Is my daughter overweight

amandi · Silver Member Joined: 21 May 2000 Posts: 232

Hi. I have a 14 year old daughter. She is about 5 foot 6 inches and weights about 180 pounds or so. Is this overweight for how tall and old she is?? I know that most of the kids in her grade do not weight more than 120… I mean, she really doesn’t look like she’s overweight but, then, she isn't very active. Is that too heavy? Should she lose weight or just keep it like that. Considering her age, I really think it would be embarassing for her to be on a diet. I would just like to know if she is overweight or not. Thanks for all answer

corabella · Silver Member Joined: 07 Feb 2002 Posts: 255

I’m going to be very strait - yes, she is overweight. Even without knowing her size, you can tell that she’s overweight only by comparing her weight with other children of her age. You’ve mentioned yourself they do not weight more than 120… On the other hand, I don’t think she should start diet of some kind - It's best to teach her good eating, exercises and food choice habits. She should eat les bread, candies and sweets and more vegetables, fruits, tec..

Slyper · Newbie Joined: 07 Feb 2007 Posts: 32

Actually, according to the standard BMI calculator, she is near obesity.

gazzerz · Newbie Joined: 06 Mar 2007 Posts: 10

Okay I know where your coming from. When I was 14 I was at 180. Just give it some time and she may lose the weight. If it looks as if she is gaining it more...well of course she might because i went through losing and gaining. But if she looks as if she is gaining more and more then get her into a doctor and have her put on a diet. Its probably just her baby fat because I found out you have baby fat until your 18. I was at 180 from age 13-14 in a half and when i turned 15 my weight started shedding. Im now down to 140. Just give her some time and dont pressure her. My mom pressured me alot and it sucked.

Guest39 · Newbie Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 1

I'm 19. When I was 14 I was taken to the doctor and told I needed to loose weight. It started me on a tailspin of eating disorders. I now binge and purge multiple times a day and just spent a month in the hospital. I keep these pair of shoes, from back then. That the doctor and my mom promised me I could have if i lost whatever amount of weight. I got the shoes, but it wasn't before I till i threw up enough food and starved myself 113 pounds smaller and almost killed myself doing it. All I wanted to do was please my mom, don't ever put that kind of pressure on your daughter. Don't mess with her head like that. Let it be her decision... but please, please be careful It is such a sensitive age.

Also be sure your daughter isn't binge eating. I was and thats why I was so heavy at 14. I was so embarassed of it and trust me, she could hide it. I still hide it from my parents 7 years after starting to binge.

Guest · Guest

First off, I am 5'4, and now weigh 135lbs...this however, has not come easy, nor has it come without its fair share of mental heartache and severe long-term effects from childhood.....

As a child, I was always "the heavy one". My mom was overly skinny, and it was constantly in my face that I "needed to loose weight: I needed to diet: I would be so pretty, so attractive if I just lost a few pounds and took "care" of myself".

I was athletic to a point....I played softball throughout school---but I did enjoy eating....and eating out of boredom...and depression....and hurt.

I knew I was never going to be "As good as my mom" and I would never live up to her standards, no matter how hard I tried. I was on a "diet" for as long as I can remember. We never EVER had icecream in the house...and if we did........it was a rare event. I wasn't allowed "Lucky Charms- the sugary cereals....they weren't good for me."

But all along, I still wore sizes bigger than the other kids, never feeling like I fit in with anyone...and always being compared to something unacheiveable.

Well here i am today....wearing a size 4-6.......( I can fit into my mom's clothes.....) She has gained weight, and is now wearing a larger size than me....and is more unhappy than she ever was to begin with...and still finds things to criticize me on.

So, I guess, my moral of this story is to simply emphasize that every person is unique. And if you embrace an unhealthy lifestyle, that will follow down through the children, into your children's children, and so forth.

I have learned that the true reason why my mom made me feel like I was not ever up to her standards is not because she had some extreme vendetta against me, or that she was an awful mother......
She was simply unhappy with her self...with her own image...and she had no other teachings but to project that onto someone else who could give her the self confidence to look at herself everyday in the mirror and like what she saw.......

Now, I am no sob story.....as a college student, I started out at my highest weight of 186 pounds.................... in the last year and a half, with the help of portion size, unfortunate on-the-job-stress (comes with the territory) and migraine prophylaxis medication (topamax), I have been able to shed those unwanted pounds, slowly, surely, and so far----permanently................down to my desired goal weight of 135 and a mere 5'4...those who have known me my entire life look at me like I am some drug addict that is going to blow away in the wind.....but for once I am truly happy with myself, my self confidence ( yay for wearing dresses and skirts, and sexy lingere, and overpriced undies from vickie's secret ).....those things that I only dreamed about growing up...as a teen...as a young adult.....those things I was told that I would never be, I would never wear, I could never do............

Now, I'm not your ordinary joe-schmoe either.....
I am a 25 year old female with my doctorate degree, and a clinical pharmacist at an inpatient hospital facility.........as well as a mother to a beautiful, healthy and wonderful 2 and 1/2 year old baby boy and engaged to the most wonderful stay at home daddy I could ever dream of...........................Thank you Sean, for beliving in me, and my bony hips...LOL.

But don't let people get ur daughter down......there will be a time and a place for everything, although it may not be the most convienent or timely moment in history, it is NEVER impossible. And I will say this ONCE......

IT IS NOT ALWAYS ABOUT WHAT YOU EAT>>>>>>ITS ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU EAT AND HOW OFTEN AND WHEN YOU EAT IT.

Not eating after 6pm......STOP EATING THE SECOND YOU ARE REMOTELY FULL *BY THE WAY----Zyrtec takes away the feeling of siation...(feeling full and satisfied) so it is WAY possible to gain a good bit of weight if you take that.....stick with some OTC chlorpheniramine antihistamine for allergies!

So, with that said, If you can have her get by with drinking some of that calorie free crystal light, and having like a green pepper to snack on or something else good for you (weight watchers is a great program).....then, yes.....you can still enjoy a burrito supreme from taco bell for dinner and not feel guilty! \

Guest · Guest

A basic way to find out a good estimate weight for your daughter is what I was told by my doctor. I'm 5'3" and at 135 lbs I was in a size 6.
For 5 feet tall you should weigh at least 100 lbs and add 5 lbs to each inch.So if she's 5ft 6" her goal weight could be anywhere from 130 lbs-150 lbs .
I give that range because I don't know if her bodyframe is a small,medium or large. I have a medium frame . NOT everyone looks great or can maintain 130 lbs at 5ft6"
My body can maintain 140-145 lbs and I'm still a size 8-10 depending on the style and brand I buy. If I tried to weigh according to a weightchart I should weigh 115 lbs. At 135 lbs I looked very,very thin. I couldn't imagine weighing less!
So use the weightchart only as a giude. She would probably feel and look great at 155-160 lbs.
Weight issues with teenagers should be approached cautiously .My 15 yr daughter is 5ft 0" and weighs 121 lbs according to her height/weight she is still in a healthy weight even though she believes she should be weighing 105-110 lbs. I help her with little things like healthy snack ideas and we both go walking together or just dancing and goofing off together lol.
Good Luck

Is my daughter overweight

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