5yr old used Wii to lose weight

SUPERhecticMOM

That's great that she has slimmed back to a healthy weight. I've heard that kids shouldn't lose weight as such but grow into their weight (as they get taller), but not sure how true that is.

How do you calculate kids BMI? I presume it isn't the same as calculating adults.

Do you reckon your own diet changes have had an impact on your DD as well? The reason I ask is when I told my cousin that I was doing MFP she commented "And that will have a good impact on the girls as well" but in truth my girls have always had a really healthy diet (blush - shame I couldn't follow the same advice - we all ate healthily together, then I just ate extra in the evenings after they were in bed), so it hasn't impacted on them at all. But I'm guessing in some families an improvement in parents diet will have a big flow-on for kids. Sorry, a bit OT, feel free to answer or not, as the whim takes you

I'm in the same boat. I feed my girls balanced healthy meals/snacks and we eat as a family every evening but once they're tucked in the junk food flys
I have been going to the gym since last June and am slowly but surely seeing results so I am ready to take the next step and be accountable for what I am eating. I have no intention of "dieting" but I want to be aware. This week (my 1st) I am eating as I would normally and tracking every morsel...and although I know I have a bad sweet tooth I did not realize just how bad it was for my daily intake allowance. MFP is a huge eye opener that is going to help me make more conscience decisions with my food choices.

Also, since joining the gym my girls (4&7) have taken a HUGE interest in exercising and my oldest has been begging to go to yoga classes with me...so much so that my gym has set up a Mother/Daughter class on saturdays starting next week :bigsmile:

HealthySwifty16

She looks beautiful.

MommyRobin

Aww, she's beautiful! And such an inspiration!:flowerforyou:

_xoxok

Awww... That's wonderful. She's beautiful : )

alenakelly

START WEIGHT 81LBS
CURRENT WEIGHT 66.8LBS

granolagrl85

Way to go Mom! So many people have the attitude of why worry about a child's weight....and that's why 1 out of 5 children are overweight/obese. Being overweight at 5 or 55 is unhealthy. She's lucky you took an interest in her health now!

seal57

She is so adorable.....Good on you mum...:flowerforyou:

donniesaurous

wow thats great. i got very upset recently as my perfectly normal son got listed as overweight by the school nurse... on the day they took the measurement he was 1lb in the overweight category. nobody pointed out that this didn't actually mean that he had a problem, and no one also pointed out that he's also taller than most kids his age. i wouldn't put too much emphasis on the bmi for children happy healthy and measurements are the way forwards

jdbeckers

Your daughter is precious! She is doing good, glad she is having fun and getting healthy at the same time!

runnercheryl

Absolutely fantastic. You can see how much healthier she is!

Some here have said that you should let children grow into their weight, but that's only if they're a little on the big side. I don't feel bad saying this because it's clear you saw it too, but your child was on her way to being more than 'a little on the big side'. When the body's so young, changes to health and fitness can allow it to repair itself - if you'd left it longer, she could have ended up entering her teenage years, 20s or 30s with bad habits, a big body, emotional issues, an unhealthy relationship with food and a body that can't grow and repair as quickly to fix the damage done by being overweight.

She's clearly a very happy child, and it's brightened my day to see a parent that cares about their child's health and understands the value of instilling these behaviours at an early age. A healthy relationship with your body can last a lifetime if it's brought about early enough - what a little star!

LadyKT

Kudos!! Too many kids are subjected to childhood obesity - it's really sad. You definitely get a gold star in my book for not allowing that to continue! She's going to grow up wonderfully healthy!! Great job!

DavePhillip

Am I alone hearing alarm bells here? I am a teacher, and work at a little private school, where you can count the overweight kids on one hand. We don't do any active measures to promote this, it is simply that we have lots of activites on offer, and a really healthy menu. The nearest sweet shop is three miles away down a muddy road, which the kids are forbidden to walk down, and if they do sneak out of the school without permission, the owner of the shop will ring us first, as she knows all the kids in that village.

For years, doctors have used height and weight measurements to assess a child's physical growth in relation to other kids the same age. I am worried when they use BMI however, for Although the BMI number is calculated the same way for children and adults, the criteria used to interpret the meaning of the BMI number for children and teens are vastly different from those used for adults. For children and teens, BMI age- and sex-specific percentiles need to be used for two reasons:
•The amount of body fat changes with age.
•The amount of body fat differs between girls and boys.

