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Is 13 too young for a diet ?????
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amusedmonkey wrote: »Wheelhouse15 wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »Wheelhouse15 wrote: »FaileAybara wrote: »I have allowed my 14 year old to sign up for MFP because she was upset about her weight as compared to her peers. She isn't actually over weight, just at the higher end of "normal" - but she wanted tools to help her make better choices and to see how different foods impact her so I decided to okay it. I did research to see how many calories she should be intaking and adjusted her goals accordingly. We are also exercising together 3 times a week.
We still have fun food, junk has not been removed from the house, and we focus on the learning aspect of making better choices. I think she also enjoys being able to lord over me about not logging my food (i'm the one who is overweight)
I do wish there was a more teen focused program that she could use, something that focuses more on the educational aspect of food. For example, she loves to see when something she eats hits a lot of nutrient goals.
I'm not sure if you realize this but 14 is a violation of the terms of service. She should be on a place like Spark Teens and not MFP. They have more information and tools geared for teens while MFP is strictly for adults 18 and over.
That's no longer a thing, unfortunately. If it's under the supervision on her parents and doctor I don't see why not.
Did they change the TOS? I feel old here now lol. I would highly recommend active supervision of any young teens knowing what goes on here.
No they didn't, I just feel they should. I just feel bad for teens for not having any options.
Spark teens is where they usually get directed since it has similar tools and articles and a community as well but is teen focused.0 -
Wheelhouse15 wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »Wheelhouse15 wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »Wheelhouse15 wrote: »FaileAybara wrote: »I have allowed my 14 year old to sign up for MFP because she was upset about her weight as compared to her peers. She isn't actually over weight, just at the higher end of "normal" - but she wanted tools to help her make better choices and to see how different foods impact her so I decided to okay it. I did research to see how many calories she should be intaking and adjusted her goals accordingly. We are also exercising together 3 times a week.
We still have fun food, junk has not been removed from the house, and we focus on the learning aspect of making better choices. I think she also enjoys being able to lord over me about not logging my food (i'm the one who is overweight)
I do wish there was a more teen focused program that she could use, something that focuses more on the educational aspect of food. For example, she loves to see when something she eats hits a lot of nutrient goals.
I'm not sure if you realize this but 14 is a violation of the terms of service. She should be on a place like Spark Teens and not MFP. They have more information and tools geared for teens while MFP is strictly for adults 18 and over.
That's no longer a thing, unfortunately. If it's under the supervision on her parents and doctor I don't see why not.
Did they change the TOS? I feel old here now lol. I would highly recommend active supervision of any young teens knowing what goes on here.
No they didn't, I just feel they should. I just feel bad for teens for not having any options.
Spark teens is where they usually get directed since it has similar tools and articles and a community as well but is teen focused.
Spark teens is no longer a thing. It hasn't been around in more than 2 years from what I've seen. That's why I feel bad for them, the only place they could safely watch their intake is gone.1 -
I wish someone would've put me on a diet when I was 13. I needed help.5
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amusedmonkey wrote: »Wheelhouse15 wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »Wheelhouse15 wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »Wheelhouse15 wrote: »FaileAybara wrote: »I have allowed my 14 year old to sign up for MFP because she was upset about her weight as compared to her peers. She isn't actually over weight, just at the higher end of "normal" - but she wanted tools to help her make better choices and to see how different foods impact her so I decided to okay it. I did research to see how many calories she should be intaking and adjusted her goals accordingly. We are also exercising together 3 times a week.
We still have fun food, junk has not been removed from the house, and we focus on the learning aspect of making better choices. I think she also enjoys being able to lord over me about not logging my food (i'm the one who is overweight)
I do wish there was a more teen focused program that she could use, something that focuses more on the educational aspect of food. For example, she loves to see when something she eats hits a lot of nutrient goals.
I'm not sure if you realize this but 14 is a violation of the terms of service. She should be on a place like Spark Teens and not MFP. They have more information and tools geared for teens while MFP is strictly for adults 18 and over.
That's no longer a thing, unfortunately. If it's under the supervision on her parents and doctor I don't see why not.
Did they change the TOS? I feel old here now lol. I would highly recommend active supervision of any young teens knowing what goes on here.
No they didn't, I just feel they should. I just feel bad for teens for not having any options.
Spark teens is where they usually get directed since it has similar tools and articles and a community as well but is teen focused.
