8 year old obsessed with food

[tommybitt]

My 8 year old daughter is obsessed with food. She is constantly concerned with when the next meal is coming and what it will be. She's a fairly picky eater. Loves all the kid favorites...pizza, chx fingers,FF,desserts...but very reluctantly eats the necessities...green vegetables.
She's approx 4'-9" and weighs 80-90lbs. She is showing signs of chubbiness around her midsection, but I wouldnt call her fat...yet. (Her mother struggled with her own weight at this age and unfortunately grew up with her father calling her "the fat child"...a whole other topic for some other day).
   As stated, she will eat salad and some vegetables...but not without some resistance.
I'm worried as she grows older and the independence of choice creeps in she will not make good decisions about what to eat.
Also, she never seems content with anything she's doing. e.g. she cant "live in the now". We were on the beach the other day and, as her 6 yr old sister (very contented child) was frolicking (sp) in the ocean, she was in and out of the water complaining about us having to leave in the next hour or so, instead of just enjoying the time she had left to play.
She always seems to be "looking" for that something "better" or "more fun"  or "yummier"   or  longer lasting.
Is this a serious behavioral issue?  I've read many books. I know I have to show alot of love and support...and I do. What else can I do to help her be happy with what she has and not worry so much about what she wants.

[yokomist]

My daughter is 7, i'm really starting to worry about her food obsession. She constantly talks about food, she plays with her 3 year old sister and all i hear is what do you want for breakfast,  what do you want for lunch, do you want cake I do. Want some candy... she would get a sandwich an apple and a bag of crackers for lunch, she kept hounding kids at lunch for their food, so the teacher said  you need to pack another sandwich so she stops bothering the kids because they get uncomfortible. So we did...no change it's still not enough for her. Then when she gets home, her popa usualy gives her 2 snacks and a glass of milk(We live with my husbands parents.) My biggest concern though is her health. Diabetes is a huge facter in my family and also her biological fathers fam, as well as high cholesteral. A couple years ago her levels were real high and took a year of good diet to get it back on track. Now nana and popa have fried fish and chips and fried chicken and chips, she doesnt know when to stop! Please help!!

[supermomma531]

Helping her to find things she likes to do such as reading, writing, coloring, drawing, etc. When you go somewhere, have her bring this stuff along to help entertain her. Also explain to her how family time is spent and that she needs to appreciate it. Ask her why she is always like this and see if she has any answers for you. What does she like to do. Maybe a good idea would be to let everyone take turns and pick where they may want to go with the family and spend this family time with each other. She may pick going to the park for a few hours and having a picnic. Her sister may say the beach, you may pick something different, etc. She sounds like she needs to speak with someone. Does she get bored easily? In a sense, she sounds like she can't keep her attention fixed just on one thing. Have you ever had her tested for ADD? A lot of kids with this condition are like your daughter and simply cannot live in the now. Depending on her up bringing, maybe a good rule for the dinner table would be to have everyone eat a little bit of everything. She sounds like she needs to be more active as well. Enlist a house hold rule that they need to be outside actually playing games for a few hours a day. If they can't go outside, then they need to be playing with toys for a few hours inside with no t.v or pc. They need to be active. This may include playing board games, or drawing or something that a inside activity would include. I hope this helps. Good Luck.