HV rant - my toddler is 'overweight'

[sleepcrisis]

Well clearly he's not, he looks totally normal to me and any sane person. My HV on the other hand is massive.

DS was born on 25th centile for both weight and height. His height has remained steady on the 25th but as soon as he started putting on weight it crept up to bang in the middle of 50-75 centiles at 6 months and has stayed there ever since.

HV at his 2 year check this week told me that such a discrepancy must be monitored and that I should cut down his sugar intake.

The boy has a massive head (99 centile) and always has. Surely that weighs a fair bit?

I have found myself doubting his diet! He does eat a huge amount of fruit, fresh and dried. HV commented on sugar content of fruit. HE also has a Ellas kitchen cereal bar every day or so. She was scathing. Other than that he loads of veg and a balanced diet with portion sizes roughly 1/4-1/3 and adult size ( I have in the past wondered if he eats enough but never forced him to eat more)

When I have a cake or an ice cream (probably every other day) he shares it with me but rarely has his own. Although he likes to think it is his own - I just make sure I eat 3/4 of it! SHould I cut this out? He clearly does have a sweet tooth but he very rarely has biscuits (toddler group only), never juice, never sweets. The HV was banging on about sugar and sweeties and biscuits etc - he never has them!

Am I in denial about DS's diet and should I be more concerned than I am?

Oh and the other thing she critisized was that he eats little and often - for example he has a barely there breakfast but then 2 morning snacks at 930 and 11. (a banana and then later a box raisins or more fruit). She told me to cut out all snacks and just give him 3 meals a day.

Disclaimer: I was on here about a month ago listing his food intake and questioning whether he eats enough. Clearly I was wrong about that.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Bear I give both of mine full fat milk. They have a cup at least twice a day, sometimes they ask for more. Have no intention of cutting back as they are both growing. They are 5 and 9.

[CrackersandCheese]

Ah sorry.. Been gone a few days and can't catch up.

There's no vitamin d in milk. It's fortified in the US and I think that's where that stems from.

I'm a dietitian and have experience with paeds (someone asked). I will try and go through and answer any other questions tomorrow.

[IWipeArses]

It's not lax to give him milk. Milk has plenty of necessary nutrients.

[Prozacbear]

It might explain why he's addicted to milk though... I think I've been lax because he loves it so much.

[IWipeArses]

It's fine to give them full-fat milk!

[Prozacbear]

Oh dear, I've been giving DS full-fat milk! Didn't realise for over-2's it isn't necessary my mum is always banging on about the importance of milk...

[IWipeArses]

I suppose it depends on your definition of crap though doesn't it?

[Sirzy]

No it isn't. That is eating properly!

[IWipeArses]

A couple weeks of cutting out crap is a diet though.

[IWipeArses]

Yes, no more yo-yo dieting, I'm allowing my body to self-regulate.

[RobotBananas]

Stop doing yoyo diets then :)

Everybody's weight fluctuates by a few pounds each month, so you just need a couple of pounds on top of that after a heavy week and suddenly you're 6lb heavier. But a couple if weeks of healthy eating and cutting our crap and it should start to go again.

[colditz]

I know it goes against the grain, but unless your child is clinically underweight, don't "tempt"them to eat with sugar. Although he's probably not fat, there IS a discrepancy between his weight and his height, and "tempting" him to eat at breakfast, nine thirty, eleven and then lunch .... It's too much food. He's only eating it because it's sweet and it's there. While small children need snacks, no child needs to constantly have something edible in his mouth.

[HorryIsUpduffed]

Agreed. Most people don't weigh themselves that often, so they could put on a stone slowly before their normal clothes didn't fit.

[IWipeArses]

I don't wake up half a stone heavier, but a stressful week later, or yet another failed diet yo-yos back up again.

[Sirzy]

You don't wake up half a stone heavier, its a pound here and there which adds up over time. Its only when your clothes start getting tighter, or you see a photo from a year or so back that you stop and think "shit I am getting bigger"

[IWipeArses]

Who doesn't notice the weight going on?

[Sirzy]

Everyone I know who has put weight on has done so gradually. I can't think of anyone who has just put on a massive amount in a spurt which is why people tend not to notice the weight going on as much.

[IWipeArses]

The NYtimes article is about a mathematical model of weight gain in which they have averaged the weight gain, it doesn't actually show that that is how weight is gained.
Everyone I know who has put weight on puts it on in spurts. I haven't been constatnly changing size for the last thirty years, it's always come on in half a stone - stone bursts, separated out by months or years of stability.

[Sirzy]

and it's the extra 1000kcal in juice, beer and fizzy pop that's keeping the weight on.

This was my issue. You tend to be aware of what you eat but not what you drink when I started looking at the calories in what I was drinking it was quite shocking how you could easily add 500 or more calories in a day just in drinks. I have now gone back to drinking mainly water and as a result had a massive weight loss without having to change too much else in my diet.

[RobotBananas]

Horry - I was just going go say something about secret eaters. Great minds :)

[RobotBananas]

Agree with duchesse. Some people binge and will be overweight as a result, but imo its the extra hundred or so calories that people eat a day, over the level needed to maintain their weight, that leads to slow and steady weight gain. Its why just reducing your calorie intake by a small amount over a long period of time is a very effective and sustainable way to lose weight.

The reasons people overeat are obviously complex though.
I do agree that a fucked up metabolism due to yoyo dieting and severely restricting calories has a massive impact though.

[HorryIsUpduffed]

Have you seen Secret Eaters? Fascinating telly programme about people who don't know why they're so fat. Without fail it's because they eat too much.

Some have no concept of portion sizing, some forget that drinks have calories in, some vastly underestimate how many calories they take in while they're cooking (last episode I saw, a woman ate 1100kcal in snacks and drinks whilst preparing a family barbecue), etc etc.

They all think they are eating normally so the odd Kit Kat doesn't matter - usually the Kit Kat is the least of their worries, and it's the extra 1000kcal in juice, beer and fizzy pop that's keeping the weight on.

[duchesse]

This one authoritative enough? Just 10 surplus calories a day for 30 years will increase your weight by 20 pounds.

[IWipeArses]

With a reduced metabolism due to reasons such as dieting, a binge could just be eating as much as you actually need. A big sunday dinner after a week of being 'careful' will result in fat gain, whereas someone who hadn't been trying to stop themselves eating wouldn't necessarily gain from the same meal. M

[duchesse]

Do you really believe that 50% of the US population and 40% of ours is obese or nudging obesity because they're sitting in front of the fridge snarfing down entire cakes at 3am? Most people would realise they had a problem and seek help in that case. Most people's weight gain is so gradual they hardly realise it's happening.