childrens weight

Question
You answered my weight loss issues a couple of days ago.  And thank you. That info really will help me in my success in my weight loss.

But now I have a question about my daughter Emily, she has put weight on. she went to visit my parents a couple of months ago, and came back i noticed she put on about 10 to 15 lbs. i have been trying to show her how portion her food.   Looking on the label for nutrition. she is about 5'2" and about 140 i feel that she is overweight. But its a really touchy subject. she is 13. she really has a belly. I have tried to walk with me or do exercises. she wont my son who put weight on, he will walk  with me.  I encouraged for her ride her bike. she has.  I would say dinner is by 7:00p.m. I really don't want my nagging affect her in a bad way. she actually is reading labels and eating the serving size. i Know she is only 13 and she still has baby fat i guess. But she got upset when she back from vacation and none of her pants fit.  I even tried to tell to give me 4 weeks of helping her with eating choices and exercise with with me.   And i would by her a mp3 player. and she would get all new clothes. That may have been wrong, but i really worried.  I never had a weight problem at her age. if she has problems now, what will happen as an adult.  not to mention kids may tease her.  She hasn't told of that. The bribe as i call it, didn't work. What should i do?  thanks Bethann

Answer
Hi Bethann,
You are experiencing what will become the health care crisis in this country.  Overweight children are proliferating at an alarming rate.  We as a society need to address this issue head on or we will be paying dearly in the decades to come.  They are now performing a type of bariatric surgery called a lap band procedure on children!  We are making children抯 stomach抯 smaller.  Some day we will look back at bariatric weight loss surgery as we do now on the lobotomy.  The solution is not to change the physiology of the person.  The person抯 stomach is not too big.  The person is making the wrong nutrition and lifestyle choices.  With children, developing a lifestyle that involves daily activity is paramount.  Find an activity that your daughter would enjoy doing.  Most children would rather play a sport, or rollerblade, or use a Razor Scooter, than walk.  Many gyms and health clubs now offer kids classes that are full of fun activities.

Ask her if she would like to play tennis, or soccer.  Try turning on sports on TV and asking her if that looks like fun.  Find one she says yes to and then get her involved in it.  You can play it with her, or she can get involved with friends.  Take a look at her friends.  Find the ones who are also overweight and speak with their moms about getting together to create an opportunity to play together.

Physical activity is just one piece of the puzzle.  Nutrition must also be moderated.  First, start by reducing the availability of processed and boxed foods in the house.  Sodas included!  Read the food labels.  If it says 揾igh fructose corn syrup?throw it out.  Make fresh fruits and vegetables available.  Cut up strawberries and put them in small containers in the fridge so that she can easily eat them.  Mix strawberries with blueberries and grapes for variety.  Overall calories are what cause weight gain.  Avoid cereals that are calorie dense.  Encourage the use of lower calorie cereals, yogurt (which can be topped with fruit), and most importantly ?reduce ingestion of high calorie fast foods.  Help your daughter make better decisions eating out.   Spend some time looking at calorieking.com, or another similar nutritional guidance website to see how many calories your daughter eats when she is at a fast food restaurant.  Share the data with her so that she can then make better-informed decisions.

I think the solution is NOT in barbarically reducing the size of our stomachs.  Nor is it in the next diet sensation.  Our focus needs to be less on the diet and more on the dieter.  I think the solution is in education and better decision-making.  

As for the bribe, well, had it worked then great!  But since it didn抰, try my suggestions above.  You can always buy her something special to reward her for changes in the right direction.  An unexpected gift is always a great motivator!

Best of health,
Dr. Bret
Doctoremery.com

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