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

goatg

I’m all for early nutrition/health education. I’m extremely skeptical that a business with its own vested interests is the best vehicle for that education.

Fyreside

Definitely not too young for healthy eating habits and learning about better food choices. As with others, I'm wary of generic food programs and shy away from the whole "going on a diet" vibe. Don't really know enough about WW or their plans to say any more about it.

familiez0

Are we too big or too small? Hmm..

positivepowers

side note - teach your kids to like vegetables! growing up rice and beans were considered vegetables in my life. legit i have eaten more vegetables in 2018 than i can say my entire teen years!

Lol. I grew up in the Midwest in the 1960s-1970s. "Meat and taters" were served at every meal or my dad would refuse to consider it a meal. Later my active-duty Army (now ex-) husband was the same way. Corn was considered a vegetable. Greens were unheard of unless they were boiled to death with bacon or fatback. Only a few vegetables were allowed in the house and we never tried any new vegetables. Salad was considered "rabbit food." Jam and jelly were considered fruit. Green jello, ketchup, marinara sauce and potato chips were considered vegetables.

We weren't unusual, either. This is how every one I knew ate. It was the way the schools fed us lunch, too.

Changing my focus to a more plant-based diet has been difficult to say the least. Changing my kids' eating habits has been even more difficult, especially since they are now adults.

Snowflake1968

positivepowers wrote: »

side note - teach your kids to like vegetables! growing up rice and beans were considered vegetables in my life. legit i have eaten more vegetables in 2018 than i can say my entire teen years!

Lol. I grew up in the Midwest in the 1960s-1970s. "Meat and taters" were served at every meal or my dad would refuse to consider it a meal. Later my active-duty Army (now ex-) husband was the same way. Corn was considered a vegetable. Greens were unheard of unless they were boiled to death with bacon or fatback. Only a few vegetables were allowed in the house and we never tried any new vegetables. Salad was considered "rabbit food." Jam and jelly were considered fruit. Green jello, ketchup, marinara sauce and potato chips were considered vegetables.

We weren't unusual, either. This is how every one I knew ate. It was the way the schools fed us lunch, too.

Changing my focus to a more plant-based diet has been difficult to say the least. Changing my kids' eating habits has been even more difficult, especially since they are now adults.

I am from the Maritimes in Canada and was raised with the meat and potato meals as well. We did eat vegetables in the summer though from the garden and home canned in the winter. I hate canned anything! I am still a very fussy eater and have trouble trying new things and I'm almost 50! It's hard to change the habits we grew up with. Good job for doing it for yourself.

MzManiak

Too young for a diet, yes. Not too young to be educated in nutrition, and how to eat to fuel their bodies, instead of eating to satisfy emotional cravings.

mlheideman

My mom put me in 3 different weight programs starting when I was in 3rd grade. It was humiliating & I hated it.

Brittanyloses

this sounds *kitten* terrible. She doesn't care about her weight because you care enough about it for the both of you. obviously you cared more about her being overweight then teaching her healthy habits and laying a good foundation. stop criticizing her weight and start supporting her.

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.

urloved33

a diet? yes. not too young to learn a solid healthy daily nutrition and exercise plan and implement it,.

jennifer_417

It really depends on how it's approached. Putting a 13-year-old on a diet against their will is a good way to put them in therapy when they get older. But teaching them how to eat healthy food in correct portions, and that exercise is awesome, will help them, even if they don't love it.

Aaron_K123

I think under specific circumstances it might be okay for a child to go onto a caloric restriction diet (cases of morbid obesity, diabetes etc....but at the recommendation of a family physician under the supervision and guidance of a parent. I do not think under any circumstances that a for-profit weight loss company should market services towards children.

Jimb376mfp

I have seen a few Teens (very few) posting pics of some weight loss pics on WW Connect on line. I’m long time WW and didn’t hear about new Program for teens. Posing have to be adult WW members and share with success stories. I noticed boy about 13yo that loss weight and made the baseball team. No large XXXL kids just probably could lose weight with stopping Soda and Fast Food!
A parent with child obesity should be taken to Dr guidance IMHO. But other things could be worse than WW.(eg Anorexia Nervosa!)

WillingtoLose1001984

Aaron_K123 wrote: »

I think under specific circumstances it might be okay for a child to go onto a caloric restriction diet (cases of morbid obesity, diabetes etc....but at the recommendation of a family physician under the supervision and guidance of a parent. I do not think under any circumstances that a for-profit weight loss company should market services towards children.

