"Health panel urges interventions for children and teens with high BMI"

[Anonymous]

Looks like the ozempic marketing team found this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BMI is ridiculous tho. For most people, I guess, it's reasonable, but there are plenty of people who are outliers.

I'm 5'10 and my senior year of HS when I was a three-sport athlete who could run a 7min mile, I weight 210. I have very broad shoulders and chest... I was in AMAZING shape, but I had an obese BMI. As a 40-something, I've gained some weight, but I wouldn't want to weigh less than 220 and I would be GAUNT if I weighed anything close the maximum BMI for my height's "normal weight".

That’s quite the muscle mass if you were female, 5’10” and 210#.
My brother is that height, sued to do Ironmans and marathons. Then with four kids, very senior level work demands and more eating out and drinking is indeed obese at 210#.

I think the poster you’re responding to also has no clue what “gaunt” means. But of course, EVERYONE is that superhero-level muscular exception to BMI. America’s reputation of being fat is undeserved, obviously.

Pretty sure that poster is a man

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BMI is ridiculous tho. For most people, I guess, it's reasonable, but there are plenty of people who are outliers.

I'm 5'10 and my senior year of HS when I was a three-sport athlete who could run a 7min mile, I weight 210. I have very broad shoulders and chest... I was in AMAZING shape, but I had an obese BMI. As a 40-something, I've gained some weight, but I wouldn't want to weigh less than 220 and I would be GAUNT if I weighed anything close the maximum BMI for my height's "normal weight".

That’s quite the muscle mass if you were female, 5’10” and 210#.
My brother is that height, sued to do Ironmans and marathons. Then with four kids, very senior level work demands and more eating out and drinking is indeed obese at 210#.

I'm a male, and I don't think I'm hugely muscular, but I have very broad shoulders and chest and quite muscular legs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BMI is ridiculous tho. For most people, I guess, it's reasonable, but there are plenty of people who are outliers.

I'm 5'10 and my senior year of HS when I was a three-sport athlete who could run a 7min mile, I weight 210. I have very broad shoulders and chest... I was in AMAZING shape, but I had an obese BMI. As a 40-something, I've gained some weight, but I wouldn't want to weigh less than 220 and I would be GAUNT if I weighed anything close the maximum BMI for my height's "normal weight".

That’s quite the muscle mass if you were female, 5’10” and 210#.
My brother is that height, sued to do Ironmans and marathons. Then with four kids, very senior level work demands and more eating out and drinking is indeed obese at 210#.

I think the poster you’re responding to also has no clue what “gaunt” means. But of course, EVERYONE is that superhero-level muscular exception to BMI. America’s reputation of being fat is undeserved, obviously.

gaunt means lean or haggard and looking as if you're suffering from hunger. As the poster who said I would look gaunt I stand by that. At 200 I would slender, 190 I would look thin, 180 I would look very thin and 175, which is the max BMI for "normal weight" at 5'10 I would look gaunt.

[Anonymous]

Early antibiotic use is tied to later weight gain. One pp mentioned gut biome being a connector and I believe it….i feel like maybe starting with a naturopath might be a good intervention for an overweight teen.

I have 2 girls - 14 and 16. Neither are overweight so this maybe isn’t helpful but they were born with different builds for sure. The 14 year old eats much healthier than my 16 yo but is heavier. She’s 5’3 and 115lb and my 16 yo is 5’5 105. The difference I think is that the 16 yo is very small boned and could literally not eat for long stretches and not notice. She talks fast, moves fast, and food just gets in the way of her plans unless she’s eating out with friends. I usually have to make her eat something (she might just eat some crappy snack instead of a meal instead). She has a few friends who are bigger than her and have dealt with weight gain and they are food focused.

There must be some way to disrupt the constant hunger mechanism as I notice that these differences are there with my thinner friends too compared to myself.

[Anonymous]

The way to disrupt the constant hunger is to work. Teens should be busy working or volunteering so that they aren't always eating. Mine works a FT summer job and does power washing on the weekends. He eats regular meals and has no time for snacking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BMI is ridiculous tho. For most people, I guess, it's reasonable, but there are plenty of people who are outliers.

I'm 5'10 and my senior year of HS when I was a three-sport athlete who could run a 7min mile, I weight 210. I have very broad shoulders and chest... I was in AMAZING shape, but I had an obese BMI. As a 40-something, I've gained some weight, but I wouldn't want to weigh less than 220 and I would be GAUNT if I weighed anything close the maximum BMI for my height's "normal weight".

