Please help, my 7 year old daughter is obese! I could cry. :-(

[mummyloveslucy]

My daughter has always been tall, with her weight matching her height. Over the years, she's gained more and more weight. She is now 4 foot 5inches and weighs 84lbs (6 stone) Only 3 stone less than me and I'm 5 foot 6.

She eats healthy food at home. I cook every day. We do eat out a fair bit too and she usually has chicken nuggets and chips. Or carvary, with 2 yorkshires. She can eat an enormous.amount.of.food!.I.have.to.let.her.leave.the.table.feeling.a.bit.hungary.which.makes.me.feel.a.bit.sad.for.her.

She.isn't.that.active,but.we're.looking.into.ways.of.increasing.her.excercise. Eg.maybe.another.swimming.lesson.a.week.Longer.walks.or.another.activity.

She.does.have.problems.with.chronic.constipation.and.has.been.on.lactalose,which.is.like.6..5mil.teaspoons.of.syrup.a.day.We've.now.changed.her.to.Movicol,but.she.doesn't.like.it.It's.very.hard.to.get.her.to.drink.enough.as.well.

Any.advice.would.be.very.welcome.

I would try and get her to drink more. Thirst is often mistaken for hunger. It will help with her constipation too. Lots of water or sugar free diluting juice.

Well done for realising that it is an issue though. Hopefully you and DD will tackle it together

Rice cakes are not so good as they are high GI. Ds loves oat cakes - have you tried those?

Soup sound like a good lunch, will help to get some veg in her and get things moving! :)

She.swims.for.1.hour.once.a.week..That's.her.only.active.hobby.

OP you dd's diet seems very high in starchy carbs. How about reducing these? Have you read any of BIWI's threads about low carbing?

It might help you understand the relationship some of us have with sugar and starch and why it make us eat so much and get so fat.

Dr John Briffa's book maybe interesting for you to read, perhaps check your library for a copy.

From Nhs

Sound like she needs to get alot more exercise in. :)

She.also.eats.too.fast.I.keep.having.to.tell.her.to.slow.down.

Is she weighed regulary when she sees the paediatrician (I know my DD aged 6 is weighed and measured at every routine paed apt and noted in her red book)

If you are concerned i'd speak to paediatrician or GP. I have seen your posts about your daughters difficulties at school but am not sure of her medical condition/diagnosis. You mentioning her hunger after eating and learning difficulties makes me think of prader -willi syndrome.

I.will.look.into.low.carb.Definatly!.I.didn't.know.if.it.was.safe.for.a.child.

Make the vegetable soup thick, almost like a purée.

Carrots constipate. You need to give her green vegetables to alleviate her chronic constipation.

Puree the vegetables and hide them in her pasta's tomato sauce.

You need to stop all those fried foods. Chicken nuggets & chips are fine once a month, not several times a week.

Ok, so you're home edding. Could you fit in a bicycle ride/nature walk/swim/trip to the park each day? Or even just a walk to the shops or a game of ball inthe garden. Think of it as the "P.E" slot - aim for at least an hour per day if possible.

Trampolining is a good way of burning off calories without even noticing - has she got one of those/have you got space for one?

I sympathise and have just ordered that book someone recommended up thread (thanks).

My DS, 5, has a massive appetite and I know what you mean about sending him down from the table hungry, but we both know giving our DC a weight problem is much, much worse.

Two things that have helped here with DS:

If he's still hungry he'll have an apple. I buy value apples, or little Royal Gala's and if he really is hungry then he'll have one, enjoy it and stop moaning!

Portion Control - and the size of the fist thing Bradbourne mentioned. That really helped me visualise a "portion"

We.are.buying.a.trampoliene! She.has.very.poor.co-ordination.and.can't.ride.a.bike. We will take her on.longer.walks. She.always.complains.that.her.legs.hurt.etc.