Even in adults, a significant drawback with BMI is that it doesn't take into account a person's body fat content, which is an indicator of the risk of future health problems. Although BMI gives us some idea of the health risk associated with being a certain weight for your height, it's just an approximate means of assessing body fat and risk to health. It doesn't allow for weight from muscle - for example if you're an athlete or very muscular you will have a high BMI even if you have a healthy level of body fat. It's also not accurate for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, the very young or very old, the extremes of the normal range of shape, nor does it allow for medical conditions which affect height or shape.

BMI doesn’t account for muscle mass, so a child with excess muscle mass might fall into an overweight or obese category, but it’s rare. Secondly, BMI doesn't provide any information about fat distribution, which correlates with risk for heart disease. A child with central adiposity (fat distributed primarily around the abdomen) has a greater risk for heart disease than a child with fat distributed primarily around the hips. A waist-to-hip ratio is used to measure body fat distribution.

Children at that age are growing, so lay down natrual puppy fat before a growth spurt, and putting you child onto a diet at this tender age is a disater waiting to happen. I would also be deeply concerned if you would involve the child when you perform BMI regulary as well, because the idea of getting a chiold to be weight concious is a very dangerous - and the place that many teenagers suffering from bulminia and aneorixa start from.

When it comes to physical activity, it’s important to find out what motivates your child, and you obviously have. Some kids enjoy team sports, while others prefer to do activities alone, like walking, dancing or biking.

A family-centered approach is a key to a long-term child’s success. That’s because children, especially younger ones, model what their parents do. Family walks are inexpensive and work well with younger children. We’ve seen that when families eat together and keep a "food-safe environment," there’s a greater chance of success, regardless of the child’s age or gender or the family’s income level.

momuv3princesses

That's great!! She is a cutie!

We got our kids a wii for Christmas and in hopes for some fun exercise for them!!! I find myself using it to exercise too! My sister got them a trampoline so I am hoping between the two my oldest will drop a few pounds too.

ILoveFroggies

This is alarming.

Jaymefirst

As a parent with an overweight child I applaud you! It is so hard when it comes to kids. More parents should take your attitude and apply it to their children. The only way we can stop the rising number of overweight kids is doing something about it!! We found that our daughter really likes to swim, so she joined the swim team and is in the water 3-4 times a week.

Great job, you are doing a fantastic job!!

alenakelly

This is alarming.

Seriously? She played some wii and lost weight, she was clearly way larger then all her friends her age, now shes not, I cannot see anything negative here at all.... she didnt even know there was a problem to being with so she shes not self concious or anything!

shanmomto4

I'm so sad to read all these comments about how alarming this is and how she's harming her child. Seriously...Mom isn't saying, "You're fat, let's get you on a diet." She's made some food changes and helped her child get more active. I think that is AWESOME!!!!!!

I have 10 year old twins. One is 5 inches and about 40 lbs heavier. She's very self concious of her weight. Can you imagine having a twin who's that much smaller than you? They both are very active in the same sports and pretty much eat the same but their bodies are completely different. Our ped. is concerned about her weight so we've made some changes and she's slowly dropping weight. She couldn't be more proud of herself and is slowly gaining self confidence.

I applaud this Mom for taking action at such a young age. Believe me, your daughter will thank you for it. She looks amazing and by making changes yourself, you're helping her so much!!!

DisneyAddictRW

Playing wii with the family or going for walks is a good way to set healthy activities for the family. I was heavy growing up and my parents allowed me to sit eat and watch tv all evening plus all weekend! Also feed me processed food and candy. I learned horrible habits as a child. I did the same thing to my kids for the first few years. I realized what I was doing and now we're making changes. I'm making the changes to show them a healthy lifestyle and good food choices. We never talk about weight and inches! The OP simply got a wii and it helped the family with a healthy activity choice. Congrats to the OP for the choice made and thanks for sharing! Instead of my family having movie night tonight we're having wii night! Thanks for the reminder to make good choices for our family! Your daughter is beautiful and looks really happy in both pictures!!

daisyls85

That's awesome! I love how video games these days such as Wii incorporate physical activity!

CheleLynn44

That is awesome!!!! She is so cute!!! Those are great habits she can carry with her foever!!