Toddler Obesity?

jojoof4

Reaching out to fellow mfp'ers hoping someone has some advice for me. My 3 year old daughter has been labeled "obese". She currently weighs 43lbs. My other 3 children all went through a chubby phase, but not to the extent that the dr was concerned. They all eventually outgrew it and currently none of them are even considered overweight. I feel absolutely terrible. 3 years old seems awfully young to be concerned about weight. I certainly don't want to give the poor girl a complex. I know how difficult it is to be overweight and to be the "fat kid" at school. I will do anything to prevent my daughter from becoming that child. So, I'm here asking for any advice, tips, websites, articles, etc to guide me in the right direction. I have been trying to watch her portion sizes and of course offer fruits and veggies rather than fruit snacks. I don't want to make it a huge deal because she is too young to understand what is going on, but I do want to bring attention to the issue so the rest of my family becomes part of the solution, as well as her caregivers. My husband doesn't struggle with his weight at all and he is minimizing the seriousness of the situation. I agree that it could be worse, however, I want to remedy the situation before it reaches that point. I don't want her to have to struggle her whole life. Thanks in advance for any advice!!

dumb_blondes_rock

cut back on juices and milks and introduce more water....of if they HAVE to have juice....cut it with some water.

Also, take them to the park and have them workout with you, you can use them as weights and then you both can run around and race each other....

instead of getting happy meals at the drive through, order a grilled chicken lettuce wrap and cut the chicken into little pieces. And always have apple fries instead of real fries,

Cut back on crackers and make sure the cereals she eats, let her only eat cheerios, and measure out the serving size. I know when i used to watch kids i would just pour out what i thought they would eat, but if you meausre then you know exactly how much they should be taking in

This website might help also

http://www.babycenter.com/0_nutrition-guidelines-for-young-children_64359.bc

lstnlondry

I agree with dumb_blonds except for the McDonalds part. Just don't take her because that is torture! I believe the only way it will work is if you and she have the same lifestyle. Eat right and move!! The whole family needs to be on the same page, as a mother of 4 I know this. And I have kids that were called obese but not at 3. ALL have grown into their weight except my daughter who is just begining puberty.

jojoof4

cut back on juices and milks and introduce more water....of if they HAVE to have juice....cut it with some water.

Also, take them to the park and have them workout with you, you can use them as weights and then you both can run around and race each other....

instead of getting happy meals at the drive through, order a grilled chicken lettuce wrap and cut the chicken into little pieces. And always have apple fries instead of real fries,

Cut back on crackers and make sure the cereals she eats, let her only eat cheerios, and measure out the serving size. I know when i used to watch kids i would just pour out what i thought they would eat, but if you meausre then you know exactly how much they should be taking in

This website might help also

http://www.babycenter.com/0_nutrition-guidelines-for-young-children_64359.bc

She primarily drinks water as it is; we've stopped with the juice a few months back (and we were watering it down). She gets three glasses of skim milk daily. We also don't do a whole lot of fast food eating as it is. I feel that she has a fairly decent diet and she is extremely active. We spend as much time as we can outdoors and the kids are constantly on the go. I do appreciate the input though.

supertracylynn

Cut out fast-food altogether. Look into the Weight Watchers 15-minute Recipe cooking magazines. Being a busy mom too, that one helps So much!!

Don't buy fruit snack stuff, or the other "typical" snacks. They're empty calories. if you don't have it, she can't eat it.

Fat free milk.

Crystal light instead of juice - it boosts water intake.

Lower-cal yogurt.

Make fruits/veggies fun by playing with them with her while you two snack together. Cut them up in interesting designs, talk to her about what it tastes like, how it feels in her mouth, etc.

I have a 3 y/o as well. Putting the fruits in the fridge at her level, I can't keep her out of it, or the baby carrots, or my CARBmaster yogurts.

lindalou0703

Alot of health departments have dietitions you can talk to. I would get advice from them or your Dr. on what to cut out etc. I was in a similar situation when my daughter was a child. That was over 28 years ago and advice seems to change over the years ......

dumb_blondes_rock

If thats the case then i wouldn't worry about it. If your kids is eating healthy and exercising then all should be ok. Make sure you watch the portion control of it too, as adults sometimes its hard for us to know the right portion size of kids, since we eat so much more than they do

jojoof4

I agree with dumb_blonds except for the McDonalds part. Just don't take her because that is torture! I believe the only way it will work is if you and she have the same lifestyle. Eat right and move!! The whole family needs to be on the same page, as a mother of 4 I know this. And I have kids that were called obese but not at 3. ALL have grown into their weight except my daughter who is just begining puberty.

