My 6 year old is curiously overweight - anyone with a similar experience?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Six seems young to be overeating. At that age, they still self-regulate pretty well, and you say she's active.. Eating disorders don't usually crop up til the hormonal changes of puberty start. So I agree with all the PPs, this is a question for the doc.

My 6 year old can DEFINITELY overeat if someone doesn't intervene. She'd eat an entire bag of chips or sleeve of cookies if I'd let her.
OP, I provide healthy snacks that my DD can easily access and eat whenever and however much she wants. These include apple slices, carrots, cucumbers, celery sticks, grapes, raisins, etc. No questions asked, she can chow down on those. She has a treat everyday, but they are 2 fig newtons or a dumdum lollipop (very few calories) after she has a meal. Carbs (chips, crackers) are a very small portion of her diet. NO JUICE. Absolutely no juice unless she's at a birthday party or some other special event. Juice is terrible on so many levels. And, also, no milk. She eats cheese and yogurt at meals, she doesn't need liquid calories.
Talk to your ped, of course, but making simple changes won't hurt in any case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Six seems young to be overeating. At that age, they still self-regulate pretty well, and you say she's active.. Eating disorders don't usually crop up til the hormonal changes of puberty start. So I agree with all the PPs, this is a question for the doc.

My 6 year old can DEFINITELY overeat if someone doesn't intervene. She'd eat an entire bag of chips or sleeve of cookies if I'd let her.
OP, I provide healthy snacks that my DD can easily access and eat whenever and however much she wants. These include apple slices, carrots, cucumbers, celery sticks, grapes, raisins, etc. No questions asked, she can chow down on those. She has a treat everyday, but they are 2 fig newtons or a dumdum lollipop (very few calories) after she has a meal. Carbs (chips, crackers) are a very small portion of her diet. NO JUICE. Absolutely no juice unless she's at a birthday party or some other special event. Juice is terrible on so many levels. And, also, no milk. She eats cheese and yogurt at meals, she doesn't need liquid calories.
Talk to your ped, of course, but making simple changes won't hurt in any case.

I meant to say, my children will not eat as much of these healthy snacks, even given full access to them, as they would if we said they could have full access to Oreos or ice cream. If that were the case, they'd eat the whole container. But with apples, they eat a few slices and move on to play. There is something addictive about processed foods, even the organic ones.

[Anonymous]

I meant to say, my children will not eat as much of these healthy snacks, even given full access to them, as they would if we said they could have full access to Oreos or ice cream. If that were the case, they'd eat the whole container. But with apples, they eat a few slices and move on to play. There is something addictive about processed foods, even the organic ones.

LOL. You've never seen my kid eat fruit. We've had to cut him off from time to time for fear he would get sick.

[Anonymous]

my just-turned 5-yo son is obese according to BMI (47"/59lbs) - he eats a lot and also quite active. had his blood drawn last week at 5-yo checkup for thyroid testing.

i started a similar thread about 6 months ago when we started worried about his weight. the increase hasn't slowed down. we're still very worried. but we know/knew we need/needed to tighten up his eating habits.

good luck to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I meant to say, my children will not eat as much of these healthy snacks, even given full access to them, as they would if we said they could have full access to Oreos or ice cream. If that were the case, they'd eat the whole container. But with apples, they eat a few slices and move on to play. There is something addictive about processed foods, even the organic ones.

LOL. You've never seen my kid eat fruit. We've had to cut him off from time to time for fear he would get sick.

Same with mine on the fruit. He has eaten entire containers of strawberries at a sitting, only to move on to apples, etc. And FWIW, he's 5, and roughly 15th percentile weight/80th percentile height. Sometimes it's just the way they are--he's not much of a junkfood eater.

[Anonymous]

My aunt was a pudgy child. No reason why - there wasn't fast food then, and they ate normal meals and my aunt spent a lot of time outdoors playing (no TV). My mom used to make fun of her (so I'm told). My mom (7 years younger than the aunt) would call her "pudgy wudgy" or something silly like that. The pictures I've seen of them show a pudgy (not fat) elementary school child. My mom was incredibly skinny.

My aunt lost all her weight when she hit her teens. This was the 40's - so she never was on a diet, but her body changed and it reapportioned itself and the baby fat dropped off. She is to this day very thin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how many posts on DCUM are "How can I get my DC to eat more?" and how many are "How can I get my DC to eat less?"

It is pretty alarming how many people are piling on with the diet and exercise tips for a six year old. How many of you know this child? How many of you have medical degrees?

Diet advice? I see people pointing out a few things.. and a lot suggesting she talk to her Dr. Some might have even been through this and can understand that maybe the child is eating more than the mom realizes.. or isn't getting as much activity as mom thinks. Yup, pretty alarming stuff.

[Anonymous]

Talk about it with your pediatrician. It could be an underlying issue (thyroid or allergy/intolerance), or this could just be how she is built and she'll even out as she grows taller.

