (and adults!) often say they are hungry when in fact they are dehydrated and thirsty. The first thing I say to my (older) children if they declare hunger between meals is "is your water bottle empty?" If it is, I fill it and tell them to come back to me when they've drank it. They know not to ask for between-meal snacks if they have not first emptied their water beakers.

Boredom can also be a significant reason for declaring hunger. This may be particularly obvious right now, due yo lockdown. I'd be inclined just to not stress about issues stemming from boredom just now, no one can help it. Just tolerate the status quo until lockdown (and associated boredom) is over.

She is 2.5 years old and is visibly overweight with a large tummy. Shes 50th centile height and 90th centile weight the last time she was seen.

We've not got to the bottom of why she is overweight.

The food diary you have

• is healthy food, well balanced.
• is not too much. In fact my toddler would have been hungry most of the time and would have rated a lot more than that at a similar age.
• is drinking healthily, with water and milk.

So - something is amiss. There is no reason there for your child to be overweight. My suggestions would be:

● Genetic - she's going to be tall and is just waiting for height to catch up
● Your perception of her weight is wrong
● her weight/height measurements are incorrect because she's changed since taken
● You have not given a fair representation if her average daily diet
● there are hidden treat / high calorie foods in there over the week which are not accounted for
● secret eating / feeding (? Unlikely but possible)
● medical issues

Is she active enough, especially in lockdown? Could you focus on increasing her activity levels and see whether that makes a difference? That might also help to distract her and help to regulate her appetite.

How is her sleep?

Maybe she's not hungry, maybe she's bored and that's the quickest and easiest way she knows to fill her time. Mine often ask for food when they are bored (just like adults over eat from boredom). How are you occupying her?

Would switching to a bigger warm meal at lunch help and something lighter in the evening help? Easy enough during lock down