ATD: How do I Help my Overweight Child?

My son is 10yrs old 125pounds wears 18husky and has asthma.I have spoke to several physicians with limited help. Is there any advise you can give me? ‘Im lost and need help. La’Chelle

Dear La’Chelle,

I’m so glad you are motivated to help your child change his weight and his eating habits at this young age. There is still plenty of time to get him to learn new ways of eating so when he’s on his own he’ll know the right choices to make and be in the routine of eating healthy to maintain a lifelong healthy lifestyle.

Probably the first and most important factor is to take a look at the family’s eating habits. What can be changed in the foods and the routines? It will be so much easier if everyone is on board to make these healthy adjustments together. Here are a few simple rules of healthy eating habits you can start with:

1) Make all the meals you can make at home. This includes preparing dinner, making lunch to bring to school or work, and having healthy snacks both for in the house and to bring with you as well when you’re out and about so you aren’t tempted to have an ice cream or candy bar when the hunger hits. It does not have to be fancy or complicated! Even baking your own cookies at home, cutting down a bit on the sugar and fat in the recipe, will be a great improvement over buying cookies while you’re out in the mall. Eating out in restaurants with large portions and unknown hidden fats is a huge contributor to obesity in both children and adults.

2) Eat three meals a day… at least! Having breakfast really is one of the most important ways to start a healthy day. It gets the metabolism going, and staves of hunger later in the day. Next, enjoy a healthy lunch, and then make an effort to have the family sit down and eat dinner together, at least 3 or 4 nights a week if at all possible. Turn off the TV and just visit with each other to talk about your day! Try making just enough for everyone to have one serving so there aren’t tempations to go back for seconds or to raid the regfrigerator at night for leftovers.

3) Eliminate the most unnecessary high calorie foods. In my opinion, soda is the number one culprit. People ingest hundreds of calories a day from sodas, sweet tea, fruit punch and other beverages that contribute nothing nutritionally and nothing to satisfy the appetite. Then, work your way down from the worst “junk foods” like candy bars and snack cakes, to granola or snack bars or cookies (like oatmeal raisin) with some redeeming value. Many people can cut out enough calories in this way to begin to see significant weight loss. You don’t have to give up treats for good, but start some new reasonable rules like “one treat a day” or “one soda a day” if you’ve been having several up until now.

You don’t have to put your child on a diet! Just start with some simple rules: Eat when you’re hungry, eat foods that are nutritious first (fruits and vegetables before cookies and cupcakes), use a small dinner plate and reasonable portion sizes, and cut back on second helpings and desserts.

The food guide pyramid from the USDA has the best guidelines for healthy living with a balanced diet at http://www.mypyramid.gov and includes tools for kids. Find out what your son is learning about healthy eating in school and have him help you all to apply it at home!