Dr. Mirkin's Fitness and Health Forum: Weight loss and exercise help for my 12 year old

Message

   Excuse me if this is  not in the appropriate forum.

My daughter is 12 years old and hasn't even grown 1 inch in the last year, but has gained about 30 + pounds and is developing at a very fast rate!  She went from a B cup as an 11 year old to a D cup as a 12 year old.

My daughter loves to eat and eats too much, but it's all good foods as we only allow one day a week for junkie type foods.  Also, she doesn't eat  that much that she should gain 30+ pounds in less than a year.  She is in karate for 1 hr once a week, but nothing else besides gym class in school.  She was in swimming classes, but that ended a few months ago.

Could this be a lack of activity and too much food?  I know that sounds like a dumb question, but I wonder because she is developing at such a fast pace and is a lot more developed than any other female in our family.  Another thing I noticed and not sure if it is relevant, but her hair doesn't grow very fast.  It might grow an inch all year.  She also has a lot of gas and complains of headaches and stomach pains.

Are there tests that should be done?  Is it just a matter of needing more exercise.  If so, what exercises would be appropriate for her age and how often per week?

Thanks

Author	Message
whelans5 Newbie Joined: 01 Jan 2009 Location: Canada Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Topic: Weight loss and exercise help for my 12 year old Posted: 01 Jan 2009 at 12:07pm
	Excuse me if this is not in the appropriate forum. My daughter is 12 years old and hasn't even grown 1 inch in the last year, but has gained about 30 + pounds and is developing at a very fast rate! She went from a B cup as an 11 year old to a D cup as a 12 year old. My daughter loves to eat and eats too much, but it's all good foods as we only allow one day a week for junkie type foods. Also, she doesn't eat that much that she should gain 30+ pounds in less than a year. She is in karate for 1 hr once a week, but nothing else besides gym class in school. She was in swimming classes, but that ended a few months ago. Could this be a lack of activity and too much food? I know that sounds like a dumb question, but I wonder because she is developing at such a fast pace and is a lot more developed than any other female in our family. Another thing I noticed and not sure if it is relevant, but her hair doesn't grow very fast. It might grow an inch all year. She also has a lot of gas and complains of headaches and stomach pains. Are there tests that should be done? Is it just a matter of needing more exercise. If so, what exercises would be appropriate for her age and how often per week? Thanks
	IP Logged

Dolt Newbie Joined: 21 Jul 2010 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 11	Posted: 23 Jul 2010 at 1:12pm
	Exercise in conjuction with a good eating lifestyle (not diet) is a great help in losing weight. In my opinion most people would be better served by relying on reducing caloric intake to reduce weight in the long run. Too much good food is still too many calories depending on how active a person is. If I had a weight problem I would find a physical activity I could participate in at least every other day and add that to good eating habits. As a runner, I never noticed much weight control just by running unless I exceeded 30 miles a week. I now run/hike but I watch what I eat much more closely. This technique helps me keep the weight off of my 57 year old frame.
	IP Logged

Jericho Admin Group Administrator Joined: 02 Sep 2006 Online Status: Offline Posts: 800	Posted: 28 Jul 2010 at 4:44am
	Hello Whelan, If any person has too much weight, it is almost always due to eating too much. It does not matter ( as far as weight gain is concerned ) whether the food is healthful or not. Even too much healthful food will pile on the weight. And, to reassure you, most people like eating. That is the problem. True, exercise does help with weight loss. However, a person can never exercise hard enough or long enough to lose weight without restricting their food intake. Very often when people do start to exercise, they feel even more hungry and their weight actually increases for a little while. Losing weight is difficult and takes a very long time - both good reasons in most peoples' minds to give up and not bother. And weight problems are due to all sorts of other issues which all have to be tackled. The best way to lose weight is not to take the body by surprise. So try getting your daughter to drop out some of the sugar in foods and drinks. Avoid fizzy drinks. Sugar in tea or coffee. Use smaller plates and slightly smaller helpings. Do not have snack foods in the house - so this all starts when you do the family shopping. Don't have biscuits, snack bars, etc. The habits of grabbing stuff just to eat will soon disappear. It is a question of changing the whole lifestyle, with understanding, gentleness and firmness. Good luck. It is achievable but difficult. Edited by Jericho - 28 Jul 2010 at 4:49am
	Jericho Senior Instructor United Kingdom Long after people have forgotten what you said, they will remember how you made them feel.
	IP Logged

BellaVega Newbie Joined: 28 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Posted: 28 Jul 2010 at 1:01pm
	I have a 12 year old boy and with video games and the Internet, I have to push him out the door to go play and exercise. I tell him to go ride his bike or many times I'll join him and play soccer or shoot hoops at the park. I think kids should be doing something active at least once a day for an hour or more because of how fast they're growing at that age. Otherwise they risk gaining weight and possibly becoming obese and hurting their health.
	Bella Vega, Medical Insurance Advisor
	IP Logged

Novice Exercisers
Dr. Mirkin's Fitness and Health Forum : Fitness : Novice Exercisers