11yo has a 'pot belly'

[Anonymous]

My son is 12 and never grew out of the "baby belly." I suspect some of it is genetic, as he is shaped just like his father. (Stocky with strong upper body, but prone to a gut.)

Here is what we did:

1) Healthy Diet -- lots of veggies/fruits. We don't forbid desserts and treats, but don't eat them everyday. No soda, except for maybe at parties. (He doesn't really like soda.) He drinks a lot of water, some O.J., and a Gatorade about once a week. No sugary cereals. (Doesn't really like cereal.) Usually packs a lunch (turkey sandwich, veggie, fruit, yogurt) rather than buying lunch at school.

2) Kid has some food allergies, so we felt it was important for him to learn how to cook for himself. This has help him eat healthier as well. He took a cooking class that talked about nutrition as well.

3) Exercise -- He exercises at least 5 days a week for an hour at a time. This doesn't include recess or PE in school. He did martial arts when he was younger, and when he was old enough started running 5Ks and working out at the gym. He also plays baseball and flag football. We got him a couple of sessions with a personal trainer to work out some routines that were appropriate for his age and development. He will typically run a couple of miles and do sit-ups and pushups.

We've noticed a big difference in the last year. He's developed more upper body strength and lost some of the gut. His BMI has gone down a little. (He was borderline overweight, but now falls in the "normal" range.) I suspect some of these changes are due to the onset of puberty.

Bottom line: I would work towards healthy habits and fitness benchmarks and not dwell on body shape. You will likely see a big difference in the next couple of years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I notice so many kids these days have guts, even really skinny teens/preteens. I blame corn syrup and hydrogenated oils, but it's just a guess.

New poster here. My almost 11 year old does, too. And he's crazy active. He doesn't eat any of those things, though. No sweet tooth, either. I cook most everything from scratch (not organic, but not super processed either). I'm not sure what's going on. I hope it disappears with puberty.

[Anonymous]

is Campbell's chicken/mushroom/etc soup considered process food?

[Anonymous]

So your son is kind of me. I was chubby before growth spurts for sure, but not really overweight and in fact I was a good athlete but I always always carried a belly (even when I starved myself in college and the rest of me got very thin, I still had a belly by comparison that was soft/jiggly).

So if its is just where he carries his weight, there sometimes isn't much to do but make him a smaller version of that body type.

As far as the other question, as you can tell from the "unsightly" poster, yes, he probably already knows. I know that aside from maybe a handful of years throughout my life I have felt ugly and less than since about the age of 11 actually when I think about it. It breaks my heart when I think of the fact that I started to hate my appearance as a child, but I guess some PPs think that was deserved?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell it like it is: son, your belly is huge. It's unhealthy, unsightly. Do something about it.

First, diet. Have a good diet, not one of those silly fad diets, i.e., non gluten, etc.

I hope you are a troll.

[Anonymous]

When there are broads on Deck and he gets none, he will probably try to not be fat.