Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this mostly genetic or over eating? I am constantly surprised by the number of overweight young children that I see when I am at my kids elementary school. I sincerely do not remember kids being overweight when I was growing up.

My kids eat well 70% of the time but the other 30% of the time they eat like kids - junk food, sweets, etc. but they are all extremely thin. Probably genetics? They are active in sports and aren't into video games but I assume its mostly genetics.

My kids are like yours- yes, just genetics.

It seems super common for boys to get a bit chunky around this age, and then shoot up big-time in a few years. Saw this over and over again with my older DS’ friends and teammates/classmates somewhere between 5th-7th grade or so (after being a little chubby for a few years prior). I wonder if it could be this, OP

Thanks. how long did the chubby phase last? We actually told him that at the beginning when he talked about his belly... "oh cool, all good, that means you are soon due for a big growth spurt, often starts with a little bit of weight gain.." But after a year we stopped saying that

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this mostly genetic or over eating? I am constantly surprised by the number of overweight young children that I see when I am at my kids elementary school. I sincerely do not remember kids being overweight when I was growing up.

My kids eat well 70% of the time but the other 30% of the time they eat like kids - junk food, sweets, etc. but they are all extremely thin. Probably genetics? They are active in sports and aren't into video games but I assume its mostly genetics.

My kids are like yours- yes, just genetics.

It seems super common for boys to get a bit chunky around this age, and then shoot up big-time in a few years. Saw this over and over again with my older DS’ friends and teammates/classmates somewhere between 5th-7th grade or so (after being a little chubby for a few years prior). I wonder if it could be this, OP

Anonymous wrote:Is this mostly genetic or over eating? I am constantly surprised by the number of overweight young children that I see when I am at my kids elementary school. I sincerely do not remember kids being overweight when I was growing up.

My kids eat well 70% of the time but the other 30% of the time they eat like kids - junk food, sweets, etc. but they are all extremely thin. Probably genetics? They are active in sports and aren't into video games but I assume its mostly genetics.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this mostly genetic or over eating? I am constantly surprised by the number of overweight young children that I see when I am at my kids elementary school. I sincerely do not remember kids being overweight when I was growing up.

My kids eat well 70% of the time but the other 30% of the time they eat like kids - junk food, sweets, etc. but they are all extremely thin. Probably genetics? They are active in sports and aren't into video games but I assume its mostly genetics.

My kids eat none of the junk yours do, our family of 4 has leftovers from a large pizza, they and are always active in athletics. One is a bean pole with no muscle (not matter how hard he tries to develop muscle, competitive swimmer), and one is overweight (3 sports). Obviously it is genetics.

PP - agree that its genetic but does one parent tend to be more overweight than the other?

I have 3 kids and all 3 are skinny. I mostly find it interesting that you can have multiple kids with same 50/50 DNA from mom and dad and still end up being opposite ends of the genetics. You call tell a mile away my 3 kids are siblings, they look a lot a like, and they are all very thin (without obviously eating well per my previous comment).

Anonymous wrote:Is this mostly genetic or over eating? I am constantly surprised by the number of overweight young children that I see when I am at my kids elementary school. I sincerely do not remember kids being overweight when I was growing up.

My kids eat well 70% of the time but the other 30% of the time they eat like kids - junk food, sweets, etc. but they are all extremely thin. Probably genetics? They are active in sports and aren't into video games but I assume its mostly genetics.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this mostly genetic or over eating? I am constantly surprised by the number of overweight young children that I see when I am at my kids elementary school. I sincerely do not remember kids being overweight when I was growing up.

My kids eat well 70% of the time but the other 30% of the time they eat like kids - junk food, sweets, etc. but they are all extremely thin. Probably genetics? They are active in sports and aren't into video games but I assume its mostly genetics.

My kids eat none of the junk yours do, our family of 4 has leftovers from a large pizza, they and are always active in athletics. One is a bean pole with no muscle (not matter how hard he tries to develop muscle, competitive swimmer), and one is overweight (3 sports). Obviously it is genetics.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please be careful to watch for signs of disordered eating. That may not be at all what is going on--but it is a fine line and boys are so much more susceptible to ED than most people realize, especially athletes. A nutritionist might be able to help too-particularly to provide guidance on target protein amounts etc. PS You sound like a great mom btw and are thinking about the right things.

Thank you. it does worry me. I noticed he weighed himself this week. He used to be proud of weighing more and "growing". But now i feel like he is watching the needle hoping it would go in other direction . Makes me incredibly sad that he could be starting a lifelong battle with himself.

Anonymous wrote:Is this mostly genetic or over eating? I am constantly surprised by the number of overweight young children that I see when I am at my kids elementary school. I sincerely do not remember kids being overweight when I was growing up.

My kids eat well 70% of the time but the other 30% of the time they eat like kids - junk food, sweets, etc. but they are all extremely thin. Probably genetics? They are active in sports and aren't into video games but I assume its mostly genetics.

Anonymous wrote:My 9 year old daughter asked for the same thing. Interestingly, she is also 60th percentile for both height and weight but doesn't look that chubby, just in her belly and chin area. She sees her older sister wearing crop tops w/a flat stomach and wants the same. I told her I understand why she feels pressure to want that but that she's doing great as she is. I got her signed up for more sports, swim, and dance. She also started noticing how she feels after eating certain foods--like poke makes her feel better than Shake Shack. I have been limiting her food choices behind the scenes without discussing it with her. Like start snack time w/half a grapefruit or apple, cucumber spears w/tajin. The main work I am doing is on my husband who wants to order pizza, wings, piles of naan and creamy curries--I am steering him to foods that are lighter for all of us. I also told her to never ever force herself to be hungry or to "diet" bc that could lead to a binge/restrict cycle.

Anonymous wrote:Challenge him to train for a 5k with you.

Anonymous wrote:Most 8-year-old boys don't feel this way. So, I'd consider whether he got teased for his weight.

I'd try to deemphasize weight and just encourage him to be really active. Chances are good he'll hit a growth spurt and grow a couple of inches with little weight gain. Make sure he is really PLAYING ... not just sitting around playing video games. Lots of shooting hoops, tossing a frisbee, riding bikes. Make it all fun.