Just wondering if any of you have kids with food or weight issues. My own two teens are very slim, thanks to genetics on my husband's side. That said, I'm a little concerned about my soon-to-be 16-year-old daughter. She's completely sedentary (hates sports) and really packs in the sugary/fatty foods. She can easily have six or seven large home-made chocolate chip cookies in one sitting. Right now she can get away with it (she's 5'7" and probably around 115 lbs), but if she continues on her current path her bad habits are bound to catch up with her. We've certainly had conversations about all this, but she basically tells me not to bug her because she's thin.

Anyone else with kids who seem headed for trouble?

F.

I don't have kids but my niece and nephew worry me. Their mother lets them eat anything and everything and large quantities of whatever they want. I mean like a whole bag of chips. Or cookies. Or 10 deviled eggs. As much soda as they want. Ice cream all the time. And guess what? THEY ARE FAT!!!!!!! And it makes me so mad! Because I know this weight thing is an ongoing struggle for their mom, so why is she letting them do this? They've never eaten a vegetable, unless macaroni and cheese counts as a vegetable. Or does corn syrup count? It's made from corn! Ugh. I just get so frustrated because if they don't have body issues and health problems now, they surely will. And then it will likely be too hard to change. Sad, really.

If what you're saying is accurate, she's borderline underweight. Let her continue to eat the same quantity of food, but perhaps you can sneak in some nutritional substitutes. I know she's a big girl and can easily get her hands on junk if she wants it, but having healthier options at home might curve her desire for junk a little bit.

I loved junk food at her age, but never realised how great other foods could be because I never bothered to try them. I stuck to what I knew. Maybe you could have a mother daughter lunch date and try new stuff together. Has she had sushi before?

Yes. She loves, loves, loves sushi. (Everyone does in our family.) I would buy it for her two or three times a week, if not for the price.

F.

I'm sure you'll get lots of great advice form others on here, I just wanted to add my 2 cents on something. In my opinion, people are not thin because inherit a 'thin gene' they are just consuming the right amount or sometimes too few calories.

It would be great if she became more active and made healthier choices but she from what I've read is regulating her calories (Intentionally or not idk) She would not be 115lbs otherwise.

Even sedentary people who make unhealthy food choices can maintain their weight if they don't over consume calories.

Yup, this! If it's not broke, don't fix it, I say! Make sure healthy options are available to her, and she's getting some good nutritional education... but it sounds like her hunger cues are working like they're supposed to .

My kids are all in the normal range for weight, but I started to get worried about my younger son awhile back. That kid can put away food like no body's business! My husband and I would comment on how much food he eats like "where does he put it" and "he must have a hollow leg" and so on. He enjoyed the attention and would look so proud.

One day I noticed he was getting kind of pudgy. This could be because he was getting ready to go through a growth spurt, but I couldn't be sure he wasn't just getting fat. I was worried that we were encouraging him to over eat with our comments, which seemed more like praise.

I mentioned to my husband, and we stopped the comments. He's a growing boy who is quite active. If he needs to eat, he should eat, but I don't want him to eat to please me.

I've always believed this too. However, watching my daughter eat has made me wonder whether some people are actually able to consume significantly more calories than others without gaining weight. I don't know the answer. Here's what my daughter eats in a typical day:

Breakfast: buttered toast and two scrambled eggs, pear juice (the only juice she'll drink)
Lunch: two pizza pockets, apple, chocolate chip cookie
After-school snack: large bowl of ice cream, pear juice
Dinner: fish (usually slathered with mayonnaise/ketchup sauce), raw vegetables with hummus
After-dinner snack: two home-made pumpkin/chocolate-chip muffins, pear juice

This adds up to at least 2,500 calories. And the ONLY exercise she gets is an 8-minute walk to the bus stop a couple of times a week. So it does make me wonder...

F.

Some people can definitely eat more than others without gaining weight. My dh, when I met him at 19, was 6' and 168lbs. He ate enormous quantities of food. Eg. A favourite breakfast during his 20s was four slices of toast with butter, a whole can of baked beans, and four fried eggs on top. He did eventually start gaining weight when we got a car and he was therefore walking much less. But, even now, at about 190 (down from a high of 220 a few years ago), he eats literally 3x the calories I do without gaining weight. 2x as much at meals, and way more snacks. If he wants to lose a few lbs so his clothes fit better, he stops eating chocolate for a week or two. That's it. He still eats baked goods, ice cream, etc.

