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Original poster

OMG It's official DS is overweight, what can I do ?

63 replies

rookiemater · 16/02/2009 09:35

DS 2.11 has always been well padded, right from the minute he came into the world at 9.7.5lb.

I stopped BF fairly quickly because DS had tongue tie and other issues.

He is a bit of a fussy eater, again probably our fault.

We noticed that his tummy was getting a bit big so I decided to compare him on the charts. It turns out that for his age he is on the 92 percentile for BMI, which they classify as overweight bordering on obese.

I'm not sure what to do. He is very active and he goes to activities with the CM such as kindergym and toddlers and swimming and soft play with me, plus he walks short distances.

His diet isn't great but it is more of a restricted nature as he has a few things that he will eat - weetabix, oatabix, bananas,apples, bread ( all types), jam, sliced ham and chicken ( sometimes), carrots, hoummus, pizza,cheese, chicken nuggets and oven chips. He loves sweets, cakes and crisps but only gets them in very limited quantities. Oh we are also toilet training and he has a bit of an issue around poos so I don't want to cut down on fruit juice ( 2 small glasses a day) as I feel this would impact on his pooing.

I noticed over the weekend that he kept saying he was hungry for lunch or dinner even when he had just had a snack ( of banana or apple) so wonder if he has just got into a bad habit of eating when bored ?

Both DH and I are what you would call strapping. We will never be waif like but are on just the right side of sturdy, so genetically DS is never going to be a skinny urchin.

Clothes wise he fits things in the correct age range 2-3 yrs old. He has a long body and short legs.

Should I do anything or will it just sort itself out ?

OP posts:
notyummy · 16/02/2009 12:52

Weetabix isn't too bad for sugar compared to some cereals muffle....and def better than muesli because of the amount of sugar in the dried fruit that even non-sweetened varieties contain.

belgo · 16/02/2009 12:58

I have three cereals in my cupbaord, weetabix is lowest for calories, then rice crispies, then cruesli(full of nuts).

muffle · 16/02/2009 13:07

Hmm true about the fruit and nuts in muesli, but a largely oat-based muesli would be more filling than weetabix. Porridge best of all though.

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belgo · 16/02/2009 13:09

yes porridge is probably best, but weetabix isn't bad, especially compared to many cereals (and juices) which really are sugar laden.

belgo · 16/02/2009 13:09

and there's also nothing wrong with nuts and dried fruit in muesli, it's just higher in energy.

nappyaddict · 16/02/2009 13:21

We have 4 cereals in our cupboard. Shredded wheat, puffed wheat, muesli (no added salt or sugar) and porridge.

FriarKewcumber · 16/02/2009 13:40

I only have rice crispies in mine - am I going to get publically flagellated?

muffle · 16/02/2009 13:46

No I can beat that Kew. We have some...

coco pops chocolate moons and stars

AHEM alongside all the healthy muesli and porridge of course.

FriarKewcumber · 16/02/2009 13:47

obviously I only use the rice crispies to garnish my made from oats porridge.

belgo · 16/02/2009 14:00

well I make my own muesli

apostrophe · 16/02/2009 14:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

FriarKewcumber · 16/02/2009 15:34

I make my own weetabix of course

FriarKewcumber · 16/02/2009 15:41

You can taste the sugar in cheerios - DS is allowed them dry or with milk as a treat not as a normal breakfast. Mind you I do let him have crumpet with butter so am a bit inconsistent on the healthy breakfast front.

I do find it interesting that when we talk about generic childhood obesity on MN it is roundly condemned and lots of discussion about reasons, diet exercise etc, but when any individual child is posted about, everyone is very quick to deny that child is overweight even if there is evidence to the contrary (caveat - have no idea whether OP's DS is overweight or not).

But wafting over children who are slightly tubby as "oh they'll sort themselves out" is disingenuous - plenty of studies show that fat children become fat adults and not all fat toddelrs lose it miraculously.

I agree obsessing over it isn't a good idea but equally letting your toddler eat whatever they want when they are clinically overweight doesn't seem like such a good idea either. I don't mean this OP in particular, its something I've seen repeatedly.... Children in general are overweight but MN children are cutely chubby?!

