Is 13 too young for a diet ?????

bikecheryl

"In February, the world's oldest and largest weight-loss company announced it will offer children ages 13 to 17 free summer memberships as part of its strategy to more than double revenue and memberships by the end of 2020."

"They will have free access to Weight Watchers when they join with an adult, helping them develop healthy habits at a critical life stage," new CEO Mindy Grossman said during an employee event in New York on Feb. 7."

I'm torn as I can seriously see the Pro's and Con's.

What's your take ??????

Wheelhouse15

No way a generic dieting organization designed for adults should be dealing with kids. Teens have different nutritional needs and should be dealt with on a case by case basis by an RD if they require a weight loss program IMO.

hroderick

Well, we all have a diet because we eat. I'm not a WW fan but heard they are shifting from weight loss to healthy focus, so it may be a good thing. Teens are capable of learning how to eat healthy and are in the prime time of life to develop habits, good and bad. I know girls seem particularly prone to anorexia, so would want a parent involved. Bad eating habits are often taught by one generation to the next, another reason for a parent to get involved. Since meals should be a family affair, there's a third opportunity to be involved. What a great opportunity to teach meal planning and shopping. In general, any way a parent can be meaningfully engaged with a teen is a win-win.

So yes and a parent or parents should be involved in raising the families health bar this summer.

janejellyroll

Is the program just the adult program? Will they have the point assignment, weigh-ins, etc with no consideration of the impact this may have on teenagers, especially young ones?

That doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

amusedmonkey

People are being all up in arms about this. We don't know what their plan is and if it follows the same points principles, in which case that wouldn't be the best choice for teenagers. They may have a whole new system set up specifically for kids that doesn't involve restricting and instead encourages intake of more nutritious foods. That would be an okay idea and not any different from any generic "eat better" advice but with a structure. No need to over react to this before we see what they are planning.

janejellyroll

amusedmonkey wrote: »

People are being all up in arms about this. We don't know what their plan is and if it follows the same points principles, in which case that wouldn't be the best choice for teenagers. They may have a whole new system set up specifically for kids that doesn't involve restricting and instead encourages intake of more nutritious foods. That would be an okay idea and not any different from any generic "eat better" advice but with a structure. No need to over react to this before we see what they are planning.

Well said. Although initially this rubs me the wrong way, I think it's important to see what they're actually going to be offering the teenagers before getting upset. It could be something really different than what we may think of as a typical WW plan.

Wheelhouse15

amusedmonkey wrote: »

People are being all up in arms about this. We don't know what their plan is and if it follows the same points principles, in which case that wouldn't be the best choice for teenagers. They may have a whole new system set up specifically for kids that doesn't involve restricting and instead encourages intake of more nutritious foods. That would be an okay idea and not any different from any generic "eat better" advice but with a structure. No need to over react to this before we see what they are planning.

If this is all it is then it's not an issue, but from what I've heard about it so far I don't think it is just a platform for that type of information. It seems to be a marketing driven initiative to recruit future adults at the very least. My understanding is that those from the age of 13 to 17 are being given free accounts right now. This is highly suspect at the very least.

jjpptt2

I have a hard time believing a company is all that concerned about the best interest of their customers. They care about sales, and especially about repeat buyers.

Philosophically, I think it's an exceeding slippery slope. But if you can make it more about good habits, a healthy view of food/eating, and a big picture perspective on healthy eating, then 13 is more than fine. IME, that's a HUGE but.

Lift_Run_Eat

As a mother of an overweight teen, I say no, 13 is not too young.
Healthy eating and exercise has been taught in school to my kids since they were in Kindergarten. It is a part of their P.E. program now.

Obviously my teenage daughter (overweight) learned but did not practice. Her Dr. and I have tried to stress to her about her weight, but she just does not care. I have meal prepped, removed all "junk", etc, and she finds ways around to get what she wants or she does not eat at all. This has been a battle for years.

She workouts out at the gym everyday with me, but she will not change the way she eats. I can only do so much to help her. And now that she has friends that drive and she is about to drive herself, I will have even less control.

As far as weight watchers... that is another story. I am not a WW fan.

usmcmp

rhenry2424 wrote: »

As a mother of an overweight teen, I say no, 13 is not too young.
Healthy eating and exercise has been taught in school to my kids since they were in Kindergarten. It is a part of their P.E. program now.

Obviously my teenage daughter (overweight) learned but did not practice. Her Dr. and I have tried to stress to her about her weight, but she just does not care. I have meal prepped, removed all "junk", etc, and she finds ways around to get what she wants or she does not eat at all. This has been a battle for years.

She workouts out at the gym everyday with me, but she will not change the way she eats. I can only do so much to help her. And now that she has friends that drive and she is about to drive herself, I will have even less control.

As far as weight watchers... that is another story. I am not a WW fan.

Maybe she hides her eating because you put so much stress on it and have restricted all the "junk" food. My mom restricted fast food and junk food growing up so I never learned balance and just ate it behind her back.

My kids were starting to show a little bit of extra weight over the last year, so we focus on nutrient dense foods for most meals while still having pizza on Fridays. Most nights if they eat their protein and vegetables I let my kids have a small ice cream treat (usually around 100ish calories). Making things seem off limits is the fastest way to make people want it more.

