9 year old

Question
Hi,

I have a 9-year-old that loves food (including fruits and vegies), but he just eats too big of quantities. My wife and I think he is about 15-20 lbs overweight. He weighs about 75-80 lbs and is about 4'4". He has a pretty happy disposition, but we don't want to make it an issue. We just tell him how much he can have. For example, we say he can have three child-size bowls of cereal in the morning (or 2 adult size bowls) or two child-size and two pieces of toast.

My wife and I are both active (exercising 3-5 times a week); he comes with me to the gym sometimes and seems to enjoy it. He plays baseball and soccer and does enjoy playing outside when the weather is warm.

But, he still seems to be "chunking out".

How are we handling it--can we do better?

Answer
Dear Doug, Try to change the types of food he eats. The breakfast he is eating contains too much carbohydrate. The normal portion would be one adult serving size of cereal-check the box for a size-usually 3/4 cup of cereal. If he is having cereal he doesn't need extra bread.If he has an egg or two then he can have toast or 1/2 english muffin/bagel. Overweight kids are sentive to carbohydrates. They crave them and overeat them. Mac and cheese,pasta,rice,excess bread,fruit juices,cookies,crackers,excess milk are all examples of carbohydrate foods that are overeaten. These foods leave kids hungry after just an hour or two,then they go look for more to eat. Try changing his diet to more protein and higher fiber. Egg with wheat toast for breakfast. A tuna sandwich with lettuce,tomato on wheat with skim or 1% milk for lunch. Dinner should be a meat,chicken,fish,pork portion with as many vegetables as you can get into him. If he wants more to eat-give him more meat to eat. For snacks popcorn (2 cups)is good also sugar free jello with some canned fruit in it, fresh vegetables with dip,1-2 cheese sticks, pickles, are some suggestions. The normal portion size for pasta(check labels)is only 1/2 cup. Because most kids will want to eat more than that,leave it out of his diet for awhile.You don't have to tell him anything about his diet, just say the family as a whole is changing the way they eat and he as a part of the family has to go along with it. The hardest part is getting the whole family to eat healthier.Hope I have helped. Sincerely, Laura Kraemer,Slimkids.com

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