Please post a pic of your 210 lb in shape self.
That’s quite the muscle mass if you were female, 5’10” and 210#.
My brother is that height, sued to do Ironmans and marathons. Then with four kids, very senior level work demands and more eating out and drinking is indeed obese at 210#.

I think the poster you’re responding to also has no clue what “gaunt” means. But of course, EVERYONE is that superhero-level muscular exception to BMI. America’s reputation of being fat is undeserved, obviously.

gaunt means lean or haggard and looking as if you're suffering from hunger. As the poster who said I would look gaunt I stand by that. At 200 I would slender, 190 I would look thin, 180 I would look very thin and 175, which is the max BMI for "normal weight" at 5'10 I would look gaunt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't the nutritionist want your child to log calories?

How is this even a question? It sets teen girls up for disordered eating patterns. To the OP- your daughter may be overweight, but your approach is setting her up for a lifetime of disordered eating to boot. Did she ask for your advice? Does she want your help with her weight? If not, then you’re doing much more harm to her than good.

My advice to the OP:

-model healthy eating and attitudes toward food and weight
-verbal affirmation from you regularly - whatever non-weight related things you can praise
-be a listening ear and provide advice if asked but do not be critical of her weight or body
-be attuned to what’s going on socially. Does she have good peer influences? Any chance she is or has been bullied? You need to ask her good, thoughtful questions.

One could make the argument that eating oneself into overweight status is already an eating disorder.

Exactly this! She already has disordered eating. If your kid had some other kind of health disorder, you would jump in to help. But, with food, everyone is supposed to passively sit back and watch their kids balloon up for fear that their kid will become “disordered.” But they already are!

She’s not going to thank you for telling her she was a cute chubby teen when she’s a chronically overweight diabetic 45 year old.

NP. I was overweight as a tween/young teen. Not obese, but about 30-35 pounds more than the ideal weight I eventually settled into as an adult. My parents’ “concern” led me to calorie count and restrict obsessively. Lost weight and my parents were so proud, yay! But the calorie restriction led to a massive over correction in which I started binge eating every day after school, which led to incredible feelings of shame (I let my parents down!), and then about a decade of hardcore secretive bulimia.

Which is all to say that weight loss is an incredibly delicate matter for a teenage girl. There’s so much wrapped up in it, I urge parents to tread very lightly and be very careful not to shame your girls for enjoying food. (I still struggle with this as a parent.) Build them up in other ways, keep them busy, get them moving, but the focus should not be on the food and the calories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't the nutritionist want your child to log calories?

How is this even a question? It sets teen girls up for disordered eating patterns. To the OP- your daughter may be overweight, but your approach is setting her up for a lifetime of disordered eating to boot. Did she ask for your advice? Does she want your help with her weight? If not, then you’re doing much more harm to her than good.

My advice to the OP:

-model healthy eating and attitudes toward food and weight
-verbal affirmation from you regularly - whatever non-weight related things you can praise
-be a listening ear and provide advice if asked but do not be critical of her weight or body
-be attuned to what’s going on socially. Does she have good peer influences? Any chance she is or has been bullied? You need to ask her good, thoughtful questions.

One could make the argument that eating oneself into overweight status is already an eating disorder.

Exactly this! She already has disordered eating. If your kid had some other kind of health disorder, you would jump in to help. But, with food, everyone is supposed to passively sit back and watch their kids balloon up for fear that their kid will become “disordered.” But they already are!

She’s not going to thank you for telling her she was a cute chubby teen when she’s a chronically overweight diabetic 45 year old.

NP. I was overweight as a tween/young teen. Not obese, but about 30-35 pounds more than the ideal weight I eventually settled into as an adult. My parents’ “concern” led me to calorie count and restrict obsessively. Lost weight and my parents were so proud, yay! But the calorie restriction led to a massive over correction in which I started binge eating every day after school, which led to incredible feelings of shame (I let my parents down!), and then about a decade of hardcore secretive bulimia.

Which is all to say that weight loss is an incredibly delicate matter for a teenage girl. There’s so much wrapped up in it, I urge parents to tread very lightly and be very careful not to shame your girls for enjoying food. (I still struggle with this as a parent.) Build them up in other ways, keep them busy, get them moving, but the focus should not be on the food and the calories.

