Why does my daughter have a large belly

[softballmom75]

My daughter is 8 year old is 4'6" and weighs 103lbs.  She's big for her age as she towers over most of her 2nd grade classmates.  She is very active, practices softball 8 hours a week and tournaments on weekends.  When not in softball, she's playing basketball, riding her bike or jumping on the trampoline.  She does watch television but it's in the evenings about an hour before bed.  She has a big belly and I don't know what to do to help her get rid of it.  I do not keep sugary snacks in the house.  She eats pretty healthy.  We drink 1% milk, no fried foods, lots of low fat meats and plenty of fruits and vegetables.  I've been told maybe her metabolism is just slow, but how do I help her.  She's been a very healthy child.
Thanks,
A concerned Mom  

[Marsluvsmadonna]

My daughter looks 9 months pregnant.  She does stress eat and sneak food. She's 7.5, 4'6 and 94 pounds.  We only drink water.  This week we tried veg, meat and minimal fruit.  I lost 4 pounds in 5 days,  she gained almost 2. She went from 92.5-94. They suggest keeping her the same weight until she grows,  but I can not.  She gained ay least 11 pounds since last year.  We did blood and nothing significant shows. I was under weight my whole youth.  I'm thick now at 42, but she's obese. I only seem to have luck in the better weather.  Plus working full time is making this all worse.  Wish she could be thin like the other girls.  I fear for her heart, cholestetol and diabetes

[specialmom]

How old is she?  There are some symbols that jumped in there so it is hard to tell.  7 and a half?  How tall is she?  Genes can play a factor even though apparently these are not -your- genes.  

My suggestion, do your very best to not give her a complex.  Home is safe and home is where people adore us for who we are.  So, be careful how you deal with this or talk about it in front of her.  

How's the physical activity in your home?  Add more in to what you do now.  Do some family activities like bike rides, join a YMCA and go swimming, put her in swim team or basketball or soccer, go for hikes and walks, go to an indoor playground park and jump on trampolines.  Every single day for a half hour to much better, an hour or more.  I did this with my boys because one has an issue with sensory system and physical activity regulates him---  so, I made it fun and we did it all the time.  Daily.  So, you do it too for your family reasons.  I have another son, so would just bring him along.  I made up challenges for them to do that always had running involved, jumping, lifting things.  And we always had them in various sports.  This can only help with your situation.  

And then portion control.  You are in charge.  Control the portions.  And her snacks can be fruit (portion it out in baggies or cups in the frig and she gets one when you say she can have a snack, a second if she is still hungry, and then has to wait.  )  

I do have a good friend going through this now with her son.  He's gained a lot of weight.  And kids are actually starting to get mean to him.  Which is sad.  They are exercising and working on portion control.  Let me know what you think!

[meniere135]

My daughter was overweight like that also.  She at a very healthy diet.  She wasn't a sneak eater.  Didn't ask for snacks.  I couldn't figure out why she was putting on so much weight.  After two years of styes and what turned out to be an autoimmune eye disease related to psoriasis, I started her on a gluten free diet (because my husband had psoriasis and the diet helped him).  Her eyes cleared up in two days and we haven't had a problem since then (that was 5 years ago).  But what also happened was weight loss.  Apparently she was one of those kids that gained weight with the gluten intolerance problem.  So that was a relief.  But as each year passed, she did start gaining some body fat, though not as bad as before.  I asked the pediatrician if she could try a low carb diet like the Atkins.  The doctor said that would be fine.  That seemed to do the trick.  She has a very low tolerance for carbohydrates.  She eats mostly veggies, minimal fruit and proteins and fats.
She uses soy wrappers instead of bread for lunch.   At your daughter's age, this diet would be tough for sure - it's tough at any age.  But if the weight issue is bothering her and the pediatrician seems to think it would be ok to try at her age, then maybe give the diet a try.  Or you can wait until she's older to see if she outgrows the problem.  Or wait until she's older to try the low carb diet.  Now the gluten free diet is not as hard.  The stores are stocking more gluten free foods these days.  Though I don't know if gluten is a problem for her, it's a pretty common food intolerance.  My brother had asthma and went on the diet for another reason and after one month on the diet, his asthma disappeared completely.  I hope this helps.  

[jeninky30]

Since she is only 8, she appears to be very active and with a healthy diet.  I would not worry about it too much.  A lot of kids are a little "chubby" my son is one of them, but over the past 6 months or so, he has gotten taller and slimmed up quite a bit.

[tinkerbell1124]

Well it's possible she's eating stuff you don;t know about. 103lbs seem like a lot for an 8 year old girl. I know when I was 12 and 5"7(haven't grown since) I was maybe 105lbs. I was super skinny though. Everyone is different. BUT if she's NOT eating unhealthy it DOESN'T mean she's NOT over eating.BUT IF you don't think that's the problem either, I would take to her DR. maybe theres something he/she can do to boost her metabolism. OR maybe theres something else health wise that it going on. I'd get her checked out. Could be a thyroid or something????>???