A Child is More than Just His Weight

By Langley Barnes

Citrition Intern

When you google “What can I do to help my overweight child?” you get the following: be a good role model, encourage up to several hours of physical activity a day, keep to child-sized portions, eat healthy meals, drinks and snacks, less screen time and more sleep. But what if you are already doing all of those things? How can you help your child?

My younger brother is sweeter, kinder, and more funny than my sisters and me, but people only see his weight when they look at him. Growing up, I have seen my brother struggle with his weight every day. He has played organized sports year round for his whole life, does not eat more than the average boy his age and eats mostly healthy meals cooked by my mom (she typically aimed for a lean meat and vegetable with a grain). My parents got him tested for his metabolism when he was young but the doctors said it was normal. All in all, my parents looked into everything and found that nothing was wrong healthwise. 

My parents decided to put him on a strict diet when he was 13 and my dad did it with him. I would say that when your child struggles, it helps to only ask of him what you would do yourself. It helped my brother to see someone else diet with him and even struggle to stay on the diet. His diet worked, he lost 40 pounds, but he was drained of energy and he was sad. He looked better, but I truly don’t think he felt better because he wasn’t getting enough nutrients. Additionally, while he isn’t always happy about working out with our family, doing things together helps, and my brother has always enjoyed working out with me rather than my parents. If you have an active child, encourage him or her to work with your child who is struggling. Kids have more fun together.

The most important thing I have taken from having an overweight brother is that he needs emotional support. He says the worst two things about being overweight are knowing he can’t eat what he wants and trying on clothes he knows won’t fit him. Doing your best to avoid embarrassing situations for an overweight child is very important. Being there for your child and making sure they know you support them and are there to help them is the best thing.