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You don't know what is healthy for the child in question. If my son weighed 136 he would look emaciated (he's 68-69 inches) and unhealthy. Other kids that are roughly the same height can weigh less and still be healthy. People are different.
Again. Perspective. Overweight families view normal weight as emaciated.
I know you are always passionate about this issue since your children weigh similar weights, but the OP deserves to have another voice to consider. I agree he shouldn't continue to drop weight at such a fast rate, but he certainly isn't emaciated and doesn't need to gain weight.
It would be different if the OP's son was close to the bottom of a normal weight range. But he's solidly near the top of the weight range for normal. There's no way that can be an unhealthy weight. It sounds like he looks unhealthy because he's wearing clothing that is too large for him now.
While I certainly would want him checked out by a doctor it certainly sounds like a wrestling weight class issue. Be interesting if he puts on weight for football.
Hi there,
Our 13 year old son is a great kid ; strives to do well in school and at everything he does. He has been on the wrestling and football team. So now we are facing weight issues ; the loss of weight issues.
He started out in July 2012 weighing 170lbs (he is a tall kid ; 5'9) and most recently this week is down to 136 lbs. I have noticed a bigger loss in the past month or so as wrestling season is kicking in. So I have had his blood checked for thyroid issues (nothing came back, he is normal). I have alerted his teachers, coach and guidance counselor and all are worried for him and available for him at all times. His eating habits have changed ; now he is down to one small yogurt for breakfast, a normal school lunch (teacher does supervise some days) and 2/3 plate of dinner. No snacking, Rarely drinks soda but dos drink iced tea and chews gum a lot. He also spits ( I know it sounds disgusting) a lot.
His friends have said to me that he looks unhealthy, and also other moms have said it. His hands are always cold and he sleeps fully dressed, but with a fan on ; dosnt make sense.
So now I guess we are off to a therapist. Has anyone else faced this issue. I wish I could wrap him in bubble wrap and take all his problems away, but I cant. Yes, I could stop wrestling and I have told him if he is down to 135, he is done with wrestling. Thats one more pound. But it is the only thing he has that he enjoys. However, I hate it and hate the focus on weight. He does excersise at school for wrestling and excersising does seem to have taken over his life. He goes for another weight check on dec 11th ; that was the first available appt with his doctor after the one last week.
This is a good discussion for your family doctor, not the internet.
Thank you all for the opinions. I read them all and have a few responses.
My son was 150lbs in the middle of sept this year. Two/three weeks later he was 142 and a week after that he was 138 and then last week told me he was 136lbs. I have never ener spoken to him until the past few weeks about weight as I know he was always at the top edge of his weight. He was 170 in July of 2012. At that stage he began football and wrestling. I agree that 150 is a decent healthy weight for a child that is one of the tallest in his class.
However when a child weight is falling off his face, this bones are apparent and his clothes are falling off him, there is cause for concern. I noticed he is not eating as much, working out for two hours daily and asking for a gym membership. I spoke to his teachers and wrestling coach and they are also concerned.
The point of the post here was to know if anyone else ran into this problem and what you did. His coach and teacher have spoken to him and shared their concerns with him. Some other boys have spoken to my other son sharing their concerns.
Thank you all for the opinions. I read them all and have a few responses.
My son was 150lbs in the middle of sept this year. Two/three weeks later he was 142 and a week after that he was 138 and then last week told me he was 136lbs. I have never ener spoken to him until the past few weeks about weight as I know he was always at the top edge of his weight. He was 170 in July of 2012. At that stage he began football and wrestling. I agree that 150 is a decent healthy weight for a child that is one of the tallest in his class.
However when a child weight is falling off his face, this bones are apparent and his clothes are falling off him, there is cause for concern. I noticed he is not eating as much, working out for two hours daily and asking for a gym membership. I spoke to his teachers and wrestling coach and they are also concerned.
The point of the post here was to know if anyone else ran into this problem and what you did. His coach and teacher have spoken to him and shared their concerns with him. Some other boys have spoken to my other son sharing their concerns.
Thanks
Keep us posted as to whether his coach was able to help him. I think that boys who are on sports teams often take the word of the coaching staff as gospel and that can sometimes work to get him to see what he is doing is unhealthy.
