Overweight children help needed

[stormmclean]

I weighed and measured my 7 and 10 year olds today and they are both overweight - the 7 year old by about 3kg and the 10 year old by about 5kg. Both 97th percentile for BMI.

Friends and family all tell me not to worry, they're just a sturdy/stocky build and the worst thing I can do is mention their weight or give them body issues but I do really want to tackle their weight.

We eat fairly healthily, I think it would be easier if we could just cut out biscuits, juice or puddings but they don't really have those things.
They do both have big appetites so I know that volume of food is the issue but I'm struggling with how to cut down without them feeling like I'm putting them on a diet.

Has anyone successfully managed to get their kids to a healthy weight?

I'm only a childhood education expert what the fuck do i know

My son is 14 and is very overweight, 99th sentile.
BUT if I change his date of birth to make him 18 he's a perfect weight.
So I've decided to ignore it as it makes no sense to me.
My nearly 3 year old is overweight but has only just started walking and can't run/climb/use ride on toys or anything so I'm hoping as her mobility gets better she will lose a little weight.
I think its easier said than done but it's always a case of increasing exercise and reducing calories

It’s a catch-22 at your preschooler’s age. She might not be running / climbing / using ride ons because she’s overweight. The best thing to do is maximise the exercise she can do - even if it means taking her for walks for an hour

I have two skinny kids and one who tends towards weight gain, she has been the upper end of a healthy weight all along but tipped into the overweight range last year at 11. I measured everything I was giving her and put it into my fitness pal and saw the culprits basically. I really recommend doing this (without letting the child know) A lot of it was portion sizes of particular things. And it involved making very small adjustments.

It's not necessary to cut peanut butter. Is it 100% nut butter? If so, it's super healthy and filing and it might just be a case of reducing the amount that you spread on the bread.

Kids need one hour of moderate to vigorous exercise everyday. Walking slowly doesn't cut it. Is there anything you can interest your 10 year old in, swimming? roller skating?

I didn't say a word to my kid. I personally believe it messes up their relationship with food. I praise them for stopping eating when they are full and sometimes I point out that some portion sizes are too big for adults and should be shared among children (like massive muffins or something)

She walks for hours looking for rocks and bugs, she's completely non verbal, suffered trauma in the womb and is undergoing genetic testing, she's very very delayed in all milestones. She's in the right age clothing so not huge, just a bit chubby and solid really. She was only 5lb when born and was always small up until she was about 1 when she was eating properly but not able to walk, she started walking recently but is still in that wobbly waddling stage and falls down a lot

I think it's quite easy to cut portion sizes slowly. So don't suddenly halve the amounts, but just gradually reduce how much you put on their plates. The food sounds great, so there's just too much of it.

@midgetastic are you really suggesting 1 banana is enough breakfast for a child to start their day and go to school on?

And that they should have just pitta and hummus OR just pitta and 1 egg or just pitta and one think slice of chicken for lunch?

1 egg is 78 calories only

1 slices of sliced chicken breast (Oven-roasted, fat-free, deli style) contains 17 Calories.

Two tablespoons of plain hummus has about 50 calories and 3 grams fat.

Pitta bread (wholemeal) 135calories

Suggested calorie intake (1/3 of these should be at lunchtime)

• 4–8 years: 1,200–1,400 calories for both boys and girls
• 9–13 years: 1,600–2,000 calories for boys, 1,400–1,600 calories for girls

Personally I think counting calories is a poor way to look at your/their diet. You need to look at whole foods and what they/you are eating. Here is a very interesting read and he has great insta posts why calories don't count

For your breakfast in most recent link. I'd try switching the cereal for porridge with the banana and add some nuts or seeds or even a little peanut butter some ideas

For lunch I'd look at the pitta and see if there is a better option possibly a wholemeal wrap or something

I try to avoid ultra processed foods which is why we have pittas over wraps.
Occasionally they have the expensive crosta & mollica less processed ones but the kids complain they don't fold well.

So in general most people grossly over estimate how much their children move and under estimate how much they eat. Based on what you have written you are doing this.

With your children still growing, you just need to keep their weight where they are and they will naturally stretch out to a healthy weight. I would personally do this by creating better habits and slowly so kids don't notice. No more binge eating at Grandma's house and limit snacks to once a day after school, if they like big portions I would add extra veg and fruit for volume. eg grate an apple in porridge or a carrot into spaghetti bolognaise. I would look at building movement into everyday. walk to school, the shops etc, family bike ride / trips to the park / beach / woods that all encourage movement.

If this doesn't work look to change other things to. You need to look really honestly at their actual movement levels and their food intake over a week. Sounds like they are having more than a days worth of cals / food at Grandma's house.

