Overweight DS 12

[JennyFromTheNorthEast]

My DS has always been fairly slim but over the last 18 months he's gained loads of weight. He now has chunky thighs, a very prominent double chin , little man boobs and most worryingly a very big belly which seems to have come from nowhere. His diet isn't bad, although he eats a fair bit. Any advice/ideas ?

He used to walk more regularly but he started complaining that it was too far and that it was tiring.

If a 20 min ( what, a mile??) walk is tiring he needs to be doing more exercise, not less. Does he like gadgets? Would a pedometer motivate him?

I thought you were going to say 40 mins! 15-20 mins is not that far. Have you talked to him about it? Not calling,him far, obviously, but more generally about healthy choices and the benefits of being fit and active?

Fat not far

We had similar issues with my son who is 13. I set up a Myfitnesspal account and logged everything he was eating. It is NOT something he is aware of, but it lets me see, just how many empty calories he was consuming. I then started tweaking our diet. He has a low calorie hot chocolate, instead of Cadbury. Diet fizzy drinks, instead of full sugar. Our meals were adjusted to reduce unnecessary fat.
I know a change, to no fizzy drinks and lots of fruit and veg would be better, but getting him to eat it is a different matter!
He lost 7lbs over a couple of months, then stabilised. He is now growing to "fit" his weight.

20 minutes is a perfect amount for him to be walking twice a day. That would be a great way to start off straight away.

I made him walk to school on Tuesday, it took him half an hour and he said it was 'a really long way' I'm going to do the same walk with him at the weekend so I can make my own mind up about it.

Well done. Once the route gets familiar it's not as much of a drag in my opinion.

jenny my 12 year old is the same. its hard to get him to excesize he will go on trampoline a bit... he does a mix of walking and busing to school. hes always hungry or eats for the sake of it. hes the child who will try and get the bigger bad of sweets/will cut cheese to thick. always wants more after dinner. if i try talk to him he gets stroppy. i need to find a way of him cutting back without is causing an issue. also push the excersing a bit. swimming is free round here so i might push him to go swimming...its not easy when they get to this age though

Def get him walking to and from school 20-30 mins is a perfectly able walk. As a comparison we have a 1.5mile walk to school that both my 4 and 5 year old do every day.

Try and get him outdoors every afternoon after school and most the weekends. Now it's light he will be home 4/4.30pm latest even walking depending when he finishes, and can play outside until 7pm at least.

Swim and cycle weekly

Get rid of all 'junk' food. If they want biscuits or baked goods they need to learn to bake, so once a week or so you can help them follow a recipe.

He needs to walk to and from school. A 12yo can easily walk for half an hour.

Just tell him it's time he started being more independent.

(My 11yo will be getting the bus/walking from September. I can't wait.)

However, do bear in mind that walking to school might give opportunities for snacking on fast food or crisps or sweets, etc.

DD1 was overweight at the same age. I discussed her eating with her, and we worked out things she could have for breakfast, snacks, etc. We weighed her every week and measured her height, for about a month, to get her on the right track. She is now not slim but not skinny, and doesn't weigh herself at all.

Children learn about healthy eating and except use at school. It's a matter of starting to take responsibility for their own well being.

Except use = Exercise

15-20 min (or even half an hour) is actually quite a short walk. Nevertheless, if he does it twice a day it will massively increase the amount of exercise he is taking. If he isn't keen on sport this is an ideal way to get him to exercise.

That's not far at all and I would encourage him to walk even if he wasn't overweight. Maybe as a treat on a Friday he can get picked up?

I did the walk with him to the school on Sunday, it really isn't that far and I'm surprised by how quickly he was exhausted and complaining. It shouldn't have took half an hour, it just seems that he's a very slow walker.