Thank you all for the opinions. I read them all and have a few responses.
My son was 150lbs in the middle of sept this year. Two/three weeks later he was 142 and a week after that he was 138 and then last week told me he was 136lbs. I have never ener spoken to him until the past few weeks about weight as I know he was always at the top edge of his weight. He was 170 in July of 2012. At that stage he began football and wrestling. I agree that 150 is a decent healthy weight for a child that is one of the tallest in his class.
That is significant weight loss over two months. It makes sense. He started training for his sport after school started without increasing his food intake to compensate. But 136 is still a healthy weight. 150 would be overweight.
Quote:
Originally Posted by okaydorothy
However when a child weight is falling off his face, this bones are apparent and his clothes are falling off him, there is cause for concern. I noticed he is not eating as much, working out for two hours daily and asking for a gym membership.
People lose weight in their faces if they are overweight before weight loss. Their clothes hang off them if they don't buy new clothes. I consider the new eating habits you described in your first post to be healthy eating habits. That's how we eat in my family. We don't finish our dinner plates. We stop eating when we are full. Many teenagers run out the door without breakfast. Your son is eating yogurt instead of toast. Your saying his eating habits have changed (to what I consider normal eating habits) was a clue to me that you're looking at this from the perspective of someone who thinks eating too much is normal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by okaydorothy
The point of the post here was to know if anyone else ran into this problem and what you did.
I didn't do anything because my son was slightly overweight for 1-1/2 years prior to his puberty weight loss. The few times he expressed concern about his weight, I always told him it would come off naturally when he hit puberty and it did. When he lost weight, he was a healthy weight. His face did thin out. He has cheekbones now and an adult, mature face now. What did I do? I talked to his doctor about his appetite decreasing, and his doctor said it was normal. I bought him new clothes that fit.
Your son's weight loss sounds partially natural and partially due to his working out. He is in a healthy range. He doesn't need to gain weight, but he shouldn't continue on this trend of losing weight so dramatically either so his eating should compensate for his increased activity. Teachers, coaches, friends aren't doctors. They are responding more to how terrible he looks in clothing that doesn't fit. I recommend scheduling an appointment with his doctor because that's what I did when it happened with my son.
He was at doctor on oct 25 for blood work as I stated initially and goes back on dec 11 for another weight check and physical. He had a physical in July.
The dramatic weight loss and lack of appetite is my concern. I never force the kids to finish their plate. They know when they are full
He was at doctor on oct 25 for blood work as I stated initially and goes back on dec 11 for another weight check and physical. He had a physical in July.
The dramatic weight loss and lack of appetite is my concern. I never force the kids to finish their plate. They know when they are full
Have you considered taking him to see a nutritionist? That may be helpful to him. In certain ways, it sounds like he is trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle. However, he may not have enough balance in his diet if he is losing weight that rapidly. I think in our culture we sometimes place too much emphasis on what individual items we eat and the quantity of what we eat, rather than the overall balance of our diet. He may just need more protein in his diet or not understand that he does actually need some fat in his diet. A nutritionist should be able to help him come up with a diet that would be good for his activity level.
Have you considered taking him to see a nutritionist? That may be helpful to him. In certain ways, it sounds like he is trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle. However, he may not have enough balance in his diet if he is losing weight that rapidly. I think in our culture we sometimes place too much emphasis on what individual items we eat and the quantity of what we eat, rather than the overall balance of our diet. He may just need more protein in his diet or not understand that he does actually need some fat in his diet. A nutritionist should be able to help him come up with a diet that would be good for his activity level.
It does sound like he is trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle via replacing soft drinks with tea and having yogurt for breakfast. He is eating school lunch and two thirds of his dinner plate. That's not lack of appetite. When you take the soft drinks and junk food snacks out of a diet, there are a lot of calories that need to be replaced with healthy food. He wouldn't have lost weight so rapidly if he weren't exercising. That's why the weight loss increased since September---that's when school started and sports training started so his activity increased. A nutritionist will help him understand that he needs to increase food intake when exercise increases and will teach him which foods are the best choices. He doesn't need to gain weight though. He's at the top end of the normal range for healthy weight. He needs to be taught how to maintain his weight with healthy foods.
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