I think her age is what's bothering me the most. It just seems like she's too young to have that label. She's nowhere near done growing yet... all my others thinned out as they grew. I'm hoping that this will jumpstart my weight loss as well, as I have been at a standstill. Knowing that I have to do it for her sake as well as mine might be the motivation I was lacking. Thanks for the input!

billsica

My one year old copies everything I do. I'm working hard to be a good role model. I can't just say, don't eat that cookie.
ouch, really turns up the pressure? glad to see your making the effort, you will rock it, and develop good eating with your kids.

Now you can't fail though, I mean what if I'm right. see you at -74!


*Extra bonus on doing this with MS!

unsuspectingfish

I was chronically underweight until age 5, to the point where the doctors voiced concern to my parents, but I was eating all the same stuff my brothers were and they were all just fine. I think, if she's getting the proper nutrition, just keep doing what you're doing. I also liked the idea someone put out there of talking to a nutritionist.

ivyjbres

Wait, wait, wait. Are we talking actually visibly FAT, or just a little chunky? Chunky, she'll out grow the next time she has a growth spurt. And if we're just talking BMI... well, my son's BMI places him as obese, but he's literally all muscle. He's 4 and can knock me down with my feet firmly planted (and I used to play basketball and could squat double my weight until I had him...)

As long as she's eating healthy already, just wait it out. If she's eating healthy and visibly fat, and it doesn't go away, then you're talking hypothyroid or something with the pituitary and no amount of diet's going to fix that.

purple_tux1

I have a 3 year old boy that's about the same weight. He's tall though. We never take him to the doctor so no concerns there. There are some small ways we could improve things, but overall we are not worried.

Our daughter was also obese, I think even more so than him. She was really overweight, but we did not realize at the time. However, we've always given her lots of fruit and veggies and gone to the parks etc. and now she's 10 and I haven't had any concerns for years. She'll never be thin thin like some kids, but she's a healthy weight and certainly in much better condition than many of her friends.

The only thing I could suggest is maybe if you gave us a 1 day summary of what she eats and different activities she does, we could give more specific advice.

HappyLuna

Keep a diary of how active your child is and exactly what they are eating. Do this for a week and then review. Look at governement guidlelines for your child's age (In the UK we have great websites http://www.nhs.uk/Change4Life/Pages/change-for-life-families.aspx) There's a great section in that website about 'me size meals'. Its so easy to give our children a little too much (even if its all healthy) because we always worry they are hungry! I know I do, and I do regularly check I'm giving him just enough for my son's size.

So once you have done a diary, looked and recommendation for a 3 yr old review...see if you need to change anything and go from there. You are a great mother for wanting to do the best of your children and seeking help and advice. Its so hard to know we do the right thing, but I think you are doing a fantastic job by the sounds of things

Hope some of this is helpful to you xxx

Painten

My son was given that label around that age too. I've never thought he looked it to be honest so i was very shocked. When he was 2 he was underweight and had to be given a multivitamin to stimulate his appetite. He'd not had fast food and was mostly drinking just water.

I certainly never ever mentioned it to him and i still let him have snacks. I was just more conscious of his portion sizes and just made them a bit smaller, although i let him have seconds if he asked. I was a bit more careful with snacks too again with the size of them. He is now 6 and in the healthy weight category not even overweight. To be honest though if it hadn't been for the fact that they weigh them at school i'd never have even had him weighed in the first place.

jojoof4

Wait, wait, wait. Are we talking actually visibly FAT, or just a little chunky? Chunky, she'll out grow the next time she has a growth spurt. And if we're just talking BMI... well, my son's BMI places him as obese, but he's literally all muscle. He's 4 and can knock me down with my feet firmly planted (and I used to play basketball and could squat double my weight until I had him...)

As long as she's eating healthy already, just wait it out. If she's eating healthy and visibly fat, and it doesn't go away, then you're talking hypothyroid or something with the pituitary and no amount of diet's going to fix that.

She's a little chubby, but nothing more than what I consider "baby fat". She's definitely heavier than her sister who weighs about the same. (She looks larger than her sister as well). The dr is going strictly by numbers and BMI. I feel like she just hasn't outgrown it yet. I guess I'm just nervous because obese is such a harsh word and she is so young. In my opinion, she eats a well-balanced diet, and we rarely eat out.

lennykat

At 3 years old, don't cut out the milk. She should be at least drinking 2% because toddlers need the fat for brain development.

Cut out McD's and enroll her in a dance class. Have "dance time"at home included with clean up. Scavenger hunts in the backyard. Start her on learning to ride a bike. Also, have her help cook- kids who help make stuff are more likely to eat it. Before you know it she'll be having another growth spurt and she'll grow out of this.

The most important thing is not to focus on this to the point where she starts to pick up on your worry. The last thing you want to happen is have a 5 year old who is sneaking cookies to her bedroom or a child who loathes activity. So, the most important thing is to make it fun.