How many calories does a 13yr old boy need each day

I have this concern about my little brother. He is visibly very overweight, carries all of it in his stomach and hes only 9.
For breakfast the other day, he had garlic break, pizza, blueberrys and pancakes, then he ate again 2 hours later! It drives me insane that my mom lets him and that I cant do anything about it.
If I were you, I would load up on fruits and low calorie snacks for him to munch on, and stop buying most junk food (its not helping him in his development anyway so there's no need to waste money on it), he will eat something healthy if he gets hungry enough. And a possible idea for more activity is he has to spend as much time outside and he does on the computer, he spends an hour on the computer, he has to go for an hour long walk, bike ride, playing baseball, etc.. A guy on the doctors does it with his son and he said it works well, you could also half that time if you dont want to push him too hard (ie: half hour out for every hour on the computer). I would also try to (subtlety) educate him about how calories work and how much really are in the foods he eats, I know I had no idea how much calories some of my favorite (and seemingly healthy) foods had in them, before I started looking them up.
Good luck!

Don't forget your excellent example in trying to make healthy changes too.

Make sure to play up your accomplishments, not to nag him, but just making sure he is very aware of the smart choices you are making, hearing the why you are doing it, how, ect.

Then just making sure he has available the same wise stuff to eat and do.

remember that boys that age grow in a somewhat peculiar pattern. They kind of grow sideways, then shoot up, and that cycle is repeated a few times.

If you're reasonably confident he's eating plenty of veg, getting some exercise most days, and not eating too much sugar or fried food, it's possible that this is what's going on.

My little girl is going through this process. About two months ago, she had the slightest of bellies on her. Now she's 2 inches taller, and not an ounce of extra fat on her!

He goes to a class once a week where he learns different martial arts and self defence. He does P.E twice a week.
And i was looking into a local gym they have for kids.
He hates sports of any kind.

But apart from that he's a massive computer head. I did put a pc timer on to limit the time (which didn't go well :laugh: )

It's so hard cos there is virtually no motivation from his side, he just see's me as nagging him.

I wonder if there are any mums on here that have the same problem as me, perhaps we can share tips.

Maybe have him go to more martial arts classes a week?

When my son was around this age, he grew six inches in 5 months. It was like you could literally see him grow before your eyes. That being said, the pre-packaged breaded chicken and pizza can be changed to healthier options. There are recipes that "health" these up.

You say he won't eat veggies or fruit. Have him help make meals and he will try new things. My son was a very picky eater and is now studying to become a chef where he tries everything! We have bought Clean Eating cookbooks and he is now substituting the healthier versions in the high fat recipes he has learned.

At his age, he is probably playing a lot of video games. Ask him to help you to lose weight by walking with you or doing something together. Do not make it about him, he will only resent that. But if you ask him to help you, there is a better chance he will participate. One martial arts class and two P/E classes a week isn't enough.

The one thing I have found with kids is that you cannot force them. You can show them by example and ask them to help you.

Doctors generally don't recommend monitoring a child's calories due to the fact that there bodies are growing. .

Yeah, it isn't just this - it's also because it generally doesn't promote healthy habits or attitudes toward food but rather creates the mindset of 'dieting'. Children really need to be allowed to match their hunger to their intake to help form heathy patterns of eating. Of course, what you do and perhaps should have more control over as others have said is the type of food that he eats and the knowledge of nutrition that he has.

Please don't, as has been suggested in this thread, make disparaging remarks about your own, or other children's health and weight. This is damaging to your own kids self perception, but also likely to encourage the kind of play ground bullying of 'fat kids' that you're encouraging your children into by using them as some kind of cautionary tale.

Forcing kids into fitness is generally the way to make them hate fitness activity, and ultimately rebel.

Please don't, as has been suggested in this thread, make disparaging remarks about your own, or other children's health and weight. This is damaging to your own kids self perception, but also likely to encourage the kind of play ground bullying of 'fat kids' that you're encouraging your children into by using them as some kind of cautionary tale.

