From Jennifer, Child's Age 11 - 04/11/25 - IP#: 88.14.5.xxx Click here to reply
Hello everyone. I have a very obese daughter called Amy. She needs an electric wheelchair to get around, and her doctor says she may develop serious health problems in the future. I'm not sure how to feel about that. I know I should get Amy to eat healthy and lose weight, but it's really hard for her. She's used to eating as much as she wants (I admit, that's entirely my fault) and she gets really sad when she doesn't get food. I don't think she ever spends more than a few seconds at a time without some kind of candy, junk food or sugary drink in her mouth. The poor girl just can't stop eating. And exercise is basically impossible; she can barely waddle to the bathroom even with help. I have conflicting feelings about this. On one hand, I know I should take the doctor's advice seriously, but I also want my daughter to be happy, and I know she's not happy when she has to diet or do exercise. And I think she still looks really beautiful at this size. She just broke 700 pounds at age 11, and aside from mobility and getting out of breath, she doesn't seem to have any serious health issues yet. I'm not sure if I should let her keep gaining like this.
Reply from James, Child's Age 10 - 04/17/25 - IP#: 76.108.251.xxx Hi there. My daughter is also super extremely obese. She sounds like your daughter. Is there any way we can get in touch?
Reply from Angel, Child's Age 9 - 04/15/25 - IP#: 141.226.10.xxx Hello Jennifer. I read your post and your daughter Amy's post in the preteens bulletin board. Angel is not my real name, but I do have a 9-year-old son who weighs just over 100 pounds. Your situation is much more serious. There is nothing to doubt or delay treatment for Amy's severe obesity and food addiction. You can afford to pay for the help she needs, if you cut junk food out of your budget, and pay for a social worker, a dietitian, more visits with the doctor you just met, and other options. I have been following this website and other online forums about being overweight for the last 20 years, on and off. I have never read any credible report of an 11-year-old person who weighs 700 pounds, until now. It is possible that this has never happened to anyone before. You need to ask yourself why Amy is eating the food and sugary drinks you are feeding her. It's easy to blame childish temptation and our society, but that doesn't explain why many other children who are given similar opportunities to overeat have nonetheless maintained a healthy weight and refused to eat extra food they didn't need. I humbly suggest you ask your doctor to test Amy for Prader-Willi syndrome. It's a rare genetic disorder, found in about 1 person out of every 10,000, based on what I read a few years ago. It's characterized by the person never feeling full even when his or her stomach is stretched to its full capacity. This causes people to eat and eat without stopping until there is no food left, unless treatment is provided and followed. It's possible your daughter just loves to eat, but I think if you try to feed her carrots and beans, it's more complicated. Anyway, the bottom line is that if you let your daughter keep gaining weight, you risk losing her in two ways. First, her breathing problems may become too severe for her to keep on breathing. Second, if your state has a child protective services agency and they become aware of the problem, they may have legal authority to remove Amy from your home, based on the "best interest of the child" in custody matters. I assume Amy is homeschooled, since in a public school setting, the child protective services agency could have been asking you some tough questions 200 pounds earlier in Amy's life. Please get help. If you would like to continue the conversation, feel free to reply with your email address (can be real or a throwaway account, your choice) and I can share more of what I learned. Good luck!