With my kids, I tend to emphasize eating well and eating from a variety of food groups, so if they've just had a cheese sandwich for lunch and then ask for crackers, I'll steer them towards some fruit or nuts or veggies. I also talk about servings sizes/portion control. It's working really well with my 8yo, who has started asking for raw mushrooms with her lunch, and ok with my picky 13yo who will grab some almonds or an apple sauce as an after school snack. Less well with my 10yo who gets sent to school every day with some fruit and brings it home, untouched, in her lunch bag 9 times out of 10. She doesn't seem to eat that much, but she doesn't move that much either. Now, my 4yo will ask for food whenever she passes by the kitchen, so I just offer her one or two things I'm willing for her to eat, depending on how much she's eaten that day, or tell her that it's not long until lunch or supper and the kitchen is closed for snacking.

Though all of the kids are happy when a friend of mine babysits because she'll feed them popcorn, ice cream, and whatever baked treats we have in the house while they're watching movies. Dh and I are "mean" and they only get one of the above after supper, if any. They're always welcome to snack on fruit though. If the friend babysat more than once every couple of months, I'd worry more about their eating habits with her.

I agree with this in adulthood, but some teens seem magically exempt from this (I sure wasn't one of them). That said those that I've known who were like this as teens adjusted their habits as they reached the age where they could no longer eat whatever and not exercise.

I'm a little concerned about my daughter's eating habits also. She has an enormous appetite... she can eat more at a sitting than I would (even if I weren't counting cals). She is not overweight, probably because she is quite active. She plays soccer, takes hiking and rock climbing, and is on the trampoline or in the pool almost every day. We will be moving back to our home in Canada though soon, where she will no longer have a pool or trampoline... so I'm going to have to watch her to make sure she stays active.

I try not to curtail her eating too much, but if she's eaten a lot at a sitting, I do ask her before she takes a third helping if she's absolutely sure she is still hungry. A suggest taking a fruit instead as a way of having a healthier meal. She often does, in fact she enjoys most fruits and vegetables... so really I shouldn't be concerned.

I think the big red flag for me is that she seems to have a bit of a binge mentality. At parties/special occasions, when food is not structured or monitored, she will literally eat until she throws up. Not every time of course, but she will be uncomfortably full the rest of the time. I'm not sure how to talk to her/control this aspect of her behaviour... or is that a normal thing for 7 year olds to do on occasion?

As for your daughter, I'm in agreement with some of the others: at the age of almost 16 and with her current size, she seems to be regulating herself well. You're probably better off to not get too involved, other than encouraging healthier choices on occasion.

Coming from the "stubborn child" perspective I say leave it alone.

When I noticed I was gaining weight in 8th/9th grade I knew I was eating bad foods and I knew I didn't feel good, but it made things a million times worse if my mother tried to bring up healthy eating, portion sizes or getting more active.

Like others, I suggest you make healthy foods readily available and continue to lead by good example.

I think it is! All of my kids have thrown up at at least one buffet or party/special occasion. My favorite was one mother's day when I went with my mom to a fancy buffet brunch at a country club, along with ice sculpture and cloth linens, and an expected dress code... this was really an upper crust kind of deal. And my son puked. Nice. He was around 9. My other son gets to eating so fast, the one with the hollow leg, that he's choked a couple of times. My daughter seems to absorb her calorie needs from the air, so she's tossed her cookies a few times at the buffet. I think it's normal. I hope it is! If it's not, we have a real problem over here!

Thanks for the reminder. My daughter definitely falls in the "stubborn child' category.

F.

With my daughter, I make sure she knows we get a certain number of treats a day, typically 1-2. A treat can be some ice cream, a popsicle, a piece of candy, cookies, chips, etc but it is limited to the appropriate portion. She's not fat, but I think it's important that she is able to grow up with the idea that treats are not meant to satisfy hunger.

For example, last night she complained of hunger after I picked her up from her dad's house. I offered her a sandwich, some scallops with veggies, some turkey sausage with rice, etc, but she declined all of those things. Finally, I gave her a bowl of cherry tomatoes which she devoured.

So in short, I don't limit her food intake, but I do limit her access to processed junk food and sweets.