Anyone else got a fat 13 yr old DS

[Nicole1976]

Anyone got by ideas for exercises for an overweight 13 year old ?

My bro was fat at that age. Then he hit a growth spurt and thinned out. He could be storing fat for one final grow. How tall is he?

Swimming, cycling, walking, netball/basket ball, football, rugby and hockey to name but a few.

Healthy diet and correct portion size is also key.

It makes me uncomfortable that you would call your child "fat". Very uncomfortable indeed.

Also OP if you are concerned then you need to visit the GP or HV (you had a thread the other day about your child's weight).

He is 5"0 tall

Another who's concerned about the thread title. I do hope that he never hears you say that.

I would never call him fat when talking to him, I'm just being brutally honest.

I know it's not the done thing but looking at the threads you have started each one of them is about a different one of your 3 children being fat, chunky, or over eating.

I think you need to look at what you are feeding your children OP and how much exercise you encourage them to do.

Either that or you are the one with issues regarding weight.

I just find it odd that you could call your child fat. Maybe overweight (which you did go on to say) but fat just seems a sad thing to be calling your child whether he's overweight or not.

How much does he weigh?

My 12 year old eats a lot, but I think what stops him being fat is that he walks to school 35 minutes each way every day-his trousers have got looser since he went o secondary school and started doing that (primary is 5 minutes walk). He also does swimming and hockey after school and we make sure we walk, bike etc every weekend. He plays out on his bike now the evenings are lighter.

I have no problem with unplugging the technology and telling him to go out and play, but I am lucky that he's not interested in tv.

I try and make sure his meals are healthy and filling so wholemeal pasta, rice, bread, wholewheat cereal. Snacks are stuff like nuts in attempts to fill him up.

I empathise as my son is heavier than he should be but it is a bit chicken and egg. My son avoids sport as he feels he is too big but if he did sport he may lose more weight. My son walks to school and rides his bike. Next week we are all starting Slimming World to encourage him. DS could get free membership but no way he would attend a meeting so we will just follow the recipes. Look for a MEND course in your area. They promote healthy eating and exercise for kids.

He weighs 9 stone

I'd second portion control and healthy eating alongside exercise. He will not have hit the teen growth spurt yet, so what you want to do is not focus on losing weight but focus on him not gaining any more so he can grow into his weight when he shoots up at 15-ish.

9 stone doesn't sound fat to me. DSis weighed the same at that age and was about 5-5'1 and wasn't a bit fat.

If he is a bit stocky though, he might just be preparing for a growth spurt. DP was the same, we got together at 15 but went to the same schools all our lives so I knew of him, and all through his childhood he'd been getting wider and not much taller from the ages of 12-14 and then began evening out until one day he shot up and was 6 foot tall and very thin.
He was active and played rugby, did diving, and he's a drummer and has been since he was 13 so that's good cardio. It might not make a difference to his weight but would make him fitter and lead to him making new friends.

It's a 10 minute walk to his school but I always take him in the car because this means he can't buy loads of junk food on the way to school. Also, it makes me know that he is safe.

You're in control of most of his diet so sort that.

Are you an active family?

Me and DH are very active but all three of my DC's are overweight and are not active

You're driving him when it's a 10 minute walk? There's your problem then. Its perfectly safe for a 13 year old boy to walk to school, just make sure he has no money on him when he goes to school and he won't be able to buy junk food. If he doesn't do any other exercise and he gets a lift to school then he's hardly doing any exercise at all.

Why don't you walk to school with him? Or ten paces behind, or whatever, if you are deemed Uncool

I am 5ft 6 and weigh 9st 12 and would class myself at slim - for a 50yo.

A 13yo who is 5 ft and 9 st is overweight, I agree.

The key IMO is portion size - we have cut down for all of us in an attempt to help us all lose weight. Smaller plates; cook less pasta or rice; add in more veg to fill the plate.

And yy get him to exercise. He should walk to school - make sure he has no money. What does he enjoy? Where I live a 13yo can go to the gym (ie running machines etc) - my 14yo who isn't keen on footy etc loves the gym. Or bike riding - take him out on his bike every Sunday? Good luck OP. This is a way you can change your son's life for the better.

Walk him to school for goodness sake!

Ridiculous.