How many calories should my son consume each day?

[Brooke050870]

My son is almost 9 years old.  He does not have a slender build, but I know that even for his stocky body type, he is too heavy.  He may be slightly taller than what I have indicated above, and he does not look obese, but when he takes his shirt off, his belly is too big.  He loves to eat and I am constantly having to monitor him.  At the beginning of this school year (which was in late August of 2008), he weighed 77 pounds (a weight he had maintained for at least 6 months) and was not as tall as he is now.  Ever since shortly after Christmas of 2008, any time I ask him to step on the scale, he weighs anywhere from 82 to 84 pounds and is now maintaining that weight.  I was sure part of the gain was due to a growth in height, but also because of all of the food that was around during Christmas, even though I really tried to keep my eye on things so that he wouldn't go overboard with the sweets, etc.  He is not a natrual athlete but he does play sports and plays outside quite a bit.  I am pretty much a food cop and a couch-potato cop, and I don't want to be, but I don't know what else to do to keep him from becoming obese.  I pack his lunches so that he won't eat the tasty but greasy cafeteria food at his school.  His doctor has said in the past that he is slightly overweight and that she doesn't want him to lose weight but to grow into the weight he is at.  How many calories should he be eating each day?  I would say he is a moderately active child, maybe a little less than moderately active.  I love my son and I want him to be healthy.  I also don't want him to get teased at school about being heavy.  A couple of kids have made comments to him about being chubby/fat and I know from personal experience how much that hurts.  

[Renee Radenberg]

His weight is between 90-95th percentile and his height is just below the 50th percentile for his age. He is within normal range for his age. It is recommended to increase children's physical activities (play, dance, sports) to lose weight, and not lower calorie intake due to the need of calories for growth. Limit time in front of the TV or non-active-video games. There have been studies showing the longer the length of time a child sit in front of the TV, the greater the weight gain. Suggest you do limit high sugar drinks/snacks and replace with milk/yogurt or fruit/popcorn/cheese. High sugar drink and snacks do not give the child nutrients they need. The calorie intake for a growing 9 year old is approximately 2000 calories a day which are eaten 3 meals and snacks between meals. Suggest cooking only low fat meats (chicken, fish, loin of pork) or non-meat sources (soy products, nuts), low fat vegetarian combinations (rice & beans, pasta & beans, low fat cheese & pasta), fat free or low fat dairy products (skim milk, 1% milk, low fat cheese, low fat yogurts, low fat soy milk/yogurt), use plant oils, non trans-fat margarines, and eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. Eat daily high fiber breads and cereals (oatmeal) and limit ‘junk’ foods. Hoped this helped you.

[Brooke050870]

Thank you Renee.  I appreciate your help.  :)