My daughter is an active 7.6 yr old. She likes to do things out of doors, running, playing, swimming, etc...She also eats a balanced diet. I always offer fruits, veggies, and other types of healthy type snacks, as well as cook meals with little fat, sugar or pastas. I am concerned about the amount of weight my daughter has put on in the past year.

She is about 54 1/2 inches tall (4ft 6 1/2"), so she is quite tall for her age. She has always been on the taller side though (birth 21 3/4")...anyhow I worry because today I had to measure her for school clothes (ordering some things online) to find out her size. She measures in the size 12 (girl's) range. Her waist is only 2 inches smaller than mine :( Without giving the exact number it is in the higher 20's. Most of her weight is held in the abdomen area and her face. She weighs approximately 85lbs, last year at this time she was about 65 lbs (20 lbs in 1 year is a lot).

She does have some kidney issues, and chronic constipation. I am wondering if these underlying issues have to do with the weight gain, or if it is something else altogether.

Does anyone have any natural ways to maybe suppress her appetite a bit? I don't want her to feel hungry, but I also don't want her to gain anymore weight (kids near us have started calling her chubby). I want her to be healthy, active and satisfied with her diet. Again I always offer fruits and veggies as snacks, we rarely have sweets in the house (they are a once in a while treat).

If you have read this entire post I appreciate it...and would appreciate any comments or suggestions you have for me regarding this issue. Thank you in advance.

Angela

There are underlying issues that are causing constipation, you can look into some kind of internal cleanse for her to help with the issue. You also want to try to switch her to organic foods because our foods are loaded with chemicals, dyes, preservatives that make us fat. The chemicals store in out tissues and they also alter the hypothalamus making our metabolism slower which explains why we are having an obesity epidemic. You HAVE TO ELIMINATE the chemicals! Try looking into these for starters.

How much does she sleep? She still needs about 10-11 hours per night.

Not getting quite enough sleep at night can lead to increased appetite for food, more than necessary, causing weight gain.

Also, what does she drink? Water, 1, 2% or skim milk, and 100% fruit juice are the best drinks for kids, anything else is basically pure sugar, and don't go overboard on the fruit juice, because it is less healthy than eating the fruit.

Alexa thank you for your response. Do you have any suggestions on what type of internal cleanse? I have given her metamucil and it does nothing...but this is just a laxative...which I don't really like giving her medicines (unless absolutely necessary). With an internal cleanse, would that make her body have to use something to get her going regularly? She only has about 1 bm a week. I know with laxative usage it can happen where the body will only go with using the med. I don't want that to be the case with some type of cleanse.

The organic route is a great idea. We have a large organic section in the local grocery. I will have to check it out.

Thanks again.

Angela

Jane: She only drinks water and skim milk. She gets the choice at dinner and 9 out of 10 times she choses water. She drinks water throughout the day as well. I don't typically buy juice...this to me is one of those every once in a while type things.

Her sleep patterns have always been a bit off. Naps were not common when she was younger...they pretty much stopped when she was about 1 1/2. Night time now is always hard on her, she says she is not tired and forces herself to stay awake. When she does fall asleep it is a fitful sleep. On a few occasions when she has crawled in bed with me I ended up with bruises from her kicking in her sleep.

I didn't realize lack of sleep could/would cause weight/appetite issues. Thank you for informing me. I will have to search out that avenue on the net. This is a difficult issue for me because I have never struggled with weight issues. I have always been on the slender side. I want my daughter to be happy and accepting of who she is, but on the other hand I don't want her to be an unhealthy weight either. This would just cause more problems in the long run.

Thanks for your reply. It was very helpful and gave me a avenue to search.

Angela

A sign of Diabetes in women is holding weight in the abdomen and face and I am a diabetic with kidney problems and thats what I do but Im not sure if it would be the same in kids.

I will definitely check that out as well. Diabetes does run rampant in our family. Like you said you are not sure if that is a sign in children but I will do a search on juvenile diabetes.

Thanks.

Angela

A truely healthy person should have 1-3 bowel movements a day. Going once a week is not normal and is toxic. Think about what it sitting in her body......look into a colon cleanse or maybe a liver cleanse eventually. Please call an naturopathic doctor first and ask them if this is okay for your daughter with her age and tell them about her weight and lack of bowel movements and see what they suggest. Something is going on with her....

I will be speaking to her doctor about a colon cleanse or something. I don't want to mess with the liver cleanse though. She has a kidney disorder so I am not even sure how safe any kind of cleanse will be for her. When she does have a bm her abdomen is not as distended, but none the less she is definitely overweight for her age. I did an online search and found a bmi calculator and growth chart for children. Her bmi is 20.5 and in the 95% of kids her age.

I am going to buy organic and see if that helps any. I may have to cut back on her portions, but then she may be hungry all the time. She eats small portions as it is. Are there any type of snacks (other than apples, carrots etc), that would help her stay above the stomach growling, that would be a healthy alternative?

