DD overweight, but what more can I do?

Steel_2

I would agree with other posters about trying slightly smaller portion sizes. I'd also suggest treating yourself to a new set of smaller dinner plates. I collect vintage kitchenalia and I can tell you now that today's plates are massive compared to what we used to have a few decades ago. Many of them used to have large thick decorative borders so you really only used to put the food on about 3/4 of the plate. Now today's plates have smaller borders and combined with their bigger size we tend to fill them up with much more food.

My nephew used to be a bit small, short and slightly tubby all the way through primary school. He used to play a fair bit of sports and loved rugby but always had that 'puppy fat' look. Then he turned thirteen and by God, we reckon his body was storing calories for what was to come.

By 16 he was 6ft 2 with size 13 feet. All the rugby built muscle. He's 19 now, lean and built like a brick sh*thouse.

And can pick his auntie up and swing her round. Little git.

milliebear00001

Forget all the charts, stand back and take a good, long look at her. Then compare her with the other children in her class. Does she seem (honestly) in any way overweight to you?

If your honest answer is yes, you need to look again at her exercise levels and her food intake. There is no complicated issue with weight. It's a simple matter of burning off what you put in. If she's eating healthy food, then she's simply not getting enough exercise to burn off the calories going in. Either, up the exercise, or reduce the calorie intake.

property.advert

If the mother is size 18 then she obviously doesn't know how to manage calories or doesn't care about them. She needs help.

Get the child swimming.

Doom_and_Gloom

property.advert wrote: »

If the mother is size 18 then she obviously doesn't know how to manage calories or doesn't care about them. She needs help.

Get the child swimming.

That's not overly fair. My ma has always been big (overweight/obese, always a 18+ size I think) but as a child I was always underweight. She had people questioning (sp?) if she fed me enough :eek: (she fed me adult portions as well) nothing made me put on weight back then. I was very energetic though and did a lot of things including swimming. However the OP has said her DD does exercize (sp?). Okay overweight/obese children usually end up as overweight/obese adults but some children grow into that weight as they grow out then up (I was never one of these - as I said I was always underweight as a child - but I had friends that were).

P.S sorry about my spelling I am very tired.

the_cat

Sorry to say this, but I think you need to look a little deeper than at just the 7 year old's diet.

You say you are 'dumpy' and from the figures you have given you would certainly appear to be overweight and have indicated that other family members are the same (not sure about the dad though, is he big too?)

Whilst genetics can play a part, the basic problem is a simple maths one..... more going in, than being expended in exercise. You are condeming her to the same fate as yourself. The habits she learns now with food and exercise will last her a lifetime. She will learn from you. If you overeat or eat the wrong foods and do little or no exercise, this is what she will be like when she grows up!

Is that what you really want?

I don't think you should single her out for special attention or a 'diet' but I do think that improving the health of ALL of you and setting a better example, making time to exercise, making absolutely sure that everyone always has their 5 a day etc, eats a sensible low-fat diet etc would benefit her enourmously and have an added bonus for yourself.

TBH even if she were not overweight now, she is very likely to become so once the exercise she gets from playing stops as she is eating the way you do...... and as you said, you are 'dumpy'

PS. I hope you are not offended/hurt by these comments. I am not trying to be rude, but it is difficult not to 'name call' and still make this point...sorry!

Penny-Pincher!!

For an average 7yr old, you would probably be surprised at how small the portion sizes should be for meals.

It sounds like she needs a visit to the GP or weight clinic where they can measure her and weigh her and compare her BMI to any other 7yr old. she could well just be waiting for a growing spurt (sp).

Fruit doesnt need to be expensive as long as you buy in season or from a market, Aldi or value fruit and veg. Tinned Spagetti has a portion of veg in it as HM soups do etc and they can cost pennies per portion. Even value fruit juices work to be very cheap per portion. Tinned fruit also.

Are you a generally big family? Do you eat a lot of carb based dishes? Is there diabetes in the family?

Out of interest, what kind of drinks does she have?

You mentioned in your OP that Greggs is occasionally eaten and thought that was just a funny thing to put. Greggs is a bakers and most food items are full of fat or sugar.

I would sit down and make options available for breakfast, lunch and dinner and let her chose one from each with fruit as snacks and water to drink as she may well be thirsty rather than being hungry as children dont always get that. Maybe its something you could all do as a family and encourage each other and up the exercise together.

HTH

PP
xx

Molly41

Go and enrol in your local MEND group. We did this last year and it was brilliant! Also a good website full of info.

Bonnie2009

My daughter was similar when she was about 9 - lots of exercise but couldn't shift the weight.

After a visit to the dentist (where she saw some awful pictures of other people's teeth) I suggested that she only drink milk or water for the whole summer - I said it would be good for her teeth. It was, and she lost several pounds, too.

Whatever you do, don't mention her weight. She'll be as aware as you that she is heavier than her friends.

margaretclare

dizziblonde wrote: »

If you make it into a battleground she may well kick against you completely - I did and it's how my weight gain started off. Rather than going in all guns blazing, I'd shift things over to healthier options gradually - if she has dilutey squash - reduce the strength of it gradually, "run out" of biscuits so she's got to have an apple or similar... I just know my mum made food a big battlefield with the result that when I could - I ended up bingeing and ended up getting fat almost as a big two fingers up to my mother.

She doesn't take anything like steroids for eczema or asthma by any chance does she? I know my little brother was really rather large as a child because he took prednisolone a lot (and I know I've spelt that wrong) for his eczema - in addition to which his eczema was so severe it knocked his growth back slightly, poor thing was head to toe in bandages and more than slightly stocky - right combo for him... he's now a very muscular fitness obsessed twenty something - because my mum didn't push things too hard with him and he decided as a teenager that he wanted to do the gym thing etc etc.

No, you've spelt prednisolone correctly!

Yes, steroids are well-known for altering body shape and causing weight gain.

Britwife

With her being so young, now is the opportunity to instill healthy choices. Fresh fruits and veggies....push them if you worry about them going to waste. Most supermarkets put a good variety on sale each week and you can get some great deals. The biggest step is starting to eat healthy foods yourself and she will see you eating them and then follow suit.

I'm putting myself out there to say, I'm a size 18, used to be a size 24 and I'm still losing. I do notice that most parents that are overweight, their children are too, mostly because of the snacking and portions. I never allowed my children to see me snacking and I don't give them many snacks. I was ashamed at how I looked but when I look back, this is how we ate as kids, we grew up with bad food habits.

I now plan my weekly menu out packed full of healthy foods. Once a week, I'll buy them a snack and we are happy with that.

It may help just to track her calories for a week. Some pasta dishes can be nearly 700 cals and then you add garlic bread to that, wow! It adds up fast.