Spark teens is no longer a thing. It hasn't been around in more than 2 years from what I've seen. That's why I feel bad for them, the only place they could safely watch their intake is gone.
Interesting I was just looking at it from a google search last week but didn't actually go there. I didn't realize it was defunct.0 -
I was never really put on a diet at that age, but my parents definitely shaped my relationship with food. We were allowed packaged snacks, 3 pieces of candy a day or 3 cookies a day. Nothing was considered "bad" food, but we learned about moderation. We always had vegetables with dinner and my mother always home cooked pretty balanced meals. My parents were both active and signed us up to try sports. If we didn't like them, we didn't play them, but all three of us children were quite active ourselves.
Now, when I want candy or a cookie, I subconsciously limit myself to 3. Almost like a habit. I home cook quite frequently and we always, always have a vegetable with dinner. Not sure if it's a personal preference, or a learned habit from how I was raised, but I'd like to think being taught that way helped. I've managed to keep my weight range within 15 lbs of my high school weight.
I'm not sure at 13 I was quite mature enough to handle calorie counting or being put on a program. I was just entering puberty and of course already quite insecure about everything (being a young girl is hard work, man). The last thing I needed to worry about is how many calories or points I was eating at lunch. I do think parents can help alter a kid's relationship with food by changing some habits in the household, but I'm not sure putting a child at the age of 13 on a weight loss program is positive for their self-esteem. Maybe once they hit 16 or so...4 -
I feel following a diet that has proper portion control, and limiting calorie intake to maintain a healthy weight, or to lose weight, if necessary, (for children with proper guidance from parents and health care professionals), is a responsibility we need to accept for ourselves and our children. Being overweight is not healthy for anyone. I realize that there are some people that will say they are healthy and overweight, and I accept their opinion. However, for most of us, it is healthier to be a normal weight. Being a parent brings a lot of responsibility. Your child's health (which includes weight) is a part of that responsibility.
You can not have it both ways. Childhood obesity is a fact and involves very young children. So, no, I do not think 13 is too young to limit calories for weight loss, but as for any age, your health care professional should be consulted before beginning a weight loss program.0 -
I would really have to look at the program. No, 13 is not to young to understand how to eat a healthy rounded 'diet', but it is to young to be telling them to restrict their calories like an adult on a 'diet'.2
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gamerbabe14 wrote: »I wish someone would've put me on a diet when I was 13. I needed help.
I do too. I wish they would have shown me it was possible for me to lose weight too. They only really encouraged healthier eating and mostly i still stayed overweight.2 -
Both my children are healthy weights and they are both in their late thirties now.
I never restricted, kept the Canada Food Guide on the refrigerator and kept fresh fruit, canned beans and ramen noodles around for the hungries (feeding a teen is expensive!).1 -
Depends on what they are offering. If it's specifically targeted to teens with a special program where they learn more about healthy eating etc... why not? If it's just the same as the adult program, really, nope. Although to be fair, I would think that, for a teen, WW might actually be more appropriate than MFP (not to count calories but make healthier choices overall).
I was overweight as a kid and finished growing by 13, so it doesn't seem crazy to me.2 -
If the kid is morbidly obese then I think they should diet but under a doctor's supervision not for some online challenge or promotion. If a kid just wants to lose a few pounds for vanity then hell no. Kids are still physically developing, the potential harm of caloric restriction is likely to outweigh the benefits of getting a little lighter. Also frankly I don't think most 13-17 year olds are mature enough to handle it appropriately and not make it into some weird self-flagellation ritual where they only eat brocolli or something.
That said unless it is my children it is not my call, but I wouldn't support a company promoting child dieting.4 -
We are trying to head off weight issues early by setting a good example and signing them up for sports.
We teach that treats are once in awhile, eating out (including fast food) is a treat, to stop when you are full and start with a small portion cause you can have more if you are still hungry.
I understand the struggle of being bigger than other girls my age. I’m pretty sure by 13 I was really self conscious. I don’t want my daughters or my son to feel that way. I think 13 is young to be on a diet program especially one that would make other kids make fun of them, but some 13 year olds are quite mature. It would definitely depend on the kid and their parent and doctor.
I think sports participation really helps with body confidence. My daughters swim on a team and my son wrestles. We take the kids bike riding and the park regularly when the weather is nice.
I agree with this completely. I was not encouraged to participate in sports when I was growing up, and looking back, that is my one regret. Its not that I would have been discouraged if I had wanted to, but I wasn't exposed to a lot of different options that I might have found more fitting for my personality.