Forcing kids into fitness is generally the way to make them hate fitness activity, and ultimately rebel.

Yup, I foresee some kids getting out of the house and not exercising for quite some time because no one is there to force them. My kids are fit, too but because they choose to be. We talk about healthy choices and the importance of being active and they get their activity through fun things.

Please don't, as has been suggested in this thread, make disparaging remarks about your own, or other children's health and weight. This is damaging to your own kids self perception, but also likely to encourage the kind of play ground bullying of 'fat kids' that you're encouraging your children into by using them as some kind of cautionary tale.

Forcing kids into fitness is generally the way to make them hate fitness activity, and ultimately rebel.

Which member are you referring to?

Me?

I think that was in reference to 'boot camp dad's' post, there was talk of pointing out overweight kids in the neighborhood and asking if the kids wanted to get fat like their friends. The original form was slightly more harsh than the editted version.

After reading some of the posts after I visited this thread - i had to really think back (my boys are 19 and 21) and you know what, both of them went through a chubby phase that lasted a couple years, at around this same age....as someone else mentioned, all of a sudden around 15 or 16, they got their height and actually my chubbiest son back then is the one with the 6 pack now. My other doesn't eat well, but he got involved in basketball when he went to highschool...the team became a great group of friends who connected mainly through the sport. now that my son is not in HS and no team, he still does a league and he goes to the gym everyday to play and lift weights. he still eats crap and i can't control it overall, but at least he is active...he sounds like your son - he is "big" but not "fat" per se....i can just see if he would eat correctly, the layer of fat would disappear and the muscles would be there....

i do have to confess that i did catapult him into paying attention a year or so ago...and i'm not recommending this, but....basically i was always pointing out that he should stop eating ranch dressing, stop eating fast food, etc...shared with him my challenges, but he didn't really care. Of course, even when they act like they don't care, they hear you :-). He went to tahoe for a week with a bunch of friends. while he was gone i had noticed that my scale went wacky and instead of reading zero, it read 20lbs when no one was standing on it!! I decided not to fix it until after he got home....his first day back, he hopped in the shower. came out all somber. declared he was cutting out fast food and soda. i looked at him and asked "did you gain a little weight?"....he almost burst into tears saying he gained 20 lbs in tahoe. a nice mom would have probably let him know about the scale snafu....i didn't. A few weeks later, after he still had not eaten any fast food and soda (yay), i fixed the scale calibration....next time he showered and weighed himself he was so proud that by eating no fast food or soda, he lost 20 lbs!!! It's a year later, and he still almost never eats fast food or soda....he still eats a lot of junk, but seeing the scale change as a direct result of his effort really made him connect eating that junk with easy weight gain. Of course i told him later...but a looonnggg time later...probably a year.....can't say i'm proud of not telling him the truth, but i'm still thrilled that he was able to see the connection!!

Okay, i'll leave that as my confessional - i guess the lesson here is that we somehow have to help them connect the dots...kids can't see "the future" or imagine how doing things now payoff later...after all, they haven't lived long enough to see it. but i truly believe us sharing our knowledge does stay with them later, getting them involved in a group activity that actually has people they like and that are active can be so good for them, and helping them find "easy" foods that are healthier can really be good (as they love the convenience of grabbing and eating!). My other son is fascinated with smoothies, so giving him recipes, ingredients and a blender was something that worked well for him....

My weight gain started with a few things as a child....emotional tough times that i ate through....and an early love of cheese, butter and mayo....i literally had to learn at 43 years old that i could eat a sandwich without mayo....if it needs to be wet, i use hummus or mustard, and i've replaced my cheese addiction with laughing cows..LOL...so if he has some fattening favorites, maybe you can find replacements for them and that's all you buy.

good luck and don't worry! It will be okay. the fact that you are even thinking about this means he has the support he needs to be healthy and fit...and as you progress, he will watch and see and learn...and you will be teaching him how to eat forever....now that is magical!! I wish i had started back when my kiddos were young teenagers!!