Does anyone else have an overweight tween/youth?

Lyssa62

my son was a heavy tween/teen and now he's a very heavy 21 year old. I am really scared for him..but I've done what I can do by encouraging him to eat healthier and exercise. At the age he's at now..it's pretty much out of my hands.

to all of you dealing with this with younger kids..don't think that it's a "stage" and they'll grow taller ..and all the other lies you are told. If your doctor isn't concerned..find a new doctor.

katevarner

The doctor may be right, but then again she may not be. I was told the same thing when my skinny 10 yr. old turned into a chubby 11 yr. old. He ultimately reached 205 lbs. in high school, and he's only 5'7". At that point I was at my highest weight as well, so we decided to tackle our issues together, but I was more successful than he because he was hanging out with friends by then and eating late and buying his own food, etc. He has now left home to go to college and joined a gym out there (we joined the gym together here almost a year ago and both went a few times a week when he was home, but neither of us went enough at the time). He also has a bike that he rides several days a week, many miles on the weekend, and he's only now really tackling the problem. He still loves junk food, so it's hard for him, but he's lost 10 lbs. and 15 lbs. of fat (newbie gains in the weight room, but yay!).

So my advice is to get a handle on your son's issues now. Then if the doctor is right, you haven't lost anything because he knows how to eat healthier and take care of himself, but if the doctor's wrong, you will save your son from high school misery being the fat kid.

You are a great mom to want to take care of this before it gets out of hand!

RobynMWilson

I was an obese tween/teen. Yet my folks still allowed me to have soda, Tasty Kakes, and Twinkies. I'm not criticizing my folks but after living on my own for 13 years and moving back home and now living a healthy lifestyle, I can SEE what they did wrong with me and my brother, who is still obese, as kids. I see the way they eat now and I'm like "wow". And my dad has made some healthy changes to his diet after his triple bypass but his idea of an acceptable dinner is Spam and Egg Beaters!

My doctors were not particularly concerned about my weight, either, not enough to offer me a solution. They would tell me and my mom that I needed to lose weight and get my blood pressure down (my BP in 8th grade was 200/120). But never offered me a solution. This is why I'm going back to school for nutrition, so I can help tweens and teens, but there's a lot of liability involved in that.

I lost my weight in 9th grade because I wanted it bad enough that I just couldn't take it anymore. I lost it by cutting out soda, drinking more water, and cutting my portions. My folks were supportive, but was still stockpiling crap food in the house and it was up to my willpower to not eat it. And I did it. I suppose that set me up for a lifetime of being able to make healthier choices in the face of temptations at the office, with the ex-husband, etc.

My suggestion is that you ARE the parent, you buy the food, you make the rules! He isn't gonna like it, but get the processed crap out of the house. Kids shouldn't be eating "diet" food, so offer REAL food and keep eating out to a minimum! Also, allow for him to have a cheat day once per week. That will keep him on the beam the rest of the time, hopefully.

Encourage exercise! Unfortunately, seasonal sports are not enough! I see tons of obese kids who are active in seasonal sports but the activity needs to be DAILY, on a regular basis. Find out what he enjoys and try to make family activities out of it. Even though it's only your 10 year old who is obese, it is a FAMILY problem!

Feel free to friend me to pick my brain. I know it's been my experience that the eating, dependence on soda, etc was only a symptom of a bigger problem. Once I lost the weight I took up alcohol addiction and got sober through the 12 Steps of AA at 27 (I'm 40 now). But that's only my experience...

dorothytd

Thanks for this post! My 9 y/o son is similar. He does like sports (currently basketball season) and goes to karate 2x week, but it isn't enough. We have caught him sneaking food in the past, but he seems to have gotten better about it (or way more sneaky about it, ha). Doctor is not overly concerned, but we are somewhat. Being a good example isn't doing it and he would literally eat until he explodes if we let him. He is very food-focused. We're trying to take the focus off food and redirect it. When he's engaged in an activity, he doesn't even think about it. Our challenge is to keep him focused on healthy activities. I'd also like to keep him from getting too focused on the scale. We're taking a family grocery trip today to let the kids decide on their own healthier snacks, and both have expressed an interest in bringing lunch (I also have a 12 y/o with no weight issues). We'll be working on making the shopping trips a family "habit" - we're too random with it!

Happy New Year!

LisaGirlfriend

Thanks guys. I wouldn't say he's obese, but definitely food obsessed. He is active and does daily activity, plus we live in a very active neighbourhood so he has lots to do right outside our door (skating, tobogganing, etc.) He also plays hockey 8 months of the year, does soccer in the spring, football and loves to swim. So I'm very grateful he is naturally busy because it would be so much worse if I couldn't get him off the couch. Today he did the 30 Day Shred with me, helped me make healthy muffins, and protein granola bars, then we went tobogganing. Anyway, I appreciate the feedback and I agree with your comments. It's really up to me and my husband to start getting very strict on him and telling him NO when he goes for more. Also, I do take him to the grocery stored and let him choose all the fruits he wants. He loves that.

Tymeshia

I think you should be concerns. I look at physicals of 4 year olds and they are off the charts. The doctor doesn't say anything and these children are 20 plus over the weight. The doctors are seeing so many overweight children that its seem normal to them.

babycakes1970

I have an obese eighteen year old and an overweight almost sixteen year old. What complicates things for us is that both are on the Autism Spectrum. The younger one is very low functioning autism and the older one has Aspergers.