If your daughter is overweight or obese, she may be at risk for developing serious health problems, such as diabetes or high blood pressure. Furthermore, she may experience a low self-esteem, and may be more likely to carry her extra weight with her into adulthood, making her more likely to develop heart disease and high cholesterol. When dealing with excess weight in a child, it is important to work with her pediatrician in developing a plan that will help her attain a healthy weight without missing out on key nutrients or negatively impacting the way she feels about herself.
Step 1
Talk to your daughter about the necessity of achieving a healthy weight. Tread cautiously in this area, speak more about the benefits of good health and less about the way your daughter looks. Mention the positive aspects of her losing weight, such as having more energy, feeling better about herself an having a decreased risk of developing health problems.
Step 2
Learn about portion sizes and nutrition yourself. Since you are probably the one making most of the decisions on what you cook and serve in your home, make sure you understand what an appropriate and healthy diet looks like.
Step 3
Prepare whole foods in ways that do not add excess calories. Serve the whole family the same foods. Do not single your daughter out and serve her something different. If you do not know how to cook healthfully, learn with your daughter by trying out new recipes. Stop drinking soft drinks with meals, and serve everyone water or low-fat milk instead, and offer fruits and vegetables as snacks instead of chips and cookies.
Step 4
Encourage the entire family to become more active. Make it a tradition to take a walk after dinner or take up a hobby that requires physical activity, such as participating in a sport or starting a garden. Find ways to incorporate physical activity into your lives by parking on the far end of the parking lot or replacing family movie night with games of charades or badminton.
Step 5
Limit your daughter to two hours of screen time daily, which includes time spent on the computer, watching television and playing video games. If you have a game system which encourages physical movement while playing, encourage your daughter to play these games in lieu of watching television or playing more sedentary games.
Tips and Warnings
- Do not rely on an adult body mass index, or BMI, calculator to determine whether your daughter is overweight. Ask her pediatrician for advice or use a calculator specially designed for children.
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