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Children's health

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Original poster

DS getting a bit overweight...

25 replies

CheerfulYank · 04/04/2012 17:11

How should I help him?

He'll be five this summer (July) and is definitely getting a little chubby. I'd really like to address this now. Any ideas?

I know at this age it's more about slowing down their weight gain/maintaining their current weight, right, so that as they grow taller it evens out a bit?

I'm lucky in that he will eat anything, so I will be serving a lot more veggies, etc.

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

OP posts:

lilbreeze · 04/04/2012 17:14

Good idea to tackle it now before it becomes a problem...

What's his diet like at the moment - does he have a lot of unhealthy food that you could cut out - eg chocolate / crisps / takeaways / etc? Or do you think he eats healthy stuff just in overly large portions?

Also how active is he at the moment?

Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 04/04/2012 17:17

What about milk ? If u use full fat maybe switch to semi ? And things like porridge for breakfast would keep him full up longer and reduce the need for snacks :)

shushpenfold · 04/04/2012 17:20

I would watch for a couple of days first just to see if there are any glaringly obvious reasons first...i.e. do you put plates of biccies down for snacks and ds takes 3 without you realising (I have a friend who does this....) After that just makes sure that snacks are healthy - fruit, water or v weak squash rather than fruit juice all the time. Puddings can be fruit based, lollies the same (or make your own if you can) We also have chocolate and crisp night - i.e. choc on Friday, crisps on Wed for instance - it then makes them more of a treat and less of a norm. Don;t forget though that it could also be a pre-cursor to a growth spurt and he may just be about to zoom upwards - mine sometimes get larger around the time their feet grow a great deal....and then they shoot upwards and inwards again! Just concentrate on the healthy stuff and exercise for all the family (including yourself) and this will then become a life lesson.

Original poster

CheerfulYank · 04/04/2012 17:30

We don't do much unhealthy food as we live in a teeny town with no fast food!

Most of what he does eat is healthy but he has always eaten a lot.

On Saturdays after soccer practice we get him a donut and take it to the park for a picnic; other than that we don't really do a lot of sweets.

He is with his grandfather two or three days a week for lunch and I think he has a lot more candy, etc, than he would here. That will be done in May, though, when I'm done with work.

Another thing could be that lately he's really been liking sports drinks like Gatorade and DH has been getting them for him at the gas station. I'll cut down on that! DS does love water so if I keep his bottle filled and in the fridge he'll go to that first.

His activity level...hmmm. He does play outside a lot but mostly on his swingset, etc, so not a lot of running. He has Tae Kwon Do twice a week but that is a lot of strength exercises like pushups, and some kicks and punches rather than cardio-type stuff. And then soccer on Saturdays. I'll make sure we get out for longer walks (I need them too! :)) and play tag or something.

Thanks for all the suggestions! :)

OP posts:

shushpenfold · 04/04/2012 17:34

No probs....the drinks are a killer as you forget that they are sometimes just pure sugar....fruit sugars or otherwise!! Good luck and stay chilled.

MegBusset · 04/04/2012 17:36

Just looked up the ingredients for Gatorade and it has 14g of sugar per 240ml serving - that's about twice as sugary as Coke.

MegBusset · 04/04/2012 17:38

Correction: about the same as Coke. But still a LOT of sugar.

Original poster

CheerfulYank · 04/04/2012 19:49

Yes, think the drinks are definitely a part of it! I'll be putting the kibosh on those. I just told him that his water bottle is filled and in the fridge if he's thirsty.

He loves veggie sticks for snacks but likes them with dip...are there many dips that aren't too unhealthy? Hummus maybe?

OP posts:

Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 04/04/2012 20:00

Hummus is pretty healthy. Maybe a nice home made salsa with tomatoes mango and fresh mint. Sure someone one on here will have a nice recipe :)

MegBusset · 04/04/2012 20:36

Hummus may be 'healthy' but it's also incredibly high-fat! Low-fat cream cheese much better if weight is an issue.

lilbreeze · 05/04/2012 09:56

One other thing - rather than just focussing on "formal" exercise like classes, think of his general activity levels too. Playing outside a lot is great even if it's not necessarily running around. Try to limit sedentary time like Tv / computer - have set times each day when they're allowed.

bigTillyMint · 05/04/2012 10:12

Just looked on your profile - he is gorgeous He may be just heading for a growth spurt - sometimes they "chubb-up" before.

I agree with the above advice. Ditch the fizzy drinks and sweets (apart from an occasional treat) - don't give stuff like donughts daily - they should be a special treat! Stick to 3 balanced meals a day - "half the plate" should be veg with fruit for snacks, maybe a slice of toast if really starving. Use an appropriately sized plate - ie size of a side plate at his age. For eg. my DS (who is 11) generally has a round of sandwiches, 2 servings of fruit (he won't eat salad stuff!) and a squeezy yoghurt/biscuit for his lunch.

