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[quote=Anonymous]If you are worried about him being obese, he probably already is. There are studies showing that parents consistently underestimate how overweight their children are. I don't think there's any reason to weigh him or get an official number before making changes.

It probably would not be a bad idea to talk to a dietitian or doctor with experience with this in children, but the best things you can do will be good for him even if he is already a healthy weight: don't have processed snack foods as options in your home, don't eat fast food, and don't have drink options other than water or plain milk except on special occasions. I would not restrict food. Let him have seconds if he wants them. If his snacks and meals are healthy (nuts and cheese sticks, not chips or crackers; roasted chicken, not chicken nuggets) in most cases he should self regulate. The overweight children I know are the ones whose parents don't think twice about  letting them get a big cup of hi-C while eating out, and fill lunches boxes and snacks with things like fruit snacks, go-gurt and mini-muffins (or worse). These aren't bad people, but it's easy to see how their choices are harming their kids and setting them up for lifelong struggles. I think if you asked them, they would say they try to feed their kids healthy too, but if you add up the grams of sugar that a diet full of those types of foods has, it's going to be far above daily recommendations.

Maybe feed your kid normally for the next couple days and use an app like fitness tracker to see if what he is consuming really is a healthy diet? It might be illuminating, and help you identify foods you should be replacing with healthier alternatives. You might assess how active he is too. The best way I've found to get my boys more active is limit screen time.[/quote]

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