Reply to My 51 pound three-year-old girl is not overweight, just BIG

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Reply to "My 51 pound three-year-old girl is not overweight, just BIG"

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[quote=Anonymous]OP, my older DD has always been really tall and heavy--off the charts for height and between 95th and 99th percentile for weight. She was definitely chubby as a toddler, but her pediatricians felt her height and weight were proportional and didn't encourage any changes to her diet (other than to say we could skip whole milk and go straight to 2%). But I thought that, regardless, it would be good to get her involved in a lot of physical activity. If she did need to slim down, it would help. And if she was just destined to be big, then getting into athletics would be a good idea--both to help her use her body in a positive and empowering way and to help her stay healthy. Since age 3, she has been doing soccer once or twice a week, taking dance classes, swimming, and riding her bike as much as possible. Her school has helped reinforce messages about healthy eating, so she chooses not to eat too many sweets or fatty foods, but she has a healthy appetite. Now, at age 6, she has thinned out quite a bit. She is still strong and muscly, and still quite a bit taller than her classmates, but her BMI is healthy. More importantly, she feels proud of her body. She is a very strong swimmer, and really has a swimmer's build. I hope she will find these physical activities to be enjoyable hobbies throughout her life. Studies have found that girls who participate in sports have higher self esteem (see momsteam.com for some examples). I don't know if her changing body is a result of increased physical activity and healthy eating, or if it would have happened anyway. Friends who haven't seen her in a few years are surprised to see how much thinner she looks.

My point is  regardless of whether you think your daughter is overweight, why not get her involved in sports? It can't hurt, and it can help her stay healthy and see her body positively. If she's that big, she may be naturally suited to sports.[/quote]

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