My child is becoming a bit overweight, what should I do to manage her weight?

Parenting
1
She doesn’t like many vegetables and refuses to try too many new things. She’s a picky eater, but definitely enjoys snacking. She doesn’t eat out of control and she’s not lazy, but her weight is catching up to her. She is 8 years old. And 82 lbs 50 inches tall. I want to get a handle on things before it gets out of control and she starts being self conscious. I’d appreciate any help
2

I think at that age it is EXTREMELY important to focus on health rather than weight/the way her body looks. Focus on weight will cause her to become more self conscious and potentially develop further body image issues down the line as we now see in many young teens.
Try make it a fun thing you becoming both healthy together. Introduce healthy items one bit at a time and make sure you model everything.
Additionally, explore what causes her to be a picky eater, often children that age can have sensory food related issues so it’s important that this isn’t the case for her. Regarding exercise, if you have time, spend time doing fun activities together so that she gets lots of movement. Most of all reminder her that she’s beautiful every day so that she grows up to be a confident young lady. Hope this helps :slight_smile:

3

She’s actually right around where she should be for her age and height. I was and am a picky eater myself. I was that obese child that ended up being an obese adult. If you try and force this dramatically, it may make her feel self conscious already. Start by going on family walks a few times a week. Ride bikes. Include everyone not just her. Do smaller portion controls. My parents snuck veggies in my food and I never noticed. Get protein drinks. Water water water. If you go out to buffets have her try one new thing each time you go out. Have her help you with picking meals.

4

so If you go and use a bmi (body mass index) calculator and input their height and weight it’ll give you a better idea of if she is overweight or not. According to what height and weight you gave for her, her bmi is 24.5 which is normal and not overweight. If you want to prevent her from becoming overweight, the best thing you can do is set an example. Make sure you’re eating healthy foods and being active. If you’re not, your daughter will see that and not want to either.
Something important to remember is that muscle weighs more than fat does so once she does become more active and builds any muscle, the bmi
scale can make her seem overweight even though she isn’t.

5

Watch the sugar intake. Here in the US, it is just out of this world how much sugar is in everything and a lot of people just can’t handle it. When you read how horrible it is for your body, it’s easy to justify the restriction. I’m not saying we are the best in the world at cutting it out, but I’ve always tried to restrict sodas and sweets telling my kids that sugar is just so bad for you in the long run. Good Luck!