I was very shy growing up, and I had problems with being overweight even as a youngster, so i was very self conscious even by the age of 10. The only sports available for girls at my school was basketball, volleyball, or cheerleading, none of which interested me in the least. My parents never thought about looking into the community for things that might interest me, such as little league; it just never crossed my mom's mind that her daughter could play baseball. Which is sad because I do enjoy baseball, and it was the on sport that interested me, but my school didn't have a team, and we didn't play it very often at all in my gym classes because my classmates didn't like it.
I'd definitely encourage parents to work with their children to find activities that they find interesting and fun and that can get them moving - whether its a team sport or whether its something that is more solo, but speaking from experience, activity when they are young will help leaps and bounds in starting them off right!
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i find that offensive. if a child needs help there are doctors and rd's/ ww omg.1
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amusedmonkey wrote: »side note - teach your kids to like vegetables! growing up rice and beans were considered vegetables in my life. legit i have eaten more vegetables in 2018 than i can say my entire teen years!
I completely agree with this. I wasn't exactly "taught to like vegetables", but that was just how we ate, it was our normal. When I decided to lose weight I had no problem at all coming up with low calorie vegetable heavy dishes because I already ate a lot of them and liked them a lot, it was normal for me to eat vegetables. This made my transition to dieting not as drastic as some people experience, all I needed to do was to just modify the way I prepared some of my dishes by using less oil and just eat less of others. My already vegetable heavy diet made it easy. Making vegetables a normal part of a child's diet is always a good thing, but if I were made to eat vegetables because they're healthy not because that's just how we eat I'm not sure how I would have reacted to this.
Good points! I had to learn to like vegetables as an adult. My parents considered frozen peas and canned corn "the 2 vegetables" and salad was iceberg lettuce with tomato and lots of ranch (I hated it). Even though I didn't lose the bulk of my weight until my thirties, I spent most of my twenties developing "a taste for" vegetables and learning how I actually liked them a lot, but not the way my mom served them...I love steamed broccoli, raw carrots, and so on.
I know a ton of adults (of all weights/sizes) who hate veggies in general and don't buy or eat them...AT ALL. I didn't grow up in a house where eating a huge variety of different vegetables was a common, normal thing, and had to "learn" it but it still boggles my mind how many friends will pick vegetables out of their food or claim they don't eat them.1 -
My parents signed my brother and I up for a kids weight loss program when I was in 6th grade (4th for him). We were definitely fat and my parents were/are obese, so they wanted to spare us going into middle and high school as the fat kids but couldn’t really give us much guidance/motivation themselves. We had weekly weigh ins and meetings, paper food/activity logs, and some instructions on healthy choices. Since we were generally inactive (our family past time is reading) and while 80% of our food choices were okay, we didn’t learn much about portions. Some weight came off and when we both decided to really get it together in HS and college we had the basics—eat less junk, more veg/fruit, and move more. We’re both slim and fit as adults. Perhaps learning some gentle basics saved us from crazy crash diets. It definitely saved us from the hell that is being the fat kid in Middle School.
Long story short, it sounds great to say kids shouldn’t be allowed to use a program bc some might abuse it and that their parents and dr should be monitoring any weight control attempts...BUT
1) not all parents are equipped to model healthy choices for their kids, as we bemoan in many other threads. Mine certainly were not.
2) not all drs are capable/willing to do much with diet advice (again, something countless MFP threads bemoan when related to adults)
3) dieticians might be an option, but I’m guessing many parents don’t know what one is, can’t find/afford one/can’t figure out how to get insurance to pay for one so that might not be a feasible option (I’m thinking of the many big kids I see in my husband’s small,poor, rural hometown—I’d be shocked if there’s an RD within an hour’s drive). I didn’t know what a dietitian was until my20s when my mom needed one for her diabetes.
4) many teens concerned with their weight will take to social media/the internet/their friends for diet advice. None of those options (likely wo the knowledge or consent of their parents) sounds like a recipe for success.
So what resources can we give teens that are crying out for help? I’m not sold on WW being the answer at all, but we/they really need some type of reliable, healthy program. And I don’t think schools are the answer...a girl from my class was in my weight loss group and that was mortifying for both of us!