She does get/have a lot of physical activity. She plays out doors most times (weather permitting). We also take the dogs on a 2 or more mile walk/run every evening after dinner. I am pretty rural so walking into town is not something we do often, but when we do it is about an 8 mile walk to the library (round trip). We also walk (almost daily) to the local convenience store if we need something small instead of going to the large grocery (that is 4 miles round trip). So this is quite confusing to me as I know she gets exercise and I limit any kind of sugary, high fat, high calorie foods. Again I am going to try the organic route :)

Thanks for the continued input. It is very appreciated.

Angela

Nutrient dense foods are great which are fruits and vegetables like the carrots and apples you mentioned. They are full of nutrients, but do not have all of the other junk. It may take up to a couple of weeks to get over feeling hungery all the time, you have to let the chemicals that are in our foods get out of your system. Doctors tend to go the medication route, so I doubt they would support any type of cleanse or believe anything of that nature would help. Best of luck to you and your daughter!

Alexa2006...You're right about doctors wanting to prescibe medicines for any type of ailment...even weight issues. I will have to look in my local phone book to see if there are any listings for a naturopathic doctor in my area. If not maybe I can find one that would work on a consult basis over the phone or internet. I really want my daughter to be a healthy weight...and any steps needed will be followed up on and made a normal part of the day.

Thankfully I have always offered a variety of fruits and veggies...there will be no struggle for her in that area. Her favorite all time veggie is Brussels Sprouts...yes my daughter is weird...hahaha!!

Angela

Is she on any medications for her kidney disorder? If so maybe that is what is causing the weight gain.

Her BMI is fine and it sounds like she is living quite healthely...I really wouldn't worry too much about her weight :)

Christine: A BMI of 20 is great for an adult, but a small child's BMI is supposed to be lower than that. Check the charts.

In my opinion, BMI should have been based on height cubed, not height squared. If it had been, then we could use the same ranges for children and adults. As it is, children and very short adults should have lower BMI.

She was on medication for the kidney issues, but I have since taken her off as they were causing too many other issues (yeast infections, breakthrough UTI's and worsening her constipation). I only treat her now if she has an infection. I do push a lot of water, which seems to help keep her kidney's flushed out. She hasn't had an infection since March...YAY!!!:)

Her BMI should be be around 17.9, which is considered healthy for a child her age. That would put her at about 74 pounds, and 83% on the chart. For an adult to have a BMI that low would be unhealthy.

So yes her BMI and weight at this point in time is unhealthy.

How does one go about having a 7 year old lose 11 pounds? I am going to switch to organic foods, as suggested by Alexa2006...do you think that would be enough to make a difference? I know how an adult would lose weight, but that sure would be a lot of work for a kid.

Angela

The organic foods may not make her lose the weight, but would help prevent her from gaining additional weight.

Have your dr. check her thyroid. Hypothyroidism makes you gain weight, especially around the abdomen - kind of a bloatedness.

That is a good idea. My mother has hypothyroidism. Does it tend to run in families?

I am definitely looking for any answer to the weight gain, as her habits have not changed in the past year. At this time last year she was a thin, healthy girl...she wore a size 7/8 (girls) now measures a size 12 (girls). That is a lot of gain (20lbs or so) in 1 year. That would be a lot for an adult to gain in a year, so just imagine how it looks on her.

I am going to put a call into her doctor and see if there is a possible medical connection to the gain. I mean it could just be the way her metabolism is...but there has got to be some answer as why it changed so quickly. Although, I don't think I would put her on any type of meds if not necessary.

Thanks
Angela


added: I just did an online search of hypothyroidism in children...wow was I shocked to see that she has many symptoms. Of course I don't want to get myself worked up and worried by self-diagnosing, only her doctor can do that. I am most definitely going to call her doctor to get a blood test done. Better safe than sorry, right!!

I think that consulting a doctor is a good idea. It really doesn't sound normal for a child to gain 20 pounds in a year, going from thin/average to overweight, while active and eating healthily.

When you do see the doctor, emphasize how quickly this has come on.

I have made an appointment with the nurse practitioner for Monday the 28th. Is there any specific test I should ask they run on her for this possible thyroid issue? I know to ask for a cbc, but unsure if that would show a thyroid issue or not. Hopefully I will get some type of answer...if it turns out to be nothing medical then I suppose I will be back to square one as to why this is happening.

Thanks everyone for your input. I will post any results positive or negative. I am sure I will have plenty more questions regardless of what the blood work shows.

Angela

While a CBC is good to get as it will give you a general picture of what's going on, it will show nothing about thyroid problems. To check for them, you need to have a TSH, Free T3, and Free T4 test done. If you head over to the thyroid board, they'll be able help out more with figuring out exactly what tests to have run, and what normal results are for a child as they are vastly different from adult results, just like you found with BMI.

