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

inertiastrength

I have a heavy 10yo boy and I did get him a Garmin Jr so we can compete for steps and he SEES me weigh my food. I think 13 is a little early, maybe 16-17-18 once they've "grown" taller. I'm hoping he leans out with time but we are taking the lead by example approach. It wouldn't surprise me if he dieted on his own if he were still chubby in his late teens. Thankfully for him he won't be doing something completely idiotic like WW because his mom is well versed in thermodynamics haha

Lounmoun

I think a weight loss diet can be appropriate for teenagers. If a 13 year old is very overweight it is appropriate for them to lose weight.
I am not sure if weight watchers or the like are appropriate services to use to guide or monitor that. I don't think WW is aeesome for adults so I am not going to say it is great for teens but I don't know what is out there for teens to use. Teens aren't supposed to use this site. I believe sparkteens shut down and sparkpeople is also age 18 and up.

amusedmonkey

Lounmoun wrote: »

I think a weight loss diet can be appropriate for teenagers. If a 13 year old is very overweight it is appropriate for them to lose weight.
I am not sure if weight watchers or the like are appropriate services to use to guide or monitor that. I don't think WW is aeesome for adults so I am not going to say it is great for teens but I don't know what is out there for teens to use. Teens aren't supposed to use this site. I believe sparkteens shut down and sparkpeople is also age 18 and up.

Yes, this is a problem I've noticed too. No resources at all for teens anywhere. I hope someday there will be a streamlined online resource where teens can monitor their progress that also has tools their doctor can use to personalize a plan.

zdyb23456

mrsnattybulking wrote: »

I have a heavy 10yo boy and I did get him a Garmin Jr so we can compete for steps and he SEES me weigh my food. I think 13 is a little early, maybe 16-17-18 once they've "grown" taller. I'm hoping he leans out with time but we are taking the lead by example approach. It wouldn't surprise me if he dieted on his own if he were still chubby in his late teens. Thankfully for him he won't be doing something completely idiotic like WW because his mom is well versed in thermodynamics haha

My nephews were bulking up despite playing lots of sports. My sister started asking them if they are really hungry or just bored. A lot of times they are bored. One of them bought an activity tracker with his birthday money cause he loves gadgets. They’ve both slimmed down quite a bit. My sister admits that a lot of it is on her to make sure she has healthy choices for them- they are very picky eaters.

Sam29a

I think it is personally. I started dieting when I was around 10, I was at a normal weight back then, but I was bigger than my underweight sister and always felt fat in comparison. I tried all the silly diets and developed a very bad relationship with food. Either I'd binge on food, or I'd barely eat a thing. I've been very underweight, I've been obese and now, many years later, I'm still not over it, even though I thought I was, I'm not.

Teach your children to eat well, limit their junk food intake, but not excessively and get them to join a sports team, something fun that they'll enjoy and doesn't feel like exercise. But don't make them think they need to diet and lose weight.

Sp1tfire

I think a more active lifestyle and healthy options should be encouraged (but not forced) and made more readily available over unhealthy options. That age is too malleable and it would be so easy to twist their minds and ruin their body image. Encouraging activity, fruits and veggies is what I would do. I like the 'sometimes and always foods' method.

inertiastrength

zdyb23456 wrote: »

mrsnattybulking wrote: »

I have a heavy 10yo boy and I did get him a Garmin Jr so we can compete for steps and he SEES me weigh my food. I think 13 is a little early, maybe 16-17-18 once they've "grown" taller. I'm hoping he leans out with time but we are taking the lead by example approach. It wouldn't surprise me if he dieted on his own if he were still chubby in his late teens. Thankfully for him he won't be doing something completely idiotic like WW because his mom is well versed in thermodynamics haha

My nephews were bulking up despite playing lots of sports. My sister started asking them if they are really hungry or just bored. A lot of times they are bored. One of them bought an activity tracker with his birthday money cause he loves gadgets. They’ve both slimmed down quite a bit. My sister admits that a lot of it is on her to make sure she has healthy choices for them- they are very picky eaters.

