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Diet & Fitness 
  |  Lose Weight  |  Weight Gain  |  Help for an overweight child
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Help for an overweight child

by Lynn Grieger, R.D., C.D.E.

question
My daughter is seven years old. She is 4’7” tall and weighs six stones and three pounds, which means she is about 20 pounds overweight. I don't want her to feel like I am the food police, but I don’t want her to have a problem with her weight for the rest of her life. She wants to wear all the latest styles that girls her age are wearing, and it breaks my heart not to be able to buy them for her. I would like to find a fun way to help her eat healthily. Please help.

answer
You are absolutely correct that you don't want to become ‘the food police’ for your daughter, for that would cause tension and stress in your relationship. It’s also good to hear that you don't want her to go on a diet, since research shows that diets often don’t work for kids, and can actually backfire causing children to gain even more weight. So if we know what not to do, what can parents do to help their overweight kids? Try these ideas:
  • Instead of rapid weight loss, focus on slowing the rate of weight gain, so that as kids get older, they become slimmer
  • Set your sights on healthy eating and exercise habits that will last a lifetime
  • Make sure you and the rest of the family are good role models for any of the habits you want to change. Want your child to choose healthier snacks? Make sure she sees you eating apples and not crisps. Love to see your child play outside after school instead of watching TV? Go take a walk with her
  • Establish good eating habits for the entire family. Prepare lower-fat foods, make sure the portions are reasonable, offer healthier desserts that include fruit and less fat and sugar, and stock the house with lower-fat, lower-calorie snacks. Don’t label anything a ‘diet’ food, and allow everybody to eat the same things
  • Eat as many family meals together as you can, in order to instill healthy eating habits as well as to establish some quality time together
  • Understand that it's a parent's job to provide healthy foods and a child's job to figure out how much of those foods to eat. Encourage your child to stop eating when full, but don't restrict her portions
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