There’s been a lot of discussion in the media lately about childhood obesity – not all of it helpful. Even identifying whether your child is unhealthily heavy is a minefield. There are many factors that can contribute to a child’s weight status, some of which we can change. I’m of the mindset that we will never gain traction in controlling childhood obesity until we can educate parents through the stages of childhood.

We have to approach nurturing and nourishing our heavy kids with tact. There are proven risks surrounding strict dieting of children and young teens, which can lead to mental and physical health issues.

[bctt tweet=”We don’t want to have our children in situations where they are feeling shame, being blamed or bullied. ” username=”pediRD”]

There are many unhealthy methods out there for dealing with heavy kids, but today is all about how we can help heavy kids be stronger, sensitively and responsibly. They deserve to be secure in the body they live in, so as well as balancing nutrition, I want to discuss the importance of other aspects of you and your child’s lifestyle.

I hope this episode informs you and inspires you into a healthy approach to helping your heavy kid be happy and healthy! Whether you change your meal habits, shopping routines or methods of encouraging exercise, I hope this helps you take the first of many steps in the right direction.

What You’ll Learn from this Episode:

• Why we have to approach feeding heavy kids using tested information.
• How to identify whether a child is actually unhealthy.
• Why we have to consider children differently when it comes to weight status.
• How to approach mealtime with your child.
• What will help and what will hurt a heavy kid.
• How you can have your child’s back.
• Why we have to favor unconditional support.
• How singling out your child can be harmful.

Listen to the Full Episode:

Featured on the Show:

• Mother Jones: Childhood Obesity is Just Getting Worse
• Prevalence of Obesity and Severe Obesity in US Children, 1999-2016
• Diets Backfire. Let’s Pave a Path for Our Children to True Health Instead
• Body Kindness by Rebecca Scritchfield
• Health at Every Size
• How to Raise a Mindful Eater by Maryann Jacobsen
• Intuitive Eating
• Try New Food by Jill Castle
• My 90:10 Rule
• Malkoff-Cohen
• Meghan Boitano
• Lauren Sharifi
• Amy Reed
• Adina Pearson

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