Don't work against your kid, work with her to help her satisfy her cravings while still having balance.

janejellyroll

rhenry2424 wrote: »

As a mother of an overweight teen, I say no, 13 is not too young.
Healthy eating and exercise has been taught in school to my kids since they were in Kindergarten. It is a part of their P.E. program now.

Obviously my teenage daughter (overweight) learned but did not practice. Her Dr. and I have tried to stress to her about her weight, but she just does not care. I have meal prepped, removed all "junk", etc, and she finds ways around to get what she wants or she does not eat at all. This has been a battle for years.

She workouts out at the gym everyday with me, but she will not change the way she eats. I can only do so much to help her. And now that she has friends that drive and she is about to drive herself, I will have even less control.

As far as weight watchers... that is another story. I am not a WW fan.

So your argument is that 13 isn't too young for a diet because your daughter learned healthy eating in school, doesn't practice it, and is consistently resisting your attempts to get her to lose weight in what you term a "battle."

This could potentially demonstrate why 13 *is* too young to diet, that it creates issues around food, and (when pushed by parents) becomes a focus for conflict and control issues.

I don't know your daughter or your situation, but when experts warn about pushing restriction on children, this is one of the possible outcomes they're warning about.

Kalex1975

usmcmp wrote: »

My mom restricted fast food and junk food growing up so I never learned balance and just ate it behind her back.

This was me as well... my mother never kept any "junk" food in the house when I was growing up. As soon as my older brother was able to drive we started going on 7-Eleven runs in the dead of night to load up on forbidden foods. I would eat an entire box of Little Debbie oatmeal pies, a bag of chips, maybe a couple of candy bars, plus more! I never learned how to eat these treats in moderation and still am unable.

saintor1

The overweight kids should definitely adjust down their food intake. It is dieting, then yes be it.

mreichard

In some ways, joining with an adult may make it worse for teens, although it makes sense that you don't want teens doing something like WW without close adult supervision. My teen DS will avoid doing things that HE wants to do if I suggest them.

An example just happened -- he has today off school, so he was sleeping in. I mentioned to him at like 10:00 that if he wanted to get a workout in before an appointment at 1:00, he should think about getting up. The result was that he stayed in bed extra time, even though he really wanted to work out, and how he's hurrying to get his lifting in before his appointment. That seems to be what's so tough with teens -- their need to assert independence works against doing other stuff that is in their best interest if parents suggest it.

YvetteK2015

I just read an article today about WW. I believe it said that in May, it's going to shift it's focus from weight loss to "overall health and wellness" at any fitness level. So I'm just wondering if this was a good time to announce something going forward with teens. It's not stated in the article, so it's a total assumption on my part.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/weight-watchers-is-shifting-from-weight-loss-to-wellness-as-healthy-is-the-new-skinny-2018-02-28

Sunshine_And_Sand

I don't think 13 is too young to "be on a diet" but only under certain conditions...
1) medical conditions making weight loss necessary
2) it is the child who wants to lose the weight (barring health problems that call for the child needing to lose weight) and not something adults are pushing on them (that would be an easy path to an ED if adults were pushing unreal standards on the child)
3) the child was monitored to be sure the diet was sensible/safe
That said, I do not feel like weight watchers would be the place to take an overweight 13 year old even if he/she wanted/medically needed to lose weight as the meeting leaders are just people who did well on the program and in most cases don't have any of the qualifications I would want to see from someone who was counseling my child (fortunately neither of mine have this issue) for weightless.

Edited to add point 3

Need2Exerc1se

I think that's about the time I started dieting, as in paying attention to my weight. I wasn't fat then, but maybe I would have become fat if I hadn't done it.

Some children's hospitals now offer bariatric surgery for teens. These are crazy desperate times.

JMcGee2018

It depends. A fad diet? Absolutely not. A diet that they are forced into following by their parents because the parents are embarrassed about their child's weight? Also absolutely not. However, if a 13-year-old feels self-conscious about his or her body, their parents and pediatrician can help guide them toward healthier choices before the child starts to take drastic and unhealthy actions themselves. Also, given the rate of childhood obesity, diets may be necessary for more and more children for health reasons.

Depending how WW implements their idea, it might not be bad, especially the freestyle plan which I think allows unlimited fruits and vegetables because they're worth zero points and would encourage kids toward healthier snack choices.

socalkay

I think that's a question for each child's physician. Blanket statements about dieting make me nervous - especially in regards to children.

cmriverside

Ha.

In February, the world's oldest and largest weight-loss company

This reminds me of any number of controversial ideas. "Worlds oldest and largest soft drink company [Coca Cola] changes its recipe" News at 11.

I think it's brilliant marketing.

zdyb23456

We are trying to head off weight issues early by setting a good example and signing them up for sports.

We teach that treats are once in awhile, eating out (including fast food) is a treat, to stop when you are full and start with a small portion cause you can have more if you are still hungry.

I understand the struggle of being bigger than other girls my age. I’m pretty sure by 13 I was really self conscious. I don’t want my daughters or my son to feel that way. I think 13 is young to be on a diet program especially one that would make other kids make fun of them, but some 13 year olds are quite mature. It would definitely depend on the kid and their parent and doctor.

I think sports participation really helps with body confidence. My daughters swim on a team and my son wrestles. We take the kids bike riding and the park regularly when the weather is nice.