I don't agree as someone who has always struggled with her weight. I gained most of my weight on psych meds though. I think those are horrible and over prescribed. Knowing now what it is to be morbidly obese, I think weight problems should be dealt with asap. Weight can effect what you do with your life, your emotional health and wellbeing, your physical health, and how people treat you. It is a big deal.

Cbean08

Jimb376mfp wrote: »

I have seen a few Teens (very few) posting pics of some weight loss pics on WW Connect on line. I’m long time WW and didn’t hear about new Program for teens. Posing have to be adult WW members and share with success stories. I noticed boy about 13yo that loss weight and made the baseball team. No large XXXL kids just probably could lose weight with stopping Soda and Fast Food!
A parent with child obesity should be taken to Dr guidance IMHO. But other things could be worse than WW.(eg Anorexia Nervosa!)

Anorexia is not a "diet plan" like Weight Watchers. One doesn't choose to suffer from anorexia. While diet culture may fuel eating disorders, they do not cause them. Eating disorders are more complex than wanting to lose a few pounds. If I had known the harm and destruction to myself and my family that anorexia would cause, I'd have sought help much earlier than I did.

JMcGee2018

The WW program for teens isn't going to lead to anorexia any more than watching a sad movie will lead someone to clinical depression. Both anorexia and clinical depression are mental disorders, and it's not like teens are unaware of weights/sizes/body types and are suddenly being "exposed" to them for the first time through a teen-centered diet program. If anything, I'd say healthy, balanced dieting programs (not necessarily WW) are less likely to result in a teen developing anorexia because it will allow them to approach weight management from a healthy, informed place instead of one of fear and desperation.

Unknown

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Aaron_K123

WillingtoLose1001984 wrote: »

Aaron_K123 wrote: »

I think under specific circumstances it might be okay for a child to go onto a caloric restriction diet (cases of morbid obesity, diabetes etc....but at the recommendation of a family physician under the supervision and guidance of a parent. I do not think under any circumstances that a for-profit weight loss company should market services towards children.

I don't agree as someone who has always struggled with her weight. I gained most of my weight on psych meds though. I think those are horrible and over prescribed. Knowing now what it is to be morbidly obese, I think weight problems should be dealt with asap. Weight can effect what you do with your life, your emotional health and wellbeing, your physical health, and how people treat you. It is a big deal.

I'm not sure how you disagree with me based on what you say here....yes, morbid obesity should be dealt with right away...but for a child it should be under the direction of a parent or doctor and not under the guidance of marketing driven campaigns from commercial for profit companies. What did I say that you disagree with?

PiperGirl08

13 is not too young to learn how to eat better and also to become more physically active. It is not too early to learn how to make positive life choices. If a person is severely overweight at that age, those problems will likely plague her for life. But probably better to just change her eating habits and get her involved in sports and the rest should take care of itself. But don’t impress the notion of dieting upon her. Could lead to negative self imagery.

mbaker566

under dr supervision, it could be vital to stopping obesity in it's tracks

lorib642

No, but it should be medically supervised.

Amerane

ONLY if directed and closely supervised by their pediatrician. Definitely not from some weight-loss company or other non-medical entity.

jesspen91

hotskytrotsky wrote: »

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.

This rings so true to me. I was always a skinny kid but became chubby at the age of around 11. I remember being weighed when I left primary school and being really embarrassed about my weight in comparison to my friends. Then 6 months later BAM my boobs are suddenly a C cup, I've started my period and my body looks like the body of a much older teen. I am glad that my parents or doctors didn't try to make me lose weight or feel bad about my body because it was clearly gearing up for puberty and redistributing the weight. If weight is not at dangerous levels I think you should wait for puberty to do it's thing.

ccruz985

I was 224lbs by the time I was 14. So...for some of us, yes.

ceiswyn

I was a fat child and teen, largely because my physical cues are weak and easily overwhelmed by my mental ones, and because my parents were very sedentary. It was the interventions that well-meaning adults attempted that ensured I’d be an obese adult too.

What I needed was physical activities I enjoyed, less time and mental space for boredom, and learning to enjoy small portions of things I liked. What I got was being taught to hate all physical activities and mindlessly eat things I didn’t like (vegetables and salads without any dressing, but once you’ve got the ability you can apply it to high-calorie foods you don’t like but that happen to be there).

So I kind of side-eye all initiatives of this kind. It’s quite likely that without intending to they do a lot more harm than good.