Need help for obese brother.

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1smemae94
1smemae94 Posts: 365 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, my brother is 13 years old and weighs 220 pounds. He is 5'5 feet tall. He eats too much junk food and doesnt want to stop eating. He hates anything that requires him to be active and loves to spend time on the computer instead of doing anything else. My mom has tried banning food, but he sneaks it. She has tried taking things away too, but it dosent help. It bothers me because he's going to end up dying. The doctor told him he needed to lose weight because he is borderline diabetic. He is 13 he shouldnt be borderline anything. Hes 5 years younger than me and 50 pounds heavier. I want to help him but i dont know how. Any ideas?

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  • abellante_0205
    abellante_0205 Posts: 368 Member
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    maybe he needs to see a therapist to get help. I hope he fights this!
  • 1smemae94
    1smemae94 Posts: 365 Member
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    maybe he needs to see a therapist to get help. I hope he fights this!

    That might help, I'll need to convince my parents.
  • routerguy666
    routerguy666 Posts: 188
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    Buy him a new xbox game for every 10 pounds he loses...

    You could warn him about the hell he will be in for when he hits high school, but that may or may not register.

    Anyway, some sort of reward might be good motivation. Talking about health will likely do nothing. Like most people I pretty much thought I was immortal until about 35...
  • MoonShadow_1au
    MoonShadow_1au Posts: 149 Member
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    Unfortunately if he does not want help forcing anything on him will not work or make it worse. Without knowing him (or you) it is hard to tell what will motivate him. Maybe a Wii Fit could get him moving or one of those MS Kinetics (my some comes out of **** Smith dripping after playing their demo program.

    My only suggestion it to do things he may be interested in, if he joins in he is making a start.
  • hottiemama1
    hottiemama1 Posts: 3 Member
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    If we have learned anything, its that we can't "make" anyone lose weight or care about their health. Its a personal journey and a decision each of us has to make. That being said, he is only 13 years old, so there are some things your family can do to help him. First, lead by example. :) If he sees the rest of the family making healthy choices, it will effect him. Second, if he is "sneaking" food, which my children used to do this as well, get rid of all junk in the house, then there is nothing to sneak. The options for snacks at my house now are fruit, cheese, or low fat options. Third, create fun ways to help him get active, such as bike riding as a family, or walking in the park, or playing a little bit of basketball. As long as he sees it as fun, he is more likely to try it. I'm not an expert, but I have had to make changes in my own life to help myself and my kiddos. It is not an easy road, but it is worth it. It has to be a family effort. Good luck! :)
  • JCPruitt
    JCPruitt Posts: 53
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    sounds like eating has become a psychological addiction for him. Like any addiction, until he wants to end it (or in this case revamp it to be healthy) he won't. Banning food or bribery won't work. A therapist is a good idea, but unless he wants to change it is money thrown away. There are facilities that help youngsters such as this, but they are very expensive.

    I do hope he decides to take care of his health soon. I was not that large at his age--though I was still overweight. I do hope he decides to take control of his health before he ends up a super morbidly obese adult as I did.
  • waterjogger
    waterjogger Posts: 114
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    Sounds like your mom needs to unplug the computer/computer games and clean out all of the junk food from the house for starters. That way the only food he can sneak will be a carrot stick. Is there any way you can get the whole family together swimming, biking, walking or something like that. Maybe the doctor can recommend a nutritionist to help with the diet. I really hate it that you feel so bad for him but you can't really do anything. Your parents really should be the ones taking action and finding help.
  • ASturtevant79
    ASturtevant79 Posts: 18 Member
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    . You can't help a person lose weight and less they want to. But like a woman said earlier get the junk out of the house and unplug the computer. Your parents are also in denial about the situation and are enabling his unhealthy lifestyle. I'm guessing your parents are overweight also and in order to change your brother's lifestyle they'd have to change theirs. Sit down and talk with them about how you feel. All you can really do is help yourself get healthy and try to encourage your brother to join in.
  • KimmyEB
    KimmyEB Posts: 1,208 Member
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    Why is there junk food in the house? He eats it because it's there...plain and simple. I'm guessing he grew up having junk food accessible in the house? The first step is removing it, and replacing it with healthier foods for snacks and meals. It's a hard habit to break...I grew up with cookies, cakes, candy, etc. always being out around my family's kitchen, and figured that was normal and carried it out into my adult life, up until recently. Also, your parents should restrict his time on the computer and video games and TV...have him help out around the house, especially doing outside work.

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