My little girl is fat- Help.

[tallulah]

I've just realised that DD (just 4) is getting fat. I've weighed and measured her today and at 101cm and 17.8kg she apparently has a BMI of 17.4 and is classed as overweight (2 different internet charts)

She has weetabix (no sugar) or porridge for breakfast; lunch and tea at nursery, then comes home and her first words are "I want something to eat". We generally give her whatever we are having for dinner.

She is very fond of crisps, cake and biscuits, and I've been trying to cut down the amount she has. I've been out of action for a couple of weeks and DH has been seeing to her. He gives her breakfast then follows it with a lump of cheese or a piece of cake..

She is a very active child and never stops moving. At nursery they tend to be out in the (huge) garden most of the time. She does ballet at nursery one morning a week and has a swimming lesson once a week. Nice weekends she is out in the garden, and every Sunday she goes to the play park after church.

I need to tackle this now before it gets too hard but how? HELP!!!

Sounds like the problems are the cheese and cake after breakfast and having four meals a day on a week day.

Is it possible to give her carrot sticks, cucumber, tomato or fruit in the evening rather than an extra meal? And maybe a fromage frais or a banana if she really must eat right after breakfast?

less calories, more exercise and tell hubby no more cake for breakfast

Your dd seems to eat rather a lot. I am concerned that the only food you feed her at home is weetabix, cakes, biscuits and crips, AND your dinner on top of tea. Does she ever have fruit and veg to snack on?

I'd just give her porridge for breakfast, but don't sweeten it - add a chopped banana instead. That should fill her up.

Talk to the nursery about this to make sure they're paying attention to her choices there - maybe ask for a food diary?

Evening snack could be rice cakes, oatcakes, crudites, and some semi-skimmed milk.

Replace crisps and cake with dried fruit, natural unsweetened yogurt (Greek is fab), seeds and fruit.

Incorporate a walk every day, as part of the nursery run maybe?

Also check your portion sizes.

Just re-read my OP and does sound like I don't give her fruit . She has loads of fruit at nursery- it always forms one course of one meal every day. Nursery provides a weekly menu, and the children don't actually get a choice as such. They don't make them eat something they don't like but there is no alternative. The cake & cheese after breakfast are unusual- I don't feed her more than just her cereal. If she is particularly hungry she gets fruit on the way to nursery.

She won't eat tomatoes, cucumber, banana or dried fruit. (ASD- doesn't like the texture). She loves yogurt, but again following another thread I've just realised how much sugar is in "children's yogurts". She can eat 3 or 4 of the smaller pots in one go- she doesn't seem to have the "off" switch to tell her she's had enough

Sadly can't walk to nursery- it's 18 miles away. She goes to school in September and as long as she gets one of our 3 choices of school we will be walking both ways every day.

I'm going to have to watch what she's eating and have words with DH. Thanks all.

x-posts with pancakeflipper. She has her own little plates and only a small portion at a time, so I don't think it's that.

2 stone 11? That doesn't sound massive? Is she short? My DS was 4 in December and he is 2 stone 6 and tiny weeny. One of the shortest and skinniest in the class. His clothes are age 3, with some still 18-24.

It doesn't sound enormous in that my 5 y o DS is 2 stone 4, short for his age and stick-thin, still wears age 2-3 clothes. It does sound as though she eats a lot though. Any way you can get more active? Swimming/cycling/trampolining etc at the weekends?

I was told young kids often don't recognise the difference between hunger & thirst. Give her a large drink on coming home first? Water / milk?

Think it's great she has whatever you're having for dinner. Encourages a varied diet.

With DS I've noticed I'll think he's a bit round & then a growth spurt comes along & he's back to average. Agree portion size is one to watch. I still use smaller plates since outgrown character/plastic ones.

She's only 87th percentile, (giving her a birthdate of 1 March 2007 on this NHS calculator).

Might be worth looking at healthier options, but she's definitely in the green/don't worry zone. Or did I put the numbers in wrong?

I did the NHS one too just to check because she doesn't sound big to me and I came up with the same. I'd say cut down on cake & cheese but other than that it doesn't sound too bad.

Do you think she is fat? The BMI isn't always a great indicator IMO of a healthy weight.

