Children's Weight
Moderator: talkhealth
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BumbleBee26
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2015 8:04 pm
Children's Weight
Hello, I have just joined this website from a google search.
I am a mum of two children. My first child is a boy 9 years old, naturally slim and is classed as underweight.
My second child is a girl 6 years old who has always had an obviously larger belly is classed as over weight.
My concern for my Daughter is getting worse because she weighs the same amount as her brother and there is a 3 year gap. She struggles to find clothes that fit, without her looking like a clown and i just want to help her. i obviously don't tell her she is overweight, fat, tubby, un healthy etc.
she is however a very fussy eater and her diet is very limited.
someone has suggested that she may have an intolerance to wheat or something like that which is causing the 'belly'
please help. any suggestions advice or help welcome.
I am a mum of two children. My first child is a boy 9 years old, naturally slim and is classed as underweight.
My second child is a girl 6 years old who has always had an obviously larger belly is classed as over weight.
My concern for my Daughter is getting worse because she weighs the same amount as her brother and there is a 3 year gap. She struggles to find clothes that fit, without her looking like a clown and i just want to help her. i obviously don't tell her she is overweight, fat, tubby, un healthy etc.
she is however a very fussy eater and her diet is very limited.
someone has suggested that she may have an intolerance to wheat or something like that which is causing the 'belly'
please help. any suggestions advice or help welcome.
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Wendy Green
- Posts: 159
- Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 11:27 am
Re: Children's Weight
Hi,
My first instincts are that your daughter's weight problem is more likely to be due to her limited food preferences than to a food intolerance.
You say your daughter is a fussy eater, but you don't state which foods she actually eats. Is she consuming a lot of refined, fatty, sugary, high-calorie foods and drinks such as pizza, chips, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks? These foods/drinks supply a lot of calories and few/no nutrients. Also, the body converts refined, sugary foods into glucose (sugar) very quickly, making you feel hungry again soon afterwards and more likely to eat too many calories.
To help your daughter lose weight you need to limit her access to these refined, sugary, fatty foods while encouraging her to eat more slow-energy release and nutritious fruit, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy foods, lean meat, fish and chicken and serving her smaller portions. I know it can be difficult if your child is a fussy eater, but there are ways to encourage your child to eat more healthily.
Children who are fussy eaters usually don't like eating fruit and vegetables. Below are some ideas to encourage your daughter to eat fruit and vegetables and generally eat more healthily:
Serve chunks of pineapple and melon with grapes or strawberries on wooden skewers.
Make your own fruit yogurts by adding finely chopped fruits such as strawberries or pineapple, or perhaps some blueberries to low-fat natural yogurt.
Steam, microwave and bake her food, rather than frying it.
If your daughter likes spaghetti Bolognese add finely grated carrots and celery to the sauce. Serve with a small portion of whole wheat pasta.
If your daughter will only eat chips, you could serve her oven chips which are lower in fat, or better still make your own potato or sweet potato wedges, which will provide more fibre to fill her up. If she likes mashed potato try adding a little carrot or sweet potato to make it more filling and nutritious.
Serve cherry tomatoes, carrot and cucumber sticks with a salsa or yogurt dip - if she likes them.
For some excellent healthy kids' recipes follow this link: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/coll ... althy-kids
Encourage your daughter to be more active too. If you live fairly close to her school you could start walking her there, instead of taking her by car. You could also organise family activities such as going for walks, or playing football or going cycling - anything that'll encourage your daughter to be active.
If these strategies don't help and you are still concerned see your GP, who may check for hypothyroidism or other possible endocrine disorders that could be causing the excess weight. If these checks don't reveal any physical disorders you could ask for your daughter to be referred to a dietician, who would be able to check whether your she has any food intolerances and suggest ways to overcome her fussy eating.
I hop this advice helps.
My first instincts are that your daughter's weight problem is more likely to be due to her limited food preferences than to a food intolerance.
You say your daughter is a fussy eater, but you don't state which foods she actually eats. Is she consuming a lot of refined, fatty, sugary, high-calorie foods and drinks such as pizza, chips, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks? These foods/drinks supply a lot of calories and few/no nutrients. Also, the body converts refined, sugary foods into glucose (sugar) very quickly, making you feel hungry again soon afterwards and more likely to eat too many calories.
To help your daughter lose weight you need to limit her access to these refined, sugary, fatty foods while encouraging her to eat more slow-energy release and nutritious fruit, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy foods, lean meat, fish and chicken and serving her smaller portions. I know it can be difficult if your child is a fussy eater, but there are ways to encourage your child to eat more healthily.
Children who are fussy eaters usually don't like eating fruit and vegetables. Below are some ideas to encourage your daughter to eat fruit and vegetables and generally eat more healthily:
Serve chunks of pineapple and melon with grapes or strawberries on wooden skewers.
Make your own fruit yogurts by adding finely chopped fruits such as strawberries or pineapple, or perhaps some blueberries to low-fat natural yogurt.
Steam, microwave and bake her food, rather than frying it.
If your daughter likes spaghetti Bolognese add finely grated carrots and celery to the sauce. Serve with a small portion of whole wheat pasta.
If your daughter will only eat chips, you could serve her oven chips which are lower in fat, or better still make your own potato or sweet potato wedges, which will provide more fibre to fill her up. If she likes mashed potato try adding a little carrot or sweet potato to make it more filling and nutritious.
Serve cherry tomatoes, carrot and cucumber sticks with a salsa or yogurt dip - if she likes them.
For some excellent healthy kids' recipes follow this link: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/coll ... althy-kids
Encourage your daughter to be more active too. If you live fairly close to her school you could start walking her there, instead of taking her by car. You could also organise family activities such as going for walks, or playing football or going cycling - anything that'll encourage your daughter to be active.
If these strategies don't help and you are still concerned see your GP, who may check for hypothyroidism or other possible endocrine disorders that could be causing the excess weight. If these checks don't reveal any physical disorders you could ask for your daughter to be referred to a dietician, who would be able to check whether your she has any food intolerances and suggest ways to overcome her fussy eating.
I hop this advice helps.
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