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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 153637" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>I know you say he's not obese, but with those measurements, his BMI says he's obese, according to my charts.</p><p></p><p>When I studied Physiology, we were told to consider the average adult human male as 70 Kg. Your son, at 170 lb, is over 80 Kg (166 lb). I am well into the obese range and the same height as your son, and weigh 88 Kg. He is 12. He shouldn't already weigh more than an adult male.</p><p></p><p>You haven't mentioned medications - he's not taking risperdal, is he? That can cause eating like this, and weight gain. difficult child 1 doubled his weight in six months when he took risperdal, he went from a six pack to a beer keg. Taking him off the risperdal meant he lost a lot of the weight. he's back to his weedy self, but wiry with it.</p><p></p><p>Snacks - I agree with the others, lock them up. If everyone has to do without, then so be it. But it sounds like you need to lock the entire food supply away. We did go through a bit of a phase like this - difficult child 3 would raid the fridge and often leave it open, so we bought a wide velcro strap to lock the fridge shut. Trouble was, the kid worked out how to force it open. </p><p></p><p>Kids, especially boys, get ravenous when puberty hits. But they shouldn't put on weight like this, there is something else wrong. Emotionally I'm wondering if he's eating to make sure he doesn't miss out on "his share". easy child did this, and I couldn't stop her. If she went to a friend's house for dinner and came home to find we'd had something different, she would get very upset if we didn't save her some. She might be away at camp for a week, but if I made a chocolate cake early in the week, I still had to save her a piece even if it was going stale. The fact that she'd had loads of chocolate cake available at camp and didn't bring any home for us (not that we wanted it - it's just the reverse point of view) didn't seem to be considered. She was scared she had missed out and as a result, ate far more than she should in order to keep feeling loved. </p><p>With the result that now, she has a major weight problem.</p><p></p><p>You need to get on top of this fast or he will grow into a fat adult with serious health problems. By sneaking food, he's already into very bad habits.</p><p></p><p>Something I did which might help - I set up healthy snacks in the fridge, so when the kids got home from school they had some choice in what to have. We don't have biscuits in the house. Cheese - we buy blocks of cheese and slice it ourselves. Grated cheese is kept in the freezer. I would cook sausages and leave them on a plate. Carrot sticks, celery sticks (great with Vegemite smeared very thinly) and fruit, all freely available. </p><p></p><p>I think you need to get his overall health monitored - triglycerides, HDLs, LDLs, LFTs, fasting BSL plus fasting insulin. Blood pressure. Stress test and heart function. I have a horrible suspicion that all will not be well. But it should be completely reversible, if you get it soon enough.</p><p></p><p>If you say he's not obese, it could be that he doesn't look it because he's put the fat on all over. This means he will be barrel-shaped, with chubby arms and legs. That means fat is going on round his middle, which is where it can pile on round the liver and other internal organs. This is the unhealthiest fat area of all.</p><p></p><p>You can't change this by putting him on a diet. I think you know this already. First you need to work out why he's not just eating all the time, but eating so rapaciously and inconsiderately. He doesn't sound like an inconsiderate kid at heart, not when he worries about how much the food costs. He's probably also feeling really guilty, and this is making him eat even more to try to medicate the guilt.</p><p></p><p>You could deal with this by just locking away the food, but this is you being in control. Until he learns why he's doing this and learns to overcome it, he will continue to have this problem. Locking up the food can help, but only while you keep doing it.</p><p></p><p>I'd be getting him to a specialist pediatric gastroenterologist (bariatric specialist?). In the meantime, treat your baby with fruit. With summer coming up, frozen fruit is just as nice, but healthier (and cheaper) than frozen confections. Peel a very ripe banana, cut it in half and stick a popsicle stick in the cut end. Freeze it on a flat tray then when frozen, put it in an airtight container in the freezer. Oranges - cut them into wedges (skin on) and freeze. Just about any fruit can be frozen. And frozen fruit is good for teething gums. You can puree frozen fruit for something resembling a thick shake. No need to add sugar.</p><p></p><p>I can also relate to the empty packets left everywhere - we have the same problem with difficult child 3 (only not to the same extent). We keep calling him to come and put them in the bin. Sometimes i wonder if he'll ever learn, but all I can do is keep reminding him to do it and hope the penny drops one day!