How Can a 10 Year Old Lose Weight Fast?

Overview

Childhood obesity increases the risk of your child growing up to become an obese adult. Being overweight while young also increases chances of developing the illnesses associated with adult obesity such as cancer, heart disease, hypertension and diabetes. An obsessive focus on a child's weight can also lead to malnutrition, poor body image, eating disorders (such as bulimia and anorexia nervosa) and compulsive eating. Though excess weight in childhood could be serious and have long-term repercussions, so could depriving your child of needed nutrients to support his growth. Weight loss plans for children should emphasize adequate nutrition and a gradual but steady weight loss of no more than 2 pounds per week.

The Nutritional Needs of The 10-Year-Old Child

U.S. daily dietary recommendations suggest that growing children eat a variety of food daily that supplies a full range of vital vitamins and minerals. The growth of a child's organs and bones requires adequate nutrition, especially protein, calcium, iron and vitamins A and C. A 10-year-old child needs to consume about 2,000 calories per day, divided amongst three meals and two snacks.

David S. Ludwig, M.D. is a pediatrician at Children's Hospital, Boston and director of Optimal Weight for Life, a clinic for overweight kids. Dr. Ludwig advises parents to consider a multi-faceted approach when dealing with an overweight child. "It's important to realize that obesity isn't caused by one thing. It's the result of a combination of factors: the foods we eat, our physical activity level, emotional issues, stress levels, family dynamics, finances, and societal influences."

Increase Exercise for Fastest Weight Loss

By decreasing food calories by 3500 calories per week (the calories required to lose one pound), and increasing physical activity to burn at least another 3500 calories, your child can easily lose two or more pounds weekly.

Recommendations for increasing activity include adding daily endurance activities such as walking for 45 to 60 minutes, and increasing overall activity through indoor and outdoor chores, pursuit of active hobbies and social activities. Parents should take every opportunity to decrease time their overweight 10-year-old spends being sedentary; watching television, playing video games or surfing the Internet. The more your child moves, the more calories she'll burn, and the faster she'll lose weight.

Try purchasing a pedometer for everyone in the family. Create a spreadsheet on your computer and log the number of steps everyone takes daily with the goal of walking a minimum of 10,000 steps per day. Make it a family competition with the weekly winner entitled to a treat like relief from doing a chore, and the monthly winner a new t-shirt or CD.

Diet Modification for Steady Weight Loss

Modifying behaviors with food might mean eating breakfast every morning, controlling portions and avoiding high fat, high calorie junk food. At 10 years of age children primarily eat what parents or other family members provide for them. This means that Mom and Dad have total control over what foods are in the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets. If a food item is not health supporting, don't buy it and don't bring it into the house. Instead of buying chips, soda and fat-filled dessert snacks, instead purchase low-fat string cheese sticks, fresh fruit and mineral water.

For example, some children drink as many as three cans of soda per day. Each can of A&W root beer or Hawaiian Punch is 180 calories; each can of Coca-Cola or Pepsi is about 150 calories. Eliminating the empty calories in a vending machine size bag of Doritos, Cheetos or potato chips can save 250 to 350 calories. Even switching from full fat to 1 to 2 percent fat milk can save at least 50 calories per glass.

Everyone will benefit from having healthier food in the home, but everyone has to fully participate. Parents can't expect an overweight 10-year-old child to have the willpower to resist sneaking one of the frozen treats you have stashed in the back of the freezer.

Other Considerations

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control advises parents to seek the advice of a qualified medical professional to determine an appropriate weight for their child, as healthy weight ranges for children vary greatly based on gender, height and with each month of a child's life.

Crash or fad diets in any form are not recommended for children. A study published in the October 2003 issue of Pediatrics (the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics) concluded that "for many adolescents, dieting to control weight is not only ineffective, it may actually promote weight gain."

Traci Mann, an associate professor of psychology and lead author of a study conducted at the University of California (Los Angeles) which was published in the April 2007 issue of American Psychologist arrived at a similar conclusion. "We found that the majority of people regained all the weight, plus more. Sustained weight loss was found only in a small minority of participants, while complete weight regain was found in the majority. Diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or health benefits for the majority of people."