Are you also very aware of what she's eating outside the home? Do her friends eat a lot of junk? Could she be sneaking food?

When she is outside with her friends she is always within my sight. She is not allowed to go into people's homes, nor is she allowed to eat at anyones house. Although I suppose it is possible to sneak food or junk when she is outside, but highly doubtful. Thank you for the suggestion.

She did have TSH, Free T3, and Free T4, and diabetes test ran at her appointment on Monday. We should have the results of everything tomorrow. Her nurse was pretty concerned about the weight gain, but if these tests come back negative we are going to continue looking into the reasons her weight went up so quickly.


I will post the test results as soon as I get them.

Angela

She's not allowed to go to friends' homes for meals or for play dates without you there? I'm not a mom, but is that the norm for this age?

I remember being able to, but maybe that was unusual? What about at school? Could she be eating junk there?

Myabe I didn't word it right. She is allowed to go to friends houses, but since we don't have real close neighbors she is only allowed to play outside, where I can see her. The reason she does not eat anywhere but at home is because I don't allow her to eat junk. Most people do. She already has weight issues, I don't want them getting worse.

At school she usually choses fruit/veggies. Or packs a healthy lunch.

Angela

I hope you find out whats causing the weight gain alot of drs will tell you to not worry about putting her on a diet but to just keep her eating healthy and she will grow into the weight my two year old is over weight and thats what they told me but it was from the formula that she was on for to long so Im hoping she out grows it I try to feed her right but shes very picky.. keep us updated.

Have you gotten any test results back? What's the latest? Also, could her classmates be giving her junk food at school? You know, trades and all that?:)

so far all the tests have come back normal. Her TSH was 8.9 and the T3 was 2.3, the diabetes test was also normal. They did do a scan of her abdomen and she was literally full of poop (all the way to her small intestines...YUCK!!). She is taking lactolose to try and get her bowels moving properly.

Next week we are travelling to Minneapolis to see her urologist. Her nurse is pretty concerned about the severity of her constipation and they will be doing an MRI to check for nerve damage. Constipation goes hand in hand with her kidney disorder, but her nurse doesn't think the severity has anything to do with it.

About her trading with friends at school, that is possible. She says she doesn't, but I remember when I was a kid I always traded and told my mom different. She hasn't been in school since May 21 (summer break) but will be going back in a few weeks. I will have to remind her to always try to make healthy choices even if the sugary stuff looks better. I know that is a lot for a child to have to do, but she seems to understand that I want her to be healthy.

We are still in the dark about what is causing the weight gain. Hopefully something comes up soon.

thanks for all the input...this is really helping me on trying to figure out what the issue is.

Angela

Have you considered Celiac? That can cause terrible constipation. She may be gluten sensitive.

I also read, believe it or not, that once a child has had problems with constipation, a behavioral thing can occur: they start holding it in for fear of the pain that comes with straining.

Also, how much dairy does she consume? Did you find anything new out?

I never considered Celiac...that is something to look into as well. She only drinks maybe 1 cup of skim milk a day. Her favorite is to drink water. She does like cheese (on sandwiches, by itself, etc..) but I do limit her cheese consumption because I know dairy can cause constipation.

I never really thought about her holding it because of the fear of pain. I will have to talk to her about that. If that is the case maybe along with the lactulose she gets I can supplement with a stool softener to make it a bit easier for her.

We returned from MN a few days ago. She had some test ran on her kidneys and everything there is functioning normally as of right now. She has a history of VUR and a duplicated system. We were told initially that this can cause constipation, but I think this is out of control now. Also I don't believe the kidney issues would cause weight gain.

She has an appointment (follow up) with her ped. on Monday of next week. They are going to do another weight check, and also determine if the lactulose is benefitial for her to continue taking. She is now going about 2-3 times a week, but it does need to be every day. Maybe an increase in her dosage would solve that. Although I don't want her to become dependent on a medication to have a BM.

Anyhow...that is our update. Not really getting any answers yet (from mds), but getting much needed help right here. Thanks everyone for your input.

Angela

so far all the tests have come back normal. Her TSH was 8.9 and the T3 was 2.3

That is a very high TSH - isn't the range supposed to be under 3? Also, have you considered taking her to an endocrinologist? It sounds like it could possibly be related to growth hormones.

An adults TSH levels should be under a 3 to be considered normal. A child her age is normal up to a 10 or a bit lower. That is my understanding after searching out her test results. If I am incorrect please let me know, because if this is a thyroid issue after all I would definitely like it taken care of sooner rather than later.

How do you suppose growth hormones could play a part in her weight gain? Are you suggesting that maybe the GH are overactive? Underactive? I really want to get to the bottom of this. Like I had previously mentioned we go back for a recheck this coming Monday. I will have some kind of update then.

angela