My DS is about the same weight as your DD, and he is 3 and a couple centimeters shorter. I wouldn't say he was fat. He is heavy and solid and big boned. In his pants he looks stocky and he has big shoulders and chest and a tiny bit of extra on his tummy. If you compared him to his much lighter friends, they have skinny legs and much bigger toddler bellies. He is a different shape but I wouldn't say he is fat.

Diet wise, she does sound very hungry so I'm wondering if it's a growth spurt? Offer healthy snacks and limit the rubbish. She sounds active and normal to me, but with a big appetite.

That's a good hint about the difference between hunger and thirst. I will try offering a drink first. She only has milk, water or juice- we deliberately didn't start the fizzy drinks habit.

I wouldn't really expect her to need another meal TBH but she is always complaining of being hungry. Tea time at nursery is 4pm and we get home at 6pm.

Thanks ragged and Jbck. I hadn't used the NHS one and you are right, she's in the top end of the green on theirs. That's a bit more reassuring.

I have put a couple of (headless!) pictures on my profile. I took them this week when I was worried about a rash and was quite at the size of her tummy and legs. That's what started me worrying.

Many thanks.

I don't think she looks at all fat in those pics. She has a normal, rounded child's tummy which is like that because (like every child) her internal organs are bigger than the actual space in her abdomen but as she gets taller she'll lose that.

Most of Dd's friends aged 5/6 still have that tummy, apart from the ones who are above average height and have hit the long and leggy stage. Ds1's friends aged 7 have nearly all lost it - the one very overweight child doesn't have the dip up by her ribs, she is more barrel shaped which is more of an indicator of excess weight to me.

Apart from replacing unhealthy snacks with ones that have some nutritional benefit, I personally wouldn't be worrying at all.

If she's constantly on the go she probably is hungry - please don't worry unnecessarily.

Nah, she doesn't look fat too me and I have a heightened fat-o-meter. She looks on the bigger side of normal. The belly is exactly as Olihan describes above.

She doesn't look too big to me either. My DN is much the same and in no way overweight. I would still cut out the cake for breakfast though

She doesn't look fat to me. My dss is obese. Her mother hasn't got a handle on portion control or decent food. My partner isn't much better.

Luckily she's slimming down as she grows upwards but still in age 11 clothes and is Only 6.

Definately worth stopping unhealthy habits before it becomes apparent to your dd why you are doing it.

Has she always been a hungry child? Maybe it's a growing spurt

She looks chunky to me, sorry. Her belly, her arms, chin, and her thighs. I am sure there are some people who will say she is just cheruby little girl lovelyness. But if weight charts are telling you she is fat, and she eats a lot, and looks chunky, then I would say it is safer to start ensuring her meals are less calorific. There is a lot of sugar in juice. My boys only gets juice or milk with breakfast and their sandwich for supper. Otherwise it is water. They also just get pudding or cake on a saturday and sunday. Yours have cake as part of her breakfast. I am sure she also has a pudding in her nursery/school.

Cake for breakfast is actually a really bad start. She will get a calorie high, then a low, and her body will crave more food and sweet stuff to compensate for the deep in energy after the calorie high from the cake.

If she is still hungry after breakfast, give her two weetabix rather than one, or an apple. Or start giving her two slices of wholemeal bread with ham, this should fill her up.

I agreen with Quint.

Eating 3 or 4 yoghurts in one go is excessive. Tell her in advance that she can only have 1. Alternatively, buy natural yoghurt which is much lower in sugar. My dd is 6 and will happily eat yoghurts til they come out of her ears. She has no "off" switch for yoghurt, so I have to be the switch for her.

Good idea about offering a drink before food.

Having said that, 4pm is early for tea, so you need to think carefully about what you offer her when she gets home from nursery. She certainly doesn't need another whole meal.

If the tea at nursery is a proper meal then why are you giving her a second tea when she gets home. I'd also drop the cheese/cake after breakfast.

Ds is skinny and always has been but when he is growing he grows outwards before he grows upwards so can look heavier for a while.

the biggest thing I have to point out is 3-4 pots of yougurt in one go at 4 years old?
that is the biggest thing to cut down on, and it all depends on how much cake and cheese she is eating or crisps.
she's only 4, if she has to have yogurt, cake, cheese or crisps, it is only 1 portion - pot - small chunk.

Sounds like it could be portion size as much as cheese/cake/crisps