Moms Stress Over Daughters’ Weight

“It was very tough for me. I know it was very tough
for my parents also,” Megan says.

Paulette Hogan made her daughter count calories.

“She taught me to read the back of the box of cereals
and stuff,” says Terry Mobley, 14.

But what about Paulette’s son, who is also overweight?

“She’s never said that I need to lose weight,”
16-year-old Quincy Mobley says.

Why? Both mothers say it’s simple.

“In today’s society, it’s more acceptable
to have a boy that’s overweight than a girl,”
Mrs. Waples says.

“My daughter, she has to deal with peer pressure. Kids
are cruel,” Mrs. Hogan says.

In fact, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics,
mothers were twice as likely to label their daughter as overweight,
even when their sons were overweight, too.

“It’s a double standard, there’s no doubt
about it. And in our society, males are allowed to be larger
sized, and it’s more acceptable than for females,”
says Kathleen Zelman, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic
Association.

But in reality, overweight boys face more health risks than
overweight girls.

“Obese men or obese boys are much more at risk of having
early death, heart attack, strokes, hypertension, diabetes
… all these other risks, than their female counterparts,”
says Dr. Lonny Horowitz, a weight-loss specialist.

Experts say it’s never a good idea to single out any
child – son or daughter – for being overweight.
Instead, the whole family needs to change how much each member
exercises and what each eats.

“Push the skim milk, push the low-fat dairy products,
push the healthy foods and cook them,” Zelman says.
“Have healthy meals together. That’s so important
to really establishing great connection between everyone in
the family.”

A new study from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that mothers
are more likely to identify their daughters as overweight
than their sons. In fact, researchers found that among children
who were not overweight but heavy enough to be considered
at risk for overweight, 14% of mothers reported that their
sons were overweight, whereas 29% of mothers reported that
their daughters were overweight. However, the American Obesity
Association (AOA) reports that the overweight prevalence is
actually higher in boys (32.7%) than girls (27.8%).

If you and your teen decide that weight loss
is necessary, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggests
making a few simple changes in your child’s eating habits
to “emphasize healthy foods and exercise – good
advice even if you don’t need to lose weight”:

• Refer to the USDA’s Food Pyramid. Guidelines suggest
  eating six to 11 servings a day of grains (bread, cereal,
  rice and pasta).
• Eat three to five servings of vegetables daily.
• Eat two to four servings of fruit.
• Each day, eat two to three servings of dairy (milk, cheese
  and yogurt) and protein-rich foods (meat, eggs, poultry,
  fish, dry beans and nuts).
• Also, limit the amount of high-fat foods that your child
  eats. Encourage your child to eat a variety of foods so
  that he or she doesn’t get bored.
• Keep your child’s mealtime portion sizes reasonable.
• Make sure your child gets regular exercise (three times
  a week).

Whether or not your child is diagnosed as overweight or obese,
it is important for you to maintain an active environment
for you and your child. The AOA suggests the following ways
in which you can establish a lifetime of healthy habits for
your family:

• Make time for the entire family to participate in regular
  physical activities that everyone enjoys. Try walking, bicycling
  or rollerblading.
• Plan special active family-outings, such as a hiking or
  skiing.
• Start an active neighborhood program. Join other families
  for group activities like touch-football, basketball, tag
  or hide-and-seek.
• Assign active chores to every family member, such as vacuuming,
  washing the car or mowing the lawn. Rotate the schedule
  of chores to avoid boredom from routine.
• Enroll your child in a structured activity that he or
  she enjoys, such as tennis, gymnastics, martial arts, etc.
• Instill an interest in your child to try a new sport by
  joining a team at school or in your community.
• Limit the amount of television your child watches.

American
Obesity Association
Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
U.S. Food and Drug Administration