“Should My Child

Lose Weight?”
What Families Can Do

Childhood obesity is on the rise! In fact" one out of
every four American children is obese! Overweight
children are more prone to medical diseases" low
self#esteem" depression and rejection by peers! To
determine if your child is at risk" look at his or her
eating habits" physical activity and body mass index
(BMI)! You might have cause for concern if you see
these red flags: intake of more than $"%&&#'"(&&
calories a day (for a child ages )#$&); a preference for
sedentary activities; and a BMI that falls in the at#risk
category (see the back of this page to calculate your
child’s BMI)! You can begin to combat childhood
obesity by following the suggestions listed here!
Before you begin… a word of caution.
• Focus on health" not appearance" and on more
activity" not less food!
• Make sure your child knows that you love him or
her unconditionally—his or her weight concerns
you" but you still hold your child in high esteem!
Be careful not to judge!
Help your child make
good food choices.
• Stock your cupboards and refrigerator with healthy
food choices!
• Get better at making substitutions! For example:
bake" don’t fry; serve frozen yogurt instead of pre#
mium ice cream; buy skim milk instead of whole;
opt for pasta with tomato sauce instead of a high#
calorie cream sauce; buy pretzels instead of potato
chips; and offer children graham crackers instead of
cookies!
• Promote moderation! No food in itself is bad but
the quantity and frequency in which your child
consumes high#fat" high#sugar foods should be
limited! Try to steer him or her away from the
“super#sized” menu! A regular meal at a fast food
restaurant has approximately )'* calories! A super#
sized menu has more than $"&& calories! Two or
three Hershey Kisses are no big deal; however" half
of a bag of Kisses is packed with empty calories!

• Help build your child’s self esteem! Praise your
child’s positive strengths and skills!
• If your child appears to eat because he or she is
bored" lonely or depressed" address the behavior
and channel it into other means of expression or
comfort!
• Help your child learn to read nutritional labels! He
or she will get a better sense of calorie and fat
content and a better understanding of portion
sizes!
• Encourage children to drink water instead of soda
or high#calorie juices!

• Begin with a goal to change eating and activity • Make better food choices yourself—be a good role
habits over time! Celebrate small successes! model!
Gradually reduce consumption of potentially
fattening foods" and" one by one" add more
activities to the daily routine!
• Above all" make sure your concern and comments
are not obsessive; children sometimes rebel" leading
to lifelong eating disorders!
more!!!
“Should My Child Lose Weight?” What Families Can Do

Work with your child to help increase the neighbors; inline skating; and maneuvering the
stations on the backyard swing set or nearby
his or her activity level. playground!
• Limit the amount of time you allow your children
• Plan activities you can do as a family: walk the dog;
to spend in front of the TV or computer screen!
ride bikes; skate; hike; swim; gather the neighbor#
Research shows that the more television children
hood kids for a game of softball" kickball or soccer;
watch" the greater the odds that they will be
pop in an exercise videotape or play music and
sedentary and overweight!
dance; take up tennis; go cross#country skiing;
• With your child’s approval" enroll him or her in a wash the car; garden; throw a Frisbee around;
YMCA swim" gym or sports program! walk to the store; walk to school; and pass up the
parking spot near the door for one farther away!
• Encourage your child to be active in things he or
she might enjoy such as flying a kite; throwing a • Set a good example! Join the Y yourself and use the
Frisbee; jumping rope; playing a game of tag with facilities to stay active!

Body mass index (BMI) calculator

________________________ / ________________________ / ________________________ x *&0 1 ___________________
child’s weight in pounds child’s height in inches again" height in inches child’s BMI

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts: United States
BMI BMI BMI BMI

Body mass index-for-age percentiles:

34 Body mass index-for-age percentiles: 34 34
Girls, 2 to 20 years 34

Boys, 2 to 20 years
32 32 32 95th 32

30 30 30 30

90th
28 28 28 28

85th
26 26 26 26

75th
24 24 24 24

22 22 22 22
50th

20 20 20 20
25th

10th
18 18 18 5th 18

16 16 16 16

14 14 14 14

12 12 12 12

kg/m² kg/m² kg/m² kg/m²

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Age (years)

Underweight: +,th percentile Source: Developed by the National Center for Health Statistics in
collaboration with the National Center for Chronic Disease
Normal: ,th–%(th percentile Prevention and Health Promotion ('&&&)!
At risk for overweight: -%,th percentile
Overweight: -.,th percentile