I’m looking for help/advice with my 12 year old DS. He has never been a skinny child but he started to gain more weight after starting high school and having more freedom and he’s now slightly overweight. He is around 5ft 6 (maybe slightly taller) and is just over 60kg which puts him at the 91st centile on the NHS website. I don’t particularly care about the figures etc but I can tell it’s starting to get to him.
You wouldn’t think it looking at him with good fitting clothes on but he carries weight around his torso - he’s got a bit of a belly, some rolls and if I’m being honest, moobs 😞. Obviously in PE at school they have to change and I know he’s been getting a bit of abuse for it which breaks my heart. He doesn’t want to go back to school after the holidays and I know this is a big part of why. His legs/arms/face are absolutely fine and he’s actually pretty fit. He plays sports 4-5 times a week and is fitter than at least half of the skinnier boys on his team. He also goes to the gym a couple of times a week (just recently started) and is pretty strong.
Normally breakfast is a couple of boiled eggs with a bagel and apple juice or tea (no sugar, green milk), a bowl of Cheerios (a massive bowl tbf) or three weetabix. Lunch at the moment is generally two ham and cheese wraps (wholemeal), baked potato and cheese or leftover pasta dishes with a yoghurt and some fruit/veg (cucumber/tomatoes etc). Dinner is usually some kind of pasta dish served with a side salad, maybe pizza once a week, sometimes chicken dippers/waffles/veg for a quick meal. Snacks are fruit (favorites are currently blueberries and watermelon, yoghurts (Aldi split pots), digestive biscuits, croissants/pan au chocolate, oat biscuits - not all in the one day obviously, spread over the week. He does have maybe a muffin or a cake or something a few times a week and sometimes he will have a Greggs or a McDonalds, maybe once a fortnight. School lunches are hard as he goes out and buys his own - I think it’s generally salt and chilli chips or noodles or something pretty unhealthy. He doesn’t really like fizzy juice and drinks a lot of water. He stays with his dad a few times a week and I’m not able to discuss what he eats there. Also goes away every few months for the weekend with family where I know he eats a tonne of crap (like 2.5 tubs of Ben and Jerries this weekend) but it’s not a regular thing.
Can anyone give any advice on if I’m doing anything wrong or could do better? I’m not a great cook, I hate cooking but I will take any advice on board although I don’t want to restrict him as he always seems to be hungry as it is. Or has anyone else’s son been a bit like this and it’s changed naturally? He’s not really hit puberty yet other than a few hairs on his legs and armpits. I am 5 foot 8 and most of the males across both sides of the family are over 6 foot tall - is he likely to just lose it if he takes a stretch? I’ve always been naturally skinny so I don’t understand what he’s going through but my heart breaks for him. He’s such a lovely kid and I know how cruel other kids can be. Wish I could just click my fingers and make it better for him.