Just wanted to say well done OP! Coming from someone who was overweight as a child and my parents did nothing about it. Really wish they'd made the effort to change my diet and encourage exercise.

I really like that brand too buy fyi they are high in calories (250+ per flatbread) , which is not a problem if more natural

@Bananasplitz97 " No more binge eating at Grandma's house and limit snacks to once a day after school," from my understanding they should be having 2 snacks a day minimum. Morning tea and afternoon tea basically. Especially when at school when its a long time between breakfast and lunch and they are trying to learn and focus. Then afterschool as you say, when they come out starving!

I like your suggestion of always adding extra veg to foods, I'm always bulking out with veggies, beans and lentils - they are all so good for you.

Only active children ‘need’ snacks. OP’s child is getting her tea at school so there’s no after school hunger to deal with. On non-school days if she isn’t running around she won’t be getting hungry unless she’s eating large amounts of carbs that cause sugar lows. This is why protein and good fat intake is so important at this age

Pittas / naans / parathas / rotis are one of the easiest things to make at home everyday. I work full time and even on the days I’m in the office I can have these ready fresh and home made (using wholemeal flour) in time for dinner. South Indian origin mums do this all the time - there is literally no need to buy them.

I do make my own loaves of bread but to be honest pittas are so cheap and tend to have reasonable ingredients so I'm not going to start making them.

Children certainly do not need snacks if they have 3 meals a day. I really do think that people insisting that children or anyone need snacks has contributed massively to the huge increase in overweight and obese children.
I'm 60 and rarely had snacks between meals, might occasionally have a plain biscuit or half an apple. When I had my children ( now in 30s) again snacking between meals wasn't a thing, might occasionally have a bit of fruit or a small plain biscuit. They didn't faint with hunger in the morning or when they came out of school. Neither were there any fat children at my or my children's primary schools. Nowadays children never seem to be allowed to actually feel hungry, but they should be hungry before meals.

Make sure the portions are correct. A portion of protein should be about the size of their palm, ditto for starchy food. Fill the rest of the plate with non starchy veg.

Only give things like crisps occasionally and you could serve in small bowls or ramekins or if for a packed lunch decant into a small tub.

What does obsessive calorie counting mean?

Is that different from 'calorie counting'

How does OP get a benchmark for what her child's intake is without knowing what the calories are now and what they should be.

The myth of 'calories dont count' is why we as a nation are too fat all over.

People want to believe this, meanwhile pile on more and more weight.

Because children are so variable. To insist that they eat x number of calories is not helpful and tends ot lead to ridiculous obsession about portions etc.

DS is a big eater. Always has been. I had to cut his calories, yes, but I tried to do it by offering him alternatives that were filling, substantial etc, and lower calorie. I never ever actually sat there and calculated the calories. Not least because some days he genuinely needs more food and others he doesn't. I also took a long hard look at "extras" and, where those were high calorie, ruthlessly cut them out, ues.

But to sit there and say, "he can only have 1500 calories" is not helpful for children and leads to a lot of restrictions. So it's better to shift to lower calorie foods for bulking and filling and nutrition.

Also, as I said originally, a lot of children aren't moving as much as we think they are. I think we rely so heavily on sports groups and activities we don't realise how much they don't actually keep moving during those activities. If you actually watch an hour long class, and time when your child is actually moving, it's surprisingly low.

I don tthink it's surprising that alot of the children I see out and about who are very slim, also come from the kind of families that do a lot of activities outside of regular "formal" extra curriclar activities - lots of walking, days out, cycling etc. To be honest, we aren't really that family and it took effort to up everyone's movement (including mine!)

Your meals look good to me. I think it's what is besides, e.g. the crisps, the sausages at grandparents', the cakes at in-laws. A one off treat is fine but it sounds like it may be quite regular?

If your children are 97th percentile for BMI then it's great that you're ignoring the well-meaning 'they're just stocky' brigade. Given the levels of childhood obesity in this country any child on the 97th percentile for BMI (not weight!) is unhealthily overweight.

I would stop all the snacks and simplify. Three meals a day, no puddings other than fruit most days, puddings as a treat rather than something expected. Big bowl of low-sugar cereal for breakfast (no need to over-complicate, two or three weetabix or a bowl of shreddies and whole or semi-skimmed milk is fine), the current lunches and dinners. But I wouldn't give in to the bowl of cereal for dinner -- that's a bad habit. Either she has what everyone else is having (even if not eating all of it) or nothing.

The calories do build up with larger portions and there are a lot of hidden calories in what may sometimes be considered healthy choices.
I would be making a diary of what they are eating - you may be surprised at their actual intake.

Exactly, you have to have a benchmark otherwise you're stumbling round in the dark