Not sure if my 8 year old son is overweight or obese?

[Anonymous]

You've gone into a lot of detail about how his belly sticks out a lot and how you can't button up shirts and it says over his swimming trunks and covers them up - but what about the rest of his body? Does he have a chubby face and legs? Without sounding weird does he have a big buttocks as well as a belly? And if he is being fat shamed as everyone seems to think why is he not self-conscious when swimming where his fat is very visibly on show to everyone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You've gone into a lot of detail about how his belly sticks out a lot and how you can't button up shirts and it says over his swimming trunks and covers them up - but what about the rest of his body? Does he have a chubby face and legs? Without sounding weird does he have a big buttocks as well as a belly? And if he is being fat shamed as everyone seems to think why is he not self-conscious when swimming where his fat is very visibly on show to everyone?

Yes I've gone into detail on his belly because that is by far the more visibly fat bit and my most concerning part. He does have a chubby face yes, however his bottom is not as chubby as you would think the belly is a lot worse. For instance when we had to buy him a booster seat for the car he could sit in it fine, however how far his belly came out made the straps quite tight and we had to adjust them for extra leeway. And I'm not sure why he isn't self conscious, maybe it's his youth or naivety or just the fact that no one really brings it up. And the only time you really notice it is when he sits by the side of the pool before or after the swimming lesson and he's next to his skinnier friends/other children. The rest of time he's in the water so you can't see anything.

[Anonymous]

You need to find a way to get him to realise how fat he actually is without hurting his feelings. Does he not find it suspicious how he wears age 11-12 clothing or can't button up shirts even if they're husky. Unfortunately he's going to have to work it off and it's sort of down to you to arrange that. Get him on the scales and get him to do excercise and diet and back on the scales to see how much weight he's lost (or put on) - that way you can really see what's working and what isn't because if he's a regular swimmer and still has a belly that not only overlaps but covers up his speedos then clearly something needs to change.

[Anonymous]

Since he is 8, there is really no reason why you cannot show him a BMI chart and explain the concepts. CDC website has it. You can tell me the health consequence and the importance of diet and exercise. You can keep this matter of fact without resulting to appearance and clothes size at all.

[Anonymous]

I meant tell him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to find a way to get him to realise how fat he actually is without hurting his feelings. Does he not find it suspicious how he wears age 11-12 clothing or can't button up shirts even if they're husky. Unfortunately he's going to have to work it off and it's sort of down to you to arrange that. Get him on the scales and get him to do excercise and diet and back on the scales to see how much weight he's lost (or put on) - that way you can really see what's working and what isn't because if he's a regular swimmer and still has a belly that not only overlaps but covers up his speedos then clearly something needs to change.

Gah, NO! An 8 year-old does NOT need to "realize how fat he actually is" nor does he need to lose weight. OP, at that age, he is still growing. I think the advice is to MAINTAIN his weight as his height continues to increase. I think it would be the very rare (morbidly obese) 8 year-old that a doctor would advise actual weight loss.

Get the junk food out of the house. Don't overdo it with carbs and always use whole grains. Try to sneak in more activity. Park further away form the entrance, walk to school if possible a couple days a week, get a dog--my kids love walking our dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure it's really serious enough to take him to a doctor just yet - any solutions I can do at home??

You need an objective, qualified person to determine if he is obese or overweight. Take him to the doctor.

After that, you need to eliminate the junk food in the house and make sure he is getting regular exercise. He needs to sign up for a sport or a couple of sports. He needs a minimum of 60 minutes of exercise per day. (Kids need more than adults.) It doesn't have to be every day, but the total for the week should be 6-7 hours. If you can assume that he is getting 30 minutes at school, then that means he needs at least 3 hours of practice/class per week. Pick something. I prefer sports that are things that kids can do for life -- dance, running, swimming, martial arts.

[Anonymous]

It's much easier to control weight by limiting calories than it is to "exercise away" fat. Activity is important, of course, but teaching him to eat appropriate portions of the right foods is better.