My kids are amazing when they're at my house but I share custody with my ex and they eat a lot of calorie dense foods over there. I do my best to mind my son's options (I don't limit his food by any means but I do make ALL of our food less calorie dense because I am watching my weight too lol) He loves salads with lean meat and we have 1/2 rice 1/2 cauliflower things like that. At my exes it's deep fried, covered in cheese and sausage on top. It's not awful now and then but for a kid that plays video games more than he walks, it's too much.

I've discussed it with my ex and he thinks because it's home made it's fine and he'll grow out of it. ugh

nrtauthor

I don't know.

I DO know my 14-year old niece is 230lbs ... so drastically overweight she has trouble walking. I do know her doctor put her on a diet and it didn't work.

I wonder if kids struggling with this should be given counselling instead, to learn better coping mechanisms?

I kind of wish someone had sent me to counselling when I started gaining weight... just to teach me how to handle my stress in a more effective manner.

WillingtoLose1001984

bikecheryl wrote: »

"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 ??????

I think it's good. I was old enough and mature enough at 13 to follow a diet like WW. Doing nothing isn't going to help a young teenager any and they could be worse off in the long run. I believe i was way worse off because I was self-aware of my weight and would get depressed because of it and felt so ashamed of myself at that time. i didnt want to go anywhere around people because of it and I don't believe i was even in the obese 'weight range still overweight though.

amusedmonkey

I'm really not sure what would be the best way to handle teenagers. Some kids are made to feel insecure about their weight so they develop problems. Some parents try to help their kids by restricting access to high calorie food, and they feel deprived and develop problems, and then there are cases like mine where I was fat when I was 13 but no one made me feel bad about it or tried to change anything about my food and I developed problems because I didn't feel being fat was something I needed to change. I'm not even sure restricting access to junk food is even that effective because of my own experience, we didn't restrict junk food but it was just not a regular part of our eating habits. I was also on the volleyball team and dabbled in shot put. None of that prevented me from being and staying obese. Can anything even be done about childhood obesity? Does anyone have any stories about something that worked for a kid other than leaning out after a growth spurt like it happens sometimes?

jgnatca

How about diabetic children who have to learn to monitor their intake or die? There is also the transition period where the parent hands over responsibility to the teen. There are strategies that work for them.

My friend who fostered such children emphasized the positive, worked with the temperament and preferences of the child, and ALWAYS has attractive fresh fruit available and visible for snacking. She cured a few from food hoarding.

kimny72

Some things make a "diet" treacherous in the teenage years, and I wouldn't trust a diet company to parse:

1. Kids go through growth spurts. A rather chubby 13 yr old can become a lanky 15 yr old just by getting taller.
2. Calorie restriction during this time should be done carefully, as getting enough nutrition, fat & protein, and fuel is hyper critical as kids continue to develop and grow.
3. So many adults with bad relationships with food can trace that back to guilt or shame around food or comfort eating in their childhood. Restricting when a child is still creating that relationship can be dicey.

Obviously you can teach a child how to enjoy and include healthy food, how to moderate and enjoy "special occasion " foods, how to make smart choices about foods that give them energy or make them feel heavy, how to live an active lifestyle. And if a doctor feels your child's health is adversely affected by their weight, a diet may be necessary but should still be done carefully. Just IMHO but I would think putting too much emphasis on restricting food or losing weight should be avoided for kids still growing and developing if possible.

LivingtheLeanDream

I remember my first diet...I was 15. I don't think at 13 I even thought about weight. At 15 I didn't need to slim down but wanted to be skinny like my best friends.

I don't like the thought of young teenagers over thinking what or how much they eat... but I don't know what the best plan for them is either.

justkeeprunning91

I think it depends so much on the teen and on their parental support (and what kind of influence their parents are). I was around 200 lbs at age 13, and my all time high weight was 225 at 15 (I'm 5' 5"). I remember that I desperately wanted to lose weight, but had no idea how. I remember asking my mom about it because I was legitimately confused by what food was healthy and what wasn't (all of that low carb stuff can be confusing for a 13 year old). She told me I knew what was good and what wasn't. I didn't start losing weight until my dad starting losing weight with a program (not WW) and I started following the same program. I was 15 and lost about 40 lbs (that I never did fully gain back). Now that I'm 26 and 135 lbs, I really wish I'd had some guidance earlier and wish I'd had healthier roll models in my parents. But I would have been all over a weight loss program at 13, and I often wonder how my life could have been different if I had not been obese during my teens.

