I made my kid overweight

ivyjbres

Football has weight classes now?

But still, weight classes don't indicate that your son's overweight, just that he's big enough that someone thinks there's the potential that he could hurt a smaller kid by accident. But that's football, that's kind of a built in risk. Remember that by volume, muscle weighs more than fat, so if you son's active, he's going to have more muscle. Unless you look at him and go, "wow, that kid's fat," chances are he's not overweight.

BTW, I found a BMI scale for children, according to it, my son's not just overweight, but obese. No way in Hades! He's 4 and can still fit pants for a 24month old around his waist, they just aren't long enough.

Don't let yourself get stressed by labels you only get from one activity. If his pediatrician hasn't said anything, he's not overweight.

MinnieInMaine

I know not everyone is a fan of Jillian MIchaels but one thing I remember from her short-lived show on NBC (Losing It with Jillian) was that if the children were overweight, the only concern was making sure they were eating healthy and being active on a regular basis. The number on the scale wasn't as important. I think that's great advice, especially for a kid that age who's likely to go through a huge growth spurt soon.

Also, be careful with restrictions - he could react like I did and sneak food and you don't want to start that awful habit. Keep teaching proper nutrition and watch those portion sizes and he'lll be fine.

lodro

I'd like to add, that his low birth weight and being premature, predisposes him for "metabolic syndrome" later in life. I say this from experience, but also from scientific evidence: high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and heart disease (metabolic syndrome) are more common in adults who were low weight at birth. So I'd say to take a long term view and now distill eating habits in him that will improve his health later in life. I would say that watching glycemic load of his meals is one thing, and I second the recommendations about portion control.

http://www.diabetesvoice.org/files/attachments/article_416_en.pdf

this is not something you "caused" or had control over coming into existence: it is caused by his growth having to catch up to his low birth weight. But you can set him up for good health in his adult years!

erica79

thank you all for the information and the suggestions and advice. I'm going to look into the diabetes someone posted and look at what he should be eating for calories, plus watch his portions. Again I really appreciate everyone's comments. It's nice to have somewhere to express my concerns before I see the doctor.

naku

you are a good mum