Do you think you would have been any less screwed up if your parents had handed you pills as a teen and told you it was because you have no self control?

Because the LuLus on this thread think that’s A-ok, but that feeding your kid steamed vegetables and fish and telling them to put down the second slice of cake is child abuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BMI is ridiculous tho. For most people, I guess, it's reasonable, but there are plenty of people who are outliers.

I'm 5'10 and my senior year of HS when I was a three-sport athlete who could run a 7min mile, I weight 210. I have very broad shoulders and chest... I was in AMAZING shape, but I had an obese BMI. As a 40-something, I've gained some weight, but I wouldn't want to weigh less than 220 and I would be GAUNT if I weighed anything close the maximum BMI for my height's "normal weight".

That’s quite the muscle mass if you were female, 5’10” and 210#.
My brother is that height, sued to do Ironmans and marathons. Then with four kids, very senior level work demands and more eating out and drinking is indeed obese at 210#.

I think the poster you’re responding to also has no clue what “gaunt” means. But of course, EVERYONE is that superhero-level muscular exception to BMI. America’s reputation of being fat is undeserved, obviously.

The real failing of BMI is that it doesn't catch the skinny fats who are 10-100x more common than body builders

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't the nutritionist want your child to log calories?

How is this even a question? It sets teen girls up for disordered eating patterns. To the OP- your daughter may be overweight, but your approach is setting her up for a lifetime of disordered eating to boot. Did she ask for your advice? Does she want your help with her weight? If not, then you’re doing much more harm to her than good.

My advice to the OP:

-model healthy eating and attitudes toward food and weight
-verbal affirmation from you regularly - whatever non-weight related things you can praise
-be a listening ear and provide advice if asked but do not be critical of her weight or body
-be attuned to what’s going on socially. Does she have good peer influences? Any chance she is or has been bullied? You need to ask her good, thoughtful questions.

One could make the argument that eating oneself into overweight status is already an eating disorder.

Exactly this! She already has disordered eating. If your kid had some other kind of health disorder, you would jump in to help. But, with food, everyone is supposed to passively sit back and watch their kids balloon up for fear that their kid will become “disordered.” But they already are!

She’s not going to thank you for telling her she was a cute chubby teen when she’s a chronically overweight diabetic 45 year old.

NP. I was overweight as a tween/young teen. Not obese, but about 30-35 pounds more than the ideal weight I eventually settled into as an adult. My parents’ “concern” led me to calorie count and restrict obsessively. Lost weight and my parents were so proud, yay! But the calorie restriction led to a massive over correction in which I started binge eating every day after school, which led to incredible feelings of shame (I let my parents down!), and then about a decade of hardcore secretive bulimia.

Which is all to say that weight loss is an incredibly delicate matter for a teenage girl. There’s so much wrapped up in it, I urge parents to tread very lightly and be very careful not to shame your girls for enjoying food. (I still struggle with this as a parent.) Build them up in other ways, keep them busy, get them moving, but the focus should not be on the food and the calories.

Do you think you would have been any less screwed up if your parents had handed you pills as a teen and told you it was because you have no self control?

Because the LuLus on this thread think that’s A-ok, but that feeding your kid steamed vegetables and fish and telling them to put down the second slice of cake is child abuse.

No, I think the pills are a terrible idea, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't the nutritionist want your child to log calories?

How is this even a question? It sets teen girls up for disordered eating patterns. To the OP- your daughter may be overweight, but your approach is setting her up for a lifetime of disordered eating to boot. Did she ask for your advice? Does she want your help with her weight? If not, then you’re doing much more harm to her than good.

My advice to the OP:

-model healthy eating and attitudes toward food and weight
-verbal affirmation from you regularly - whatever non-weight related things you can praise
-be a listening ear and provide advice if asked but do not be critical of her weight or body
-be attuned to what’s going on socially. Does she have good peer influences? Any chance she is or has been bullied? You need to ask her good, thoughtful questions.

One could make the argument that eating oneself into overweight status is already an eating disorder.

Exactly this! She already has disordered eating. If your kid had some other kind of health disorder, you would jump in to help. But, with food, everyone is supposed to passively sit back and watch their kids balloon up for fear that their kid will become “disordered.” But they already are!