Get him outside as much as poss - playing actively in the park with friends is great exercise at his age.

Rhinosaurus · 05/04/2012 10:41

I would say watch your portion sizes, cut down on fizzy drinks and make sure he is having at least half an hour physical activity a day.

You are right about weight maintenance nit loss, do you centile charts in USA? Have you measured his height and weight?

NeverKnowinglyUnderstood · 05/04/2012 10:46

I would agree with big tilly mint
DS1 is naturally slim but seems to have a cycle of chubb then growth spurt.
at the moment he is very long and lean (can see ribs) however just before christmas he had the beginning of little moobs. I haven't changed his diet at all.

If possible whatever you do, do not let your little chap know what you are doing. Boys get hang ups about their weight as well as girls!

AngryFeet · 05/04/2012 10:52

I would leave it to be honest. If you are already feeding him a healthy diet and he gets to run about each day then he will be fine. DS is 5 and he looks chubby for a few months then he shoots up and is skinny and this happens over and over.

lilbreeze · 05/04/2012 10:55

I've just looked at your profile pics too- he's gorgeous and doesn't look particularly chubby... Google Nhs Bmi calculator (can't link on my phone) and enter his height and weight just to check.

Even if his Bmi is fine though, nothing wrong with following the advice above anyway

winnybella · 05/04/2012 11:00

DS goes through the chubby stages. Before Christmas he was in the seriously obese category on the NHS bmi calculator. Since then he has grown a few centimeters and is in the healthy range.

Just cut down on Gatorade etc and make him have some outooor activity every day.

He's a very handsome little chap.

winnybella · 05/04/2012 11:00

Sorry, DS was in a overweight category, not obese!

Original poster

CheerfulYank · 05/04/2012 16:26

Oh thank you, I think he's gorgeous too! :)

Thank you for all the advice. Yes, he only has a donut on Saturdays, not every day! :) I would never tell him about all this, ever. We've started talking about food that it's good to have more of because it makes your body strong and food like donuts or candy that are just for treats. Is that ok, do you think? One of my biggest concerns is that he grow up with a healthy attitude toward food.

When he was at the doctor for his 4yr check last summer, the doctor did say that his weight was increasing more in percentage points than his height, and just to keep a bit of an eye on it.

It just seems that lately he's gotten quite a bit heavier, especially in his tummy, and I want to make sure it doesn't becom an issue. But probably with summer coming and him out splashing in the pool all day it will correct itself a bit. :)

OP posts:

singingmum · 05/04/2012 16:38

Dont know if this helps but my ds was chubby(think rugby but not all muscle) he's now 17 and wow is he skinny. I wouldn't worry unless you think its major gain as sometimes they seem to put on weight and then have mega-growth spurt and it somehow evens out. Also most of these height weight charts seem out dated and crazy.

bigTillyMint · 05/04/2012 18:03

Yes, that's exactly how we explained it when the DC were little.

iseenodust · 05/04/2012 18:09

Another one whose DS gets a bit tubby and then has a growth spurt to look slim again.

Agree cut the Gatorade and get those bikes out. I wouldn't talk too much about food. It's stunned me how much such talk comes back from primary school and how the children turn into food police if you're not careful.

Original poster

CheerfulYank · 05/04/2012 18:29

Yeah, I try not to bring it up a lot. It's more like if he asks if he can have candy and I say not right now, and he asks why.

I will have to get his bike fixed. One of the neighbors was saying that we should take the kids for a bike ride, and that would be fun. :)

OP posts:

ragged · 05/04/2012 20:25

There will be a lot of calories in the Gatorade.

Had similar issues when DS was about same age.
For a long time I watched portion sizes & fat portions especially, also made a conscious effort to get him exercised whenever possible. Bulked out his diet with fruit+veg, too. I guess I am still aware with this child (unlike rest of scrawny household) to keep the fat portions down a bit.
I think in USA you've really got to watch for hidden sugars & hidden calories; whenever i visit back there it strikes me how sweet everything is & how sugary the typical diet is, they took all the fat out of most things & put more sugar in to flavour it up (Yuck). I'd rather a little fat than a lot of sugar (truly empty calories).

DS is now almost 8 & still solid, he will always be built like a garden gnome, but not in a fat way for now.

lilbreeze · 05/04/2012 23:08

I think if he asks why he can't have certain things it's fine to explain they're full of sugar or whatever so you should only have them as a treat, not too often. There's no harm in making him aware of healthy eating so he can learn to make good choices himself - doesn't have to be linked with "dieting" or negative body image.

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