So...what to do? I think the whole conundrum is that everyone is terrified to come up with something and be held liable for some teen’s abusing the program and developing an ED, so we leave the kids floundering on their own.7 -
gradchica27 wrote: »My parents signed my brother and I up for a kids weight loss program when I was in 6th grade (4th for him). We were definitely fat and my parents were/are obese, so they wanted to spare us going into middle and high school as the fat kids but couldn’t really give us much guidance/motivation themselves. We had weekly weigh ins and meetings, paper food/activity logs, and some instructions on healthy choices. Since we were generally inactive (our family past time is reading) and while 80% of our food choices were okay, we didn’t learn much about portions. Some weight came off and when we both decided to really get it together in HS and college we had the basics—eat less junk, more veg/fruit, and move more. We’re both slim and fit as adults. Perhaps learning some gentle basics saved us from crazy crash diets. It definitely saved us from the hell that is being the fat kid in Middle School.
Long story short, it sounds great to say kids shouldn’t be allowed to use a program bc some might abuse it and that their parents and dr should be monitoring any weight control attempts...BUT
1) not all parents are equipped to model healthy choices for their kids, as we bemoan in many other threads. Mine certainly were not.
2) not all drs are capable/willing to do much with diet advice (again, something countless MFP threads bemoan when related to adults)
3) dieticians might be an option, but I’m guessing many parents don’t know what one is, can’t find/afford one/can’t figure out how to get insurance to pay for one so that might not be a feasible option (I’m thinking of the many big kids I see in my husband’s small,poor, rural hometown—I’d be shocked if there’s an RD within an hour’s drive). I didn’t know what a dietitian was until my20s when my mom needed one for her diabetes.
4) many teens concerned with their weight will take to social media/the internet/their friends for diet advice. None of those options (likely wo the knowledge or consent of their parents) sounds like a recipe for success.
So what resources can we give teens that are crying out for help? I’m not sold on WW being the answer at all, but we/they really need some type of reliable, healthy program. And I don’t think schools are the answer...a girl from my class was in my weight loss group and that was mortifying for both of us!
So...what to do? I think the whole conundrum is that everyone is terrified to come up with something and be held liable for some teen’s abusing the program and developing an ED, so we leave the kids floundering on their own.
That program sounds great, and I'm glad that your parents recognized that they weren't able to help you and your brother with this and went out of their way to find something that could. I can definitely see how a program like this through the school could be a bad idea, though.
I also think it is funny/sad/odd that so many people here are concerned that weight loss programs for kids will lead to low self-esteem or EDs when being overweight can itself lead to low self-esteem, and a lot of (skinny) girls in my high school suffered from bulimia, despite never being overweight or, as far as I know, exposed to a weight loss program geared toward kids.
I'm not sure that WW is the best option, although I don't know what program they are planning to have available for children, but I do believe that there should be options out there that parents and students can readily access.3 -
I'm going to say 13 isn't too you but only because my mom put me on dexatrim at age 11. And then my mother kept me on different diet pills up until I moved out at 18 because "they weren't working because I wasn't trying hard enough" so I would have welcomed an actual weight loss program created by professionals over a mother with a bottle of supposedly magic pills.5
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Define "diet" for a 13 y/o? If they're overweight/obese, putting a 13 y/o on a "diet" isn't so bad. Show them what the food pyramid is all about and put that pyramid to good use.0
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https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/center/weight-center.html?WT.ac=t-ra
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/teens
There is a mom and son who come to my gym and lift and do HIIT workouts together. He is a younger teenager, on the heavier side, and really likes it. They compete against each other and celebrate good lifts. It's pretty cool to see, as he clearly enjoys it. So more structured exercise might be a good option if he's somewhat sedentary otherwise.
Also, teaching him to cook and cooking together might be helpful. You can reduce the number of times you get takeout/dine at restaurants and meal plan together to get nutritious foods that he enjoys eating on the menu.2 -
13 is too young for a diet, but definitely the right age to learn healthy eating habits and the importance of portion control and exercise. My spouse and I had a big discussion about this when our youngest was 8 and weighed 150 lbs. I found a nutritionist who works with kids only and thought this was a great idea. My spouse did not and we didn't enroll him in the program. I regret this decision because our child still struggles with weight issues 8 years later. He has grown 11 inches and gets more exercise than he did as a kid so his BMI is much better, but he still would rather eat icecream and cheeseburgers over healthier options. He is taking a Health/PE class in school and is finally getting educated about eating a healthier diet. The advice the nutritionist gave me back then was "everyone in the family needs to be onboard or it won't work. You can model good habits, but you can't get into a power struggle over food choices. French fries and cheeseburgers will always be more attractive than broccoli."3
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