WRT the constipation, have you been referred to a gastric paed? Movicol is the best IME, lactulose basically useless for both my DDs. More fruit & veg,more water, less bulkchildren do not need bran cereals etc as it can be too much for them to digest and make the constipation worse. Mix the Movicol with WHATEVER it takes so she will drink itif you have to use full-sugar squash or tea or whatever, DO IT. Over time you can reduce the sugar but at the moment she sounds like she could use a clear-out. Which brings me to my 2nd point, the belly may be the result of bloating, not fat. DD1 once had an enema after which all of her trousers that had been tight were falling off.

Will she have smoothies? You can use low or non-fat bio yogurt (good for digestion) and lots of fruit. I have also had excellent luck with this ice lolly recipe, very low sugar but loads of fruit.

You need to be seen by a gastric/constipation clinic and probably a nutritionist. Push for a referral if you aren't already. DD1 was seen by specialists in the US and they made lots of suggestions and were so helpful.

All kids complain that their legs hurt

My ds walks 5 mins to the shop and its 'mummy, my legs huuuuurrrrttttt'
He can walk the 25min to nursery without complaining

Push through. It gets easier the more you do.

She.has.an.appointment.for.the.bowel.and.bladder.clinic.I'd.love.her.to.see.a.nutritionalist.too.

Exercise/walking wise she will soon build up her stamina as long as you keep with it. My 3 yo DS used to complain that the pavement was giving his feet a headache just with a 20 minute walk to town when we moved house (were in a teeny village so had to mostly drive everywhere). Now a few months on he can walk a couple of miles/for a couple of hours without a murmur. Build it up gradually - but one of the best lessons for life for her.

My kids complain there legs hurt too, unless we are at a theme park and they can work for hours and hours, miles and miles!

Somehow I knew this would be your op :( Have you had a referral to a dietician or specialist re. her constipation ? Has she been tested for metabolic disorders and intolerances for example. It is possible that her SN mean she does n't recognise feeling "full" , is n't actually hungry but perhaps bored, confused, worried and so on but unable to articulate it, or craves the "wrong" type of food (gluten for example).

Offer her an appropriate size portion, maybe use a smaller sized plate, and if she is still hungry then fruit only (which seems limited in your description). If she can't manage a bike then maybe a scooter. Are there any gym/trampolining sessions close enough for you to go to ?

sign up for the change4life website (google).

They send you a pack of advice but also sticker charts for your dc with stickers to add for what fruit/veg they have eaten that day. They also have some good ideas for different activities you can do.

Some of it is basic information but its a good place to start, is free, and a way to get kids involved in making the whole family healthy (rather than them concentrating on the weight loss part).

Also local councils often run courses for children of 'an above healthy weight' - might be worth investigating.

How about using something different for her constipation altogether?

Benefibre is a powder that can be added to food or any drink and doesn't affect the taste/texture and can be got on pescription

www.benefibre.ca/products/index.shtml?benefiberPowders

Key may well be to get her to drink more fluids, does she like fruit juice - I always found white or red grape juice worked wonders

Really feel for you OP, chronic poo issues can really take over your life! Push hard for those referrals & do as other posters have suggested and get some tests to rule out thyroid, coeliac etc.

Looking at your sample diet, there is either a starch or a sugar in everything she eats. Try to reduce carbs especially bread and pasta, yogurt is often full of sugar, better eat porridge for breakfast if possible, increase protein and green veg. Cut out snack and sugary drink and increase water.

I second TheArmadillo's recommendation to look at the Change4Life website. Lots of excellent info and resources there.

mummyloveslucy I know what you are going through re chronic constipation. Dd2 suffered badly until we got it under control with movicol and having a good hard look at her diet (things like intake of processed foods, fluids, fruit and veg quantities etc).

I would think that because of her constipation issues combined with your concerns about her weight you have a good case for asking your GP for a referral to see a dietician. They are the best people to help you make a good plan for helping with both issues.

At this stage I wouldn't get too hung up on her losing weight, or focusing on particular food groups that you need to cut back on. A more positive approach on eating healthily, and not looking at particular food groups being bad, and increasing her activity levels is better in the long run for establishing sensible eating and exercise habits.

Oh and yy, all kids moan about having tired legs