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Original poster

My dd is getting fat :(

59 replies

bluejelly · 04/10/2007 11:23

My dd is nearly 8, she has got quite a big tummy ( pokes out of her clothes) and is starting to get a double chin!
She is very active at school, goes swimming regularly and skating. She has a fairly big appetite but eats healthily ( no crisps, fizzy drinks, sweet cereals hardly any sweets, cakes or biscuits)... Toast or cereal in the morning, school dinners for lunch, normal dinner in the evening...
She has started complaining about being fat all the time, saying she is the heaviest in her class ( she is also one of the tallest)
Is there anything I can do? Or will she just grow out of it?

OP posts:
goingfor3 · 04/10/2007 11:24

If she is fat which she may not be then could you cut down on portion sizes?

thelittleElf · 04/10/2007 11:26

My eldest charge is 9 and is going the same way tbh. We've put it down to the hormone fairy

geekgirl · 04/10/2007 11:26

my dd1 too bluejelly

shall be watching this thread with interest. I am also going to ring our GP next week to chat about it with him.

I've just had to order some 'plus size' jeans from gymboree because ordinary trousers just don't fit.

thankfully she doesn't seem particularly aware of it yet - but I presume it's just a matter of time.

Carmenere · 04/10/2007 11:28

Is school dinner a big meal? If so perhaps she just needs a light supper type meal in the evenings?
Also puppy fat often piles on at around 8, whatever you do don't voice your concerns unless she is really unhealthy. Just cut down the portion sizes and kick her out doors to play before the weather gets too cold.
She is probably within the realms of normal and will probably grow out of it.

mumblechum · 04/10/2007 11:29

Check on the BMI website.

Myds is looking a bit podgy at the moment (and he does eat a load of crap when he can get money to buy it), but according to the BMI he's still within the normal range so I'm not too bothered, and he's just started cross country so hopefully that'll burn off some of the sweets.

Original poster
bluejelly · 04/10/2007 11:29

I have been trying to do that subtley, but hard to do with school dinners ( can't imagine they are that big there anyway)
In the week she has a meal at the childminders, either an M and S kids meal ( eg cottage pie or sausage and mash) or some pasta with sauce... they are not huge portions but maybe I could have a word with the childminder and ask for them to be even smaller

really dont' want her to get a complex about food, she has such a healthy relationship with food normally ( never been fussy)
But also don't want her to be an obesity statistic!

OP posts:
goingfor3 · 04/10/2007 11:31

You can't make an M&S kids meal any smaller, she'll be hungry.

Porpoise · 04/10/2007 11:32

Bluejelly, she may well grow out of it - have you noticed how children grow 'out' just before they grow 'up'?

And she does lead a very active lifestyle, which is good.

But, to help you decide whether she is right to worry about her size, measure her waist. If it's 60cm or more, you may need to help her trim her portion sizes for a bit.
HTH

geekgirl · 04/10/2007 11:33

I am also quite cautious with portion sizes and with school dinners have spoken to her about not having the 'pudding' option every day ('because it's not healthy', rather than 'because you're getting tubby'), and she agreed to have fruit 3 days a week and pudding only 2.

Nothing seems to really help. And she is properly overweight according to all the charts, BMI etc.

(sorry for hijacking, bj)

Original poster
bluejelly · 04/10/2007 11:34

I am wondering if exercise is the key, but hard cos I work full time and don't get home till 6.30 in the week...

CM does yoga with her ( very sweet) but can't really take her out running!

OP posts:
GreatHauntieWurly · 04/10/2007 11:34

bluejelly, when I first took ds1 to the doctors about his weight, they told me to write down everything thing that he ate for 2 weeks, then work out the average calorie intake for each day, then reduce it by 20%. We did find that it helped ds and it wasnt until then that we realised that our cereal bowls held twice the amount of a normal one, so he was having the equiviant of 2 bowls of cereal and having toast after.

Original poster
bluejelly · 04/10/2007 11:35

Sorry can't post fast enough for all the advice I'm getting, thanks everyone!

OP posts:
GreatHauntieWurly · 04/10/2007 11:36

rather then ask the childminder to cut the portion size, would it be better to increase the amount of veg that she has with the meal??

Original poster
bluejelly · 04/10/2007 11:36

GHW
My dd usually has two slices of toast or two weetabix
Not a huge amount I think

But I'll think about cutting portion sizes like pasta etc

Hopefully she will grow out of it too!

OP posts:
Original poster
bluejelly · 04/10/2007 11:37

Yes veg, i have increased that recently as well, will continue along that front

OP posts:
frogs · 04/10/2007 11:39

My ds went from gently rounded to gulag boy in 6 months when we switched him from school dinners to packed lunches. We didn't make the switch because he was overweight he wasn't but just becaues I wasn't happy about the quality of the food.

To be fair, he was having a massive growth spurt so would probably have slimmed down anyway, but I think school dinners are much more energy-dense than a packed lunch containing a sandwich or roll with healthy filling, a yoghurt or a home-made muesli bar and a couple of different types of fruit.

Original poster
bluejelly · 04/10/2007 11:41

That's interesting frogs.
She is desperate to have packed lunch so maybe worth considering

They do have quite healthy school dinners but maybe quite heavy

OP posts:
meemar · 04/10/2007 11:45

Hi blue jelly - you say she is very active and swims which is great, but is the excercise aerobic enough to burn off the calories?

When she goes swimming is it excercise swimming (i.e lengths) or more kind of playing in the pool with friends?

Can you increase the amount of walking she does (e.g to and from school?)

TBH it doesn't sound as though her diet is bad and if she is a tall girl maybe she needs those larger portions. But she could balance it out with more exercise.

SSSandy2 · 04/10/2007 11:45

I suppose every bit counts bluejelly. What does she drink? If she drinks fruit juice, can you steer her in the direction of water?

geekgirl · 04/10/2007 11:49

I have to say, dd1 getting fat does completely tie in time-wise with her having school dinners. She was on packed lunches before.

Think I'll ditch the school dinners after half term...

EmilyDavidson · 04/10/2007 11:51

I wouldnt even think about the food because it sounds like you are doing that brilliantly already , i would just try to up the exercise. Organised things like karate or majorettes can be fun if you are that type of person ,but things to do at home are good too ie trampoline if you have the space.
You know what is exhausting and really great for your figure is a hula hoop. Also dance mats are fun.

frogs · 04/10/2007 12:04

Even the new, post-Jamie school dinners still major on carbs, both for main courses and for puddings. Cake and custard seems to feature prominently according to dd2 (who is not old enough to be allowed packed lunches), as do chips and various breaded and fried substances usually accompanied by pasta, rice or mashed potato. Reading between the lines of the published menu is a bit of a black art as they've all been rejigged to sound like the best of Nobu crossed with Fifteen, but once you get the hang of it, it tends to be the same old stodge as ever.

I'd have thought for a child with potential weight issues, packed lunches would be the first port of call.

frogs · 04/10/2007 12:05

I meant, cutting out packed lunches. Dur.

Original poster
bluejelly · 04/10/2007 12:06

She does swimming once a week with a tutor, lots of lengths etc
she also does ice skating lessons

School is unfortunately 2 mins walk from our house, so not much opportunity for exercise there

We never have fruit juice at home ( only water and skimmed milk) but if we go out to a cafe or something ( once a week usually) she gets apple juice..

OP posts:
geekgirl · 04/10/2007 12:07

LOL @ nobu/15