a little girls weight

Question
Hi my daughter is 8 years old and just over 4 feet she weighs 87 lbs and the kids are starting to call her fat.  She told me yesterday she looks pregnant.  I took her to the Dr. and he said she doesn't need many calories.  He said she will not be able to lose weight she just needs to maintain weight and grow.  I can tell this is effecting her spirit.  I struggled with weight my whole life and her father is overweight.  How can I help her.  We try really hard to not eat fried and she is in soccer.  We also try to cut out the sugar although cutting out all sugar is hard for a little girl.  Please help she is a wonderful little girl.

Answer
Dear Joy, Many 8 year olds have lost weight with a combination of healthy eating and daily exercise, so it is an option. You can also wait until she grows into her weight, but if you don't change her  habits now, she will continue to gain weight as she grows; maintaining weight can be as hard as losing weight. Habits have to be broken and exercise increased for any results to be seen. Carbohydrate foods are usually the culprit with overweight kids.
Limit sugar, mac and cheese, ramen noodles, cookies, crackers, bagels, excess milk, pasta, white rice, and sugar drinks. These foods are easily stored as fat. If she wants to lose weight, she will have to limit her sugar snacks for special occasions like birthday parties and holidays. Kids should not be eating sugar on a daily basis, nor should her diet consist of a lot of carbohydrate and starchy foods. Her diet should consist of vegetables, whole fruit (not juice), lean meat, chicken, fish, lean pork, low fat dairy, whole grain bread, eggs, tuna fish, and healthy fats like those in salad oils.
Soccer is great, but a daily walk of thirty minutes combined with the soccer is much better. Girls that age tend to gain weight all in the belly area, so even a 5 pound weight loss can make a big difference in her appearance.
Hope that helps, Laura Kraemer, Slimkids.com

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