From Randy, Child's Age 16 - 08/19/19 - IP#: 71.224.67.xxx  Click here to reply  
Hey everyone, I've been on this board a few times in the past reading about other parents' struggles with their obese children and how to manage their weight, but I think it's finally time for me to post something; my son's weight has spiraled out of control lately, and I would really appreciate all the advice you can give.
I'm writing about my son, Isaac. He's 16 years old and is 6'3" tall. He's always been a big guy (one of the tallest in his grade) but recently he's been getting pretty chubby. I just found out a few days ago at a doctor's appointment that he was already 312 pounds; just last year he was only around 260! Over the past few years, his appetite has steadily grown; nowadays, he always gets seconds for dinner and sometimes even gets thirds. I also suspect that he's been eating fast food behind my back; he has a car now so he can drive to fast food places on his own after school, and lately, I've noticed fast-food wrappers showing up in his bedroom. He's also been getting winded pretty often recently; sometimes when he walks upstairs, he breaths kinda heavily. Honestly, I'm worried about him! I've struggled with obesity all my life, and all I want is for him to live a happy and active life. School is starting soon, and he's on the football team so maybe he'll get some exercise then, but over the summer he's been doing nothing but eating, hanging out with friends, and playing video games in his bedroom. I really want to control his portions so he can lose some weight, but I really can't control what he eats outside of the house. What should I do?
Reply from Janis, Child's Age 14 - 08/28/19  - IP#: 72.235.193.xxx
Hello Randy, Has football started for Isaac? How is he doing? I read your comments about Isaac's lack of concern about his weight. I think it's a teenage boy thing...I get the same reaction from my 14 year old son Paul. The latest he says when I mention his weight or his eating is, ""I'm tall so I'm supposed to be big". He is 6'3", but that doesn't mean he is supposed to weigh 360 pounds. Like you, I'm worried aboout long term consequences of his obesity, but he just seems not to think that far ahead. A friend told me that teens think they're invulnerable to anything bad happening ..guess our problem with their weight is an example of this.		 
Reply from Randy, Child's Age 16 - 08/21/19  - IP#: 71.224.67.xxx
Hi Sarah,
On a normal school day, he usually just gets up, has breakfast, and goes to school (he drives to school). When he gets home, he does his homework, eats dinner, and plays videogames for the rest of the night in his room. The problem is, he likes to snack a lot; we have chips and Oreos in the pantry and I have to restock them every week. He eats a lot too; always gets seconds and sometimes even thirds at dinner. Also, I don't really know what he eats outside of home; he gets home before I do, so he can eat at fast food places before coming home from school pretty easily without me knowing. After school, he has football practice, which I guess is good exercise, but he usually eats out with his friends after practice anyways. That being said, I guess he might lose some weight once football season starts; it starts next week for him so maybe he'll stop gaining soon.
As for mentioning the weight, I have commented on his weight a few times, but he always brushes it off or makes excuses for it (like "I have to be big for football" or "oh, it's mostly muscle"). The doctor also told him he needed to lose weight, but he really just doesn't seem to care. His weight doesn't get in the way of too much yet, but it does hinder him a bit. For example, sometimes he gets a little winded going up the stairs, and just this morning he had trouble fitting into his jeans (that we just bought at the beginning of summer). He's healthy right now, but I'm afraid that if he gains any more weight, he'll have serious health problems in the future; thats why I want him to lose weight now before it's too late!		 
Reply from Sarah, Child's Age 12 - 08/21/19  - IP#: 159.89.171.xxx
What is his daily routine in school days? Does he get any sort of physical activity after school? Do you mention his weight to him or does he realise that he's overweight? Does he have any hindrances with being overweight?