My son is 10. He is not overweight or even fat but he a gut! What can i do? I don't want his self esteem to get bad. Should he run, walk? How many minutes. He likes to work out with me and we walk and run on the trail behind our house. He is kind of inactive...has a Nintendo he plays A LOT. But he did have recess and played with kids...running. But still had his gut. Now that school is out i am afraid he will get fatter. :confused:

1. limit his time on the video game...an hour to 2 before bed, or on rainy days. Do not let him sit inside on a nice sunny day instead of playing..not to say occasionaly he can't do that, but he needs to be active durring the day more than inactive, letting him play the games as much as he wants is setting him up for inactivity when he is an adult. You need to teach him how to be healthy and fit.
2. get him involved in a sport if he wants, if not just keep him active outside with his friends (try a day camp maybe, a lot of summer programes are probably already full though). Get him helping with chores around the house also, he can rake the lawn, water plants, wash the car etc
3. cut down on refined sugar and snacks like chips (they have little or no nutritional value and they are something you tend to over eat), have him snacking on fruits, veggies, you can buy great dips for them. Keep foods out of the house that he can't eat, let him have them as a special treat once in a while, or just buy one bag of chips for him when you get groceries and thats all there is, no more once that is gone. No soda....there is an insane amount of sugar in it and no nutritional value at all, stick to fruit juices and water, soda is ok occasionaly, not everyday.
It'll be hard to make the changes, but i think most would agree that limiting his amount of time playing video games and watching tv is key...he may not want to be an athelete but you can certinly have him doing other things rather than sitting on his butt all day.

Your suggestions were good but some don't work for us. We don't have a lawn...we live in an apartment. We don't have a car. We don't have plants. We don't have the money for him to play a sport...it is really expensive...I looked into that. We do have a pool and a park nearby but I can't be out in the sun...I break out into hives. I don't like him playing alone...like going to the park alone...the way the world is today, it worries me. He only has 2 friends who live nearby and they are both in summer camps. This is all why I asked what a good work out plan for him would be because we do have a trail and a gym here. If I limit the video time, it has to be replaced with something else or he will die of boredom. :yawn: According to him :rolleyes: I will definately nix the chips and sodas.

Thanks :)

You can only work with what you've got. Do what you can, limit sugary snacks, replace them with raw veggies and fruits. Go for walks whenever you can, swim when you can (is there an adult in the area that you would trust to take him to the pool?). I'm in the same boat, i've got an almost 10 year old son also, and it's hard to get them out and around when your in an apartment. Just do what you can, if you go to a gym see if they have any youth classes that he could take while your working out. Go for walks, bike rides etc whenever you can. It's harder in an apartment building i know..i'm going through that too, just do what you can to get him active. Have you looked into boys and girls clubs (i know they have them around here and they have cheaper day camps and get the kids out), also look around for childrens programes like karate and stuff like that, i know here the university's have classes in the evening and weekends, and day time durring the summer and they don't cost nearly as much as it would somewhere else. Just keep your eyes open..i wouldn't suggest any specific workout program, but as much physical activity as you can get in and limit his sugar and junk food. Even if he doesn't lose his belly (chances are he will more likely grow into it rather than lose it, which is what you want at his age) he'll be a much healthier little boy.

Hello, We exercise with our son. There are some good "Guy" exercise videos out there that you can do too. "Kick Butt, Kickboxing" is a good one. You can also invest in a cheap or free stationary bike. I like the recumbant, because your son can play gameboy while he is riding it. You'd be surprised how fast the time goes when you play gameboy on a stationary bike. 45 min. seems like nothing. Crunches or sit-ups are always a good choice for the abs, as well as leg pulls. A good set of cheap dumb bells is also a great Christmas present for a boy his age. There are also some martial art instructional videos or you can just take him to a martial arts school. My son (5 years old) goes to a Kung Fu school and loves it. It's only $50 per month, and he gets great exercise from it.

As for snacks...Well, I just can't see a kid without snacks, especially if their friends snack. You just have to make sure he is only snacking on 1 serving and not 2-5 servings. There are a lot of people out there, who will think nothing of eating an entire medium sized bag of chips...Definately not 1 serving. Those .99 cent chips contain 3-4 servings! That means counting out the chips. If 15 chips are 1 serving, then that is all the chips he gets for the night. Sorry I can't compare what my son eats to yours since he is half the age, but he is very skinny. I only cook lean meats and fish, so I guess that really helps keep my son lean and trim as well as his Kung Fu. Also, I have a rare son...He doesn't like sweets. He won't touch cake, cookies, pies, or chocolate. He will eat 2-3 bites of Skittles, 1 Starburst, 3-6 sour War-Heads, or a third of a bag of cotton candy maybe ever 2-3 days. He does eat a LOT of watermellon...maybe that's his secret. Good luck. I hope this helps. :)

I have an idea, doesn't cost much (only like $20, one time), is fun, something you can do on your own, or invest another $20 and you guy scan do together, indoors, while watching tv....Get a mini trampoline. THey are a blast are really great to stay in shape and lose weight, and are so convenient. I mean, he doesn't even have to leave hte living room or his bedroom if he doesn't want to! I am telling you, I own one, and when I feel like I have some extra energy, even if I've already gone to the gym, I'll just jump up and down while watching tv, or put on some music and just get silly on it. Promise you, he'll have fun with it, you won't have to be in the sun, it's not expensive, and it's a great way to workout. :) Good luck, and let us know how things go!