5yr old used Wii to lose weight

She looks beautiful.

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

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!

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

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!

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.

This is alarming.

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!!

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

Aww I like this story! So many little girls that are overweight are taught an unhealthy view on weight loss (I was one of them). I'm so glad she found a way to be healthy and have fun!!

I think this is wonderful! Your daughter looks so cute and healthy! Kudos!

If more mothers CARED enough to find an activity their kids enjoyed to keep them active, we wouldn't have the childhood obesity epidemic we have today. Introducing your children to fun, active activities should be commended and more parents NEED to do it!

I feel this is the best thing ever. I wish they had to wii when i was younger. I have one now and it does wonders on my body and makes me feel happy while doing it. I can also "WORKOUT" with others and they think were just hanging out. Its awesome. I'm still trying to convince my dad the wii is the perfect thing for working out and having fun. Plus i can also play with my family.!
Keep it up. She'll be sooo happy when she's older that she had a healthy life as a child.!

Guess it's time to break out the 1980's Nintendo Power Pad and games that still work. My parents bought that for us because it required us to do more than sit and play video games. Thinking my kids will love it! Maybe someday We'll upgrade to the WII.