39andfat

Diet yes eating healthy no

hotskytrotsky

I started counting calories around age 13. I was 5' 2" and 125 lbs - not overweight, but definitely chubbier than almost all of my classmates. One of the tricky things about that age is that I was kind of heavy for a 13-year-old, but not heavy for an adult. So was I just going through puberty earlier and developing my adult body type, or was I gaining too much weight? I believe my doctor said I was in the right place on my growth curve. I ate a ton, but I was also super active and growing. But when I started to be conscious of my body compared to my peers, it didn't feel good.

I restricted calories and got down to 112-115 lbs at 5' 2" for a few years. Not underweight at all but this was at a time when I was probably "supposed" to be gaining a little weight or maintaining. I stopped growing in height and stopped getting my period. Didn't get the period back until I was back up over 120 lbs and didn't get the height back until I was 17/18. I think the experience deprived me of some key years of learning how to maintain my diet in a healthy but moderate way - I am having to relearn a lot of that in my 20s. The positives of dieting were that I learned about calories and nutrition, and learned how to cook, so I was more prepared for living independently than some people who had never cooked in their life and was very aware of marketing techniques around healthy and unhealthy foods.

I missed those key years of learning how to manage my own food intake and my weight in an appropriate way, and wound up gaining quite a bit of weight around age 19-20. I'm back down to a normal weight now (123 lbs at 5' 3"), but still struggling to learn how it all works in a healthy but sustainable way. Learning how to listen to my body, etc. Balancing exercise and health concerns with other things that I want to do. I think if teens can "diet" in a way that means learning how to balance health with fun, and how to listen to their bodies and notice/respond to changes without going overboard, that's good. But I'm skeptical because I also know how teens can take things to an extreme and don't have the experience necessary to approach things with moderation, unless they're carefully guided and willing to listen. Historically, a lot of weight loss programs for teens have been pretty psychologically damaging so I'd be wary of that.

dsboohead

Eating habits start in the home. He should join into meal preps but the word "diet" need not be used. He is not willing or mature enough to process it. If junk is in the house....WHY?!
He is a kid and they do not process like adults.
If you are hiding foods that are not sound but YOU want them....don't worry...he knows it!
As the adult and leader of the pack everything starts there.

berky06

Not sure how I feel about this. I did WW in high school. I went from around 180 - 126. It was great! My mom made ALL of my meals, packed my lunch and kept me on track. I lost weight every week. Did I learn how to eat healthy from WW? Nope. My mom did all the work for me, I only had to eat what she prepared. Here it is 40 years later and I'm still trying to lose weight. I think if a child is seriously overweight, something should be done-but how to go about it, I don't know. If kids are taught from a young age and see examples from adults how to eat healthy, snack etc. in moderation, and exercise maybe that would promote healthy habits. Thank goodness, both of my grown kids have never had to experience a weight problem. They both put me to shame. They eat well, limit snacks and if they do get to the slippery slope they know how to reel it in. I don't know if having an overweight mom makes them more aware or not. We've never talked about it. I do have to say it was my daughter that hooked me up with MFP, she used it to drop her baby weight. She looks great and is smaller than before she got pregnant.

2baninja

YvetteK2015 wrote: »

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

I thought they did that a few years ago, with their new plan, then again just recently with there new "freestyle" plan, they keep coming up with new "names", to call their same old plan...

2baninja

If they are going to teach healthy and not harp on diet/losing weight, I think it's a good plan, but others are right, kids get that (sometimes) at home, at school, they've heard it before, it's no different then us adults, we know what we should do, but it's all about making our selves do it.
Once they hit an age, they will do what they want no matter what the adults tell them, you know, teenagers know best, adults no nothing.....

And talking about not learning how to eat junk in moderation, because some didn't have it in their house growing up, means nothing, we had junk food in our house growing up, Mom fed us a healthy dinner, (what was healthy 40 yrs ago), and we still grew up fat. So having it in the house didn't help us learn to eat it in moderation.