She’s not going to thank you for telling her she was a cute chubby teen when she’s a chronically overweight diabetic 45 year old.

NP. I was overweight as a tween/young teen. Not obese, but about 30-35 pounds more than the ideal weight I eventually settled into as an adult. My parents’ “concern” led me to calorie count and restrict obsessively. Lost weight and my parents were so proud, yay! But the calorie restriction led to a massive over correction in which I started binge eating every day after school, which led to incredible feelings of shame (I let my parents down!), and then about a decade of hardcore secretive bulimia.

Which is all to say that weight loss is an incredibly delicate matter for a teenage girl. There’s so much wrapped up in it, I urge parents to tread very lightly and be very careful not to shame your girls for enjoying food. (I still struggle with this as a parent.) Build them up in other ways, keep them busy, get them moving, but the focus should not be on the food and the calories.

Do you think you would have been any less screwed up if your parents had handed you pills as a teen and told you it was because you have no self control?

Because the LuLus on this thread think that’s A-ok, but that feeding your kid steamed vegetables and fish and telling them to put down the second slice of cake is child abuse.

NP. I don’t think it is child abuse, but I also don’t think you can control this in a teen. So you feed them fish and vegetables for dinner. What’s stopping them from making themselves some rice, or eating a couple bowls of cereal after? Or a peanut butter sandwich? Are
You going to guard the kitchen? Lock the cabinets and frig? And then what about at school, sports, and friends houses or just going out with friends? These things are largely centered around providing junk food options. If a teen was so included, they could easily eat hundreds of calories worth of junk most days, without you buying it, approving, or even knowing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The way to disrupt the constant hunger is to work. Teens should be busy working or volunteering so that they aren't always eating. Mine works a FT summer job and does power washing on the weekends. He eats regular meals and has no time for snacking.

Mine could not be busier-- after school activities, two sports (one travel). Doesn't get home from school/camp until after 3 or 4, leaves for sports most night at 6. Still finds time to snack and overeat. (See all threads above about how they get fed at so many of these activities).

All these parents with kids who don't have eating issues are so certain it wouldn't happen to their kids. You are not better parents or better at helping your kids be healthy: you are lucky your kid has good genes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I promise you that if you do a deep dive into what she’s actually eating and accurately look at the calories in vs calories out, it’d be very apparent why she’s overweight.

It doesn’t have to be junk, a lot of it is portion size or mindlessly eating “healthy” snacks.

Please stop with this old fashioned simplicity. Not all people who are overweight are so due to input. It's what the body does and does not do with the input. Not every human body can/does process food the same way.

+1

I have 3 teens and it is incredibly obvious that weight is about far more than “calories in, calories out” etc. What my 3 kids eat appears to have no bearing whatsoever on their weight. Literally none. 2 of them are super skinny (at very bottom of healthy range) and can’t gain no matter how many calories they eat (even supervised by a nutritionist with enormous calorie surplus). 3rd kid eats WAY less than siblings and has a very average build. Seems likely this would apply in the opposite direction with weight as well.

I’m not defending lots of junk food for any kid regardless of weight, and obesity should be addressed- absolutely. But no way is it just about “calories in calories out”

You should write a paper, maybe you will win the nobel prize in physics for disproving conservation of energy and mass

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I promise you that if you do a deep dive into what she’s actually eating and accurately look at the calories in vs calories out, it’d be very apparent why she’s overweight.

It doesn’t have to be junk, a lot of it is portion size or mindlessly eating “healthy” snacks.

Please stop with this old fashioned simplicity. Not all people who are overweight are so due to input. It's what the body does and does not do with the input. Not every human body can/does process food the same way.

Please stop with this new school magical thinking. Yes, we know more about how the body metabolizes compound A vs. B and how different bodies can metabolize the same thing differently. Most people eat too much. Portions are huge and many of us engage in mindless snacking of “healthy” foods. This is why we’re overweight. Me, you and everyone in between.

If they put you on a deserted island for 6 months and you could only eat coconuts and fish, you would lose a crap ton of weight.

What makes you think this? Most people would remain fat eating coconuts and fish because the problem is that they can’t tell when they are full. The only way they’d lose weight is if they ran out of fish and coconuts.

Do you know how much work it is to crack open a coconut? Have you ever been fishing? You can only be fat off coconuts and fish if you had virtually unlimited access