For kids, losing weight is usually not the focus or concern. Instead, they try to keep it stable so they that grow into their weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For kids, losing weight is usually not the focus or concern. Instead, they try to keep it stable so they that grow into their weight.

This. Second the rec for the stoplight diet book, it's great for the whole family, pretty much the same as the Sesame Street always/sometimes foods, similar to Weight Watchers, just very healthy eating. Everyone should eat more fruits and vegetables.

OP you really need to speak with your ped about your concerns out of DD's hearing. Get his/her thoughts on BMI and logical next steps. In the meantime, getting the whole family eating better and moving more (soccer after dinner, long walks or bike rides on the weekend, etc) is fantastic for everyone's health.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand it - she is very active, lots of energy, does sports every day after school, she doesn't eat much and what she does eat is very healthy (all organic, whole wheat, nothing processed), but she is overweight. It is starting to affect her self-esteem and I feel awful. We are trying to help her by getting her more active and further controling her food, without talking about the weight. Nothing is helping. I am begining to worry that she might have a thyroid issue. Anyone with a similar experience?

To me, this is the more disturbing part of the post than anything else. Sounds like she's a healthy kid (unless she actually has a medical issue as pointed out by PPs, but healthy eating/exercise) and you're very conscientious about her physical health. But, a 6 year old having self-esteem issues regarding her weight bothers me. Maybe I'm super-sensitive to it since I suffered from an eating disorder for many years, but the fact is: losing weight is on the whole a lot easier than gaining self-confidence. Where is her concern over her weight coming from? Other kids? You? Just be careful! Why don't you bring it up privately with her physician-- if she's already sensitive, it will make her feel terrible to hear you talk about it with her in the room because right now her self-esteem is so tied up in what you think of her. I would be cautious about controlling food- that can backfire. Instead, make sure mealtimes are a peaceful, happy time where eating is not the focus so much as spending time together. Make sure to talk, talk, talk with her about her weight if you know she's thinking about it or getting teased for it. Don't just quietly try to control her meals. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I wonder about her carb intake and the volume of food she eats when at home. PP is right about self image. Keep it relaxed, but only send just enough - not "extra" food to school and same for breakfast and dinner. Get off the juice. Play with her - she may not be moving as much as you think she is. If she says she is hungry, try giving her gum. You might want to keep a food diary for her for a week so you really get to see what she is eating and you haver a better sense of her calorie intake.

http://health.kaboose.com/nutrition/portions-ages4-8.html

[Anonymous]

I would see your ped to rule out medical issues, but also please, as others have said, be very careful about controlling food.It sounds lik eyou are a very caring mom who wants her daughter to feel good about herself as much as be healthy. But kids can sense when you're concerned about their weight, and it can become very tricky early on---I remember feeling "fat" by age 6, and I recall starting a diet by age 9-and have remembered my childhood as one plagued by being fat...my mother always making pointed remarks when we went somewhere and one of my friends was eating something fattening and her saying "X can't eat that, because she's not as slim as you are," etc, telling me I couldn't have dessert (while my brother could) and of always making a big point of how FATTENING something was and then look at me meaningfully (she still does this, but I've learned to ignore it). the thing is, when I see photos of myself as a kid, I see a slightly plump child--it turns out I was only a little bit overweight, but the issues over it lasted for a long time and I have an internal sense of being "obese" when I was just a bit rounder than many kids. Finallly when I was in my early 20s--after a long bout of illness brought on by extreme dieting and exercise, I discovered I was hypothyroid, which likely made it hard for me to be thin, despite my attemps. I have taken meds since and while I am not skinny skinny, I'm a fit, fairly petite woman with "normal" eating habits. I say normal in quotes, because the issues are there under the surface. Indeed, one of the things I thought about when I found out I was having a boy was a sense of relief, that I'd not inflict body issues on my daughter....sorry, this turned into a self absorbed ramble, but I guess what I want to say is that it is good to be concerned, but definitely make sure any eating habits/lifestyle changes are for the whole family and be supportive of her emotional well being.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thank you so much for everyone's thoughtful comments. I went to the pediatrician today (I had an appointment previously scheduled for my younger child, so my 6 year old wasn't there) and I asked her about my concerns. She said that she would like to do some bloodwork and check her hormone levels. She was very sensitive to not explaining why in front of my 6 year old and we agreed that we would just say it was a routine visit. So, we are making an appointment....to be continued....

[Anonymous]

It seems like you have the medical side under control. What about the food side?

As many posters have pointed out, you can get fat on organic food. Don't get suckered into believing that a healthy diet = avoiding processed foods. You can get fat on good food. Some of it is more caloric than you might imagine.

Consider estimating her calorie intake and comparing that with guideline numbers. I wouldn't do it with her, because you don't want to guilt trip her at this point. But it seems to me that, assuming the hormones check out, total calories is the next place to look.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you have a reasonable pediatrician. Good luck with it!