OP, talk to your child's doctor and see if you can work with a nutritionist. If your child is always hungry the nutritionist can give you ideas about different foods that will help him feel satisfied longer. There is no need to discuss weight with him, really. If you get his diet under control he will grow into the excess weight.

[Anonymous]

My soon-to-be 8 year old weighs 51 pounds. I know he has friends that are about 20+ pounds heavier. It seems to be an age where there is a lot of size variation, honestly, OP (which is why I gave the example!). My son is always hungry to and it can be SO difficult to control.

I had a different thought as well. I have known a lot of kids that do their growing in this age range, get to high school and don't get taller but thin out dramatically. Maybe your son fits into that category? We were told by the doctor that our son will be growing well past age 18, so he is on the opposite end of the spectrum.

It just feels to me that a lot of people are focused on his size and yet there could be another explanation behind it.

[Anonymous]

Gah, NO! An 8 year-old does NOT need to "realize how fat he actually is" nor does he need to lose weight. OP, at that age, he is still growing. I think the advice is to MAINTAIN his weight as his height continues to increase. I think it would be the very rare (morbidly obese) 8 year-old that a doctor would advise actual weight loss.

Get the junk food out of the house. Don't overdo it with carbs and always use whole grains. Try to sneak in more activity. Park further away form the entrance, walk to school if possible a couple days a week, get a dog--my kids love walking our dog.

Do you not think this child is different and a doctor would advise children differently considering all their circumstances. OP had clearly described has son as being a small 8 year old who is likely to be obese or frankly even morbidly obese. I work with children a lot and I only really see children of the given description extremely rarely. Things like his belly overlapping his trunks and belt and struggling to button up husky shirts is seriously abnormal and uncommon - especially for an 8 year old! I agree that he should be on a diet and excercising - if it was my child I would not want him swimming because I'd be embarassed that all the other moms would see that my child is obese. Sorry to be so brutally honest but there are solutions and he does not have to be fat forever - seek help and get his belly back to where it should be!

[Anonymous]

I don't think your son is overweight or obese, from the description he sounds morbidly obese and needs some form of medical attention. I'm sorry to say this but in my opinion his health comes before his feelings and your son is a very fat child. Start making a diary of his weight, waistline and around the widest part of the belly measures each week and start getting some decent results. Remember you're the parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not OP, but my 8yo's BMI is in the 65th percentile. The dr didn't say anything but is that considered overweight? Child doesn't look chubby to me - even has well-defined muscles. But I have body image issues so I wanted a reality check.

Not at all. 85% and above is over weight. 95%and above is obese.

Not necessarily. My son is 95th percentile for height and weight. He's not fat at all- just tall and his weight is proportionally high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure it's really serious enough to take him to a doctor just yet - any solutions I can do at home??

Yes, easily: cut processed food as much as possible, among processed food (after all even bread is processed) go for the least processed

unlimited fruit and veggies
healthy and filling fats like whole yogurt, whole milk and avocado yes

yes to wheat bread, grains, pasta but along and in proportion to healthy fruit veggies, real cheese,....

Not to soda, crackers, bars, chips...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not OP, but my 8yo's BMI is in the 65th percentile. The dr didn't say anything but is that considered overweight? Child doesn't look chubby to me - even has well-defined muscles. But I have body image issues so I wanted a reality check.

Not at all. 85% and above is over weight. 95%and above is obese.

Not necessarily. My son is 95th percentile for height and weight. He's not fat at all- just tall and his weight is proportionally high.

Yes, but what is his BMI percentile?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not OP, but my 8yo's BMI is in the 65th percentile. The dr didn't say anything but is that considered overweight? Child doesn't look chubby to me - even has well-defined muscles. But I have body image issues so I wanted a reality check.

Not at all. 85% and above is over weight. 95%and above is obese.

Not necessarily. My son is 95th percentile for height and weight. He's not fat at all- just tall and his weight is proportionally high.

This is a BMI percentile, which incorporates height already. . Your child's BMI percentile is likely to be in the normal range since he is tall as well.