Mumwhensdinnerready · 16/02/2009 15:52

I agree that portion size may be an issue.
My 11 year old would only tackle 1 weetabix(no extra sugar ).
Is he still on full fat milk? Semi skimmed has just as much calcium. IME kids often say the're hungry when they are actually just thirsty, or bored.
I could usually tell when they were genuinely hungry as there behaviour would go dowhill.
I'm not sure about sweets or crisps for a 2 year old. What about breadsticks for snacks?
If you really believe he's overweight why not ask health visitor for an opinion?
I think at his age it's more about not starting bad eating habits that will be harder to change as he gets older.

Morloth · 16/02/2009 16:00

Muffle, I freakin' LOVE Cocopops.

I have them for breakfast on holidays. Didn't know about the special shapes though! YUM. Just like a chocolate milkshake only crunchie...

muffle · 16/02/2009 16:01

I see your point kew, but there is such a thing as a slightly chubby child, not vastly overweight, and in that case it's probably best not to make it into an obvious issue. I was like that at 3, chubby, not fat, and am not a fat adult (I could do with shedding a few pounds since childbirth like most of us - but have spent most of my adult life tall and slim).

IME a chunky child often becomes a tall, rather than fat, adult.

Original poster
rookiemater · 16/02/2009 16:02

Ah glad to see this is going strong. We are just back from learnabike class was an hour later than they had publicised but it was fine as they had balls out so DS kicked a ball for an additional hour.

Will try to answer some questions. DS has always been on the 92nd decile for weight since he was born. However he used to be on the 90th decile for height whereas now he is on the 50th. It may be that he is due a growth spurt and that is why he is currently looking a bit chunky. As I said before he is in 2-3 year old clothing, and as you would expect because he is almost 3, he fits some things and is growing out of others.

He does a poo every 3-4 days. It has become a bit of an issue since he stopped wearing nappies as he wants one on to poo and doesn't feel comfortable pooing anywhere except with myself or DS ( ah the joys !)

I did start him off on porridge, but at about 15 months he just refused to eat it any more. Don't really blame him, its hateful stuff. He doesn't get any sugar on his weetabix, except when granny is about and she spoons on honey which you would think she wouldn't do what with having been a paedaetrician before she retired. We use semi skimmed milk and have done since he was 2.

Agree that DH and I need to get on the same page. I agree what someone said earlier about portion size, perhaps I do need to be more aware of it. I would just like Dh to also agree that cheese per se is not fattening, it has calcium and protein and a small portion per day should be fine for him.

Oh the role modelling comment made me slightly as well. I have been suffering some health problems and haven't been as active as normal, but hopefully that is sorted now.

Oh its a hard one to figure out !

OP posts:
muffle · 16/02/2009 16:04

at coco pops. I'm actually not keen but DS does love the moon and star thing. Not for every day though!

Original poster
rookiemater · 16/02/2009 16:05

Oh and he doesn't get loads of sweets. He is currently on a jellybean per pee but that also requires loo flushing and handwashing and we are only 10 days in to no nappies so I think its a fair deal.

OP posts:
Morloth · 16/02/2009 16:08

I put brown sugar and cream on our porridge of a morning, it is happiness in a bowl.

He probably isn't fat at all, if he isn't poo-ing much then that will be there, also they all have lovely round tummies at that age.

The boy chubs up just before he jumps a few inches in height.

muffle · 16/02/2009 16:13

Yes mine also chunks out then has a growth spurt, as a regular pattern.

Morloth at your breakfast joys on this thread, while everyone else is wringing their hands over their breakfast healthiness!

Original poster
rookiemater · 16/02/2009 16:15

Oh and we don't argue in front of DS about it. It's more raised eyebrows and frosty silences for a bit, so hopefully DS not aware.

At the learnabike class I had the opportunity to compare him to 7 other toddlers. He was the second chunkiest but you wouldn't describe him at all as fat, the word solid comes to mind.

Oh Kew, can you send me your weetabix recipe, I will need to file it along with my play dough one to get my Mumsnet badge.

OP posts:
saladsucks · 16/02/2009 16:27

apostrophe - weetabix BITESIZE have exactly the same sugar level as weetabix (just double checked the website to make sure). The weetabix minis have choc chips or honey added to them (which would explain the high sugar content).

You had me worried there as we have the bitesize in our house and I had only swapped over once I'd checked the sugar levels.

Original poster
rookiemater · 16/02/2009 16:42

Laughs at saladsucks off to check the weetabix website !!

OP posts:
Morloth · 16/02/2009 17:53

Its cause we run around like mad things Muffle. If anything its getting enough calories that can be the problem in this house.

I enjoy food a lot and don't worry too much about all the other stuff.