</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 153637, member: 1991"] I know you say he's not obese, but with those measurements, his BMI says he's obese, according to my charts. When I studied Physiology, we were told to consider the average adult human male as 70 Kg. Your son, at 170 lb, is over 80 Kg (166 lb). I am well into the obese range and the same height as your son, and weigh 88 Kg. He is 12. He shouldn't already weigh more than an adult male. You haven't mentioned medications - he's not taking risperdal, is he? That can cause eating like this, and weight gain. difficult child 1 doubled his weight in six months when he took risperdal, he went from a six pack to a beer keg. Taking him off the risperdal meant he lost a lot of the weight. he's back to his weedy self, but wiry with it. Snacks - I agree with the others, lock them up. If everyone has to do without, then so be it. But it sounds like you need to lock the entire food supply away. We did go through a bit of a phase like this - difficult child 3 would raid the fridge and often leave it open, so we bought a wide velcro strap to lock the fridge shut. Trouble was, the kid worked out how to force it open. Kids, especially boys, get ravenous when puberty hits. But they shouldn't put on weight like this, there is something else wrong. Emotionally I'm wondering if he's eating to make sure he doesn't miss out on "his share". easy child did this, and I couldn't stop her. If she went to a friend's house for dinner and came home to find we'd had something different, she would get very upset if we didn't save her some. She might be away at camp for a week, but if I made a chocolate cake early in the week, I still had to save her a piece even if it was going stale. The fact that she'd had loads of chocolate cake available at camp and didn't bring any home for us (not that we wanted it - it's just the reverse point of view) didn't seem to be considered. She was scared she had missed out and as a result, ate far more than she should in order to keep feeling loved. With the result that now, she has a major weight problem. You need to get on top of this fast or he will grow into a fat adult with serious health problems. By sneaking food, he's already into very bad habits. Something I did which might help - I set up healthy snacks in the fridge, so when the kids got home from school they had some choice in what to have. We don't have biscuits in the house. Cheese - we buy blocks of cheese and slice it ourselves. Grated cheese is kept in the freezer. I would cook sausages and leave them on a plate. Carrot sticks, celery sticks (great with Vegemite smeared very thinly) and fruit, all freely available. I think you need to get his overall health monitored - triglycerides, HDLs, LDLs, LFTs, fasting BSL plus fasting insulin. Blood pressure. Stress test and heart function. I have a horrible suspicion that all will not be well. But it should be completely reversible, if you get it soon enough. If you say he's not obese, it could be that he doesn't look it because he's put the fat on all over. This means he will be barrel-shaped, with chubby arms and legs. That means fat is going on round his middle, which is where it can pile on round the liver and other internal organs. This is the unhealthiest fat area of all. You can't change this by putting him on a diet. I think you know this already. First you need to work out why he's not just eating all the time, but eating so rapaciously and inconsiderately. He doesn't sound like an inconsiderate kid at heart, not when he worries about how much the food costs. He's probably also feeling really guilty, and this is making him eat even more to try to medicate the guilt. You could deal with this by just locking away the food, but this is you being in control. Until he learns why he's doing this and learns to overcome it, he will continue to have this problem. Locking up the food can help, but only while you keep doing it. I'd be getting him to a specialist pediatric gastroenterologist (bariatric specialist?). In the meantime, treat your baby with fruit. With summer coming up, frozen fruit is just as nice, but healthier (and cheaper) than frozen confections. Peel a very ripe banana, cut it in half and stick a popsicle stick in the cut end. Freeze it on a flat tray then when frozen, put it in an airtight container in the freezer. Oranges - cut them into wedges (skin on) and freeze. Just about any fruit can be frozen. And frozen fruit is good for teething gums. You can puree frozen fruit for something resembling a thick shake. No need to add sugar. I can also relate to the empty packets left everywhere - we have the same problem with difficult child 3 (only not to the same extent). We keep calling him to come and put them in the bin. Sometimes i wonder if he'll ever learn, but all I can do is keep reminding him to do it and hope the penny drops one day! Marg [/QUOTE]
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