How to recognize if your child is overweight

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How to recognize if your child is overweight

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When we see our pediatricians, our pediatricians are tracking our children’s weight on their growth chart. And some children are on the lower percentile, some children are on the upper percentile, some are right at the 50th percentile. But generally, what we want to see is that they’re following in their percentile. When we see a child that actually jumps up in their percentile – so maybe they were following at the 50th percentile and then they jump up and now they’re at the 75th. That’s when we usually start to see that there is a problem, they’ve gained… that their weight gain has increased and that usually indicates that there is a problem, they’re gaining weight too rapidly. And that’s when we generally might have a red flag go up. And have to… have a first conversation with your pediatrician and see if anything needs to be done – maybe some blood tests to check their cholesterol, depending on their age. And look at your family life style, check in and see, “Are we eating out too much?” “What are our portions like?” “Do we need to increase our fruits and vegetables?” Focus on physical activity, take family walks, make sure you’re not drinking too much soda or juice, really drink a lot of water. So those are some easy things that you can start out with. And if you need some help, look for a local dietician in your area.
ALL PARENTS, Nutrition

Watch Nicole Meadow, MPN, RD's video on How to recognize if your child is overweight...

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Nicole Meadow, MPN, RD

Pediatric Dietitian

Nicole Meadow, MPN, RD is the founder of NutritionWise, a nutrition consulting practice based in Los Angeles.  She enjoys working with clients in all ages and stages of the lifespan and has specialized training in working with children and families. As a trusted partner who works closely with her clients and their physicians, she specializes in medical nutrition-related issues including food allergies, diabetes (type I, II and gestational), overweight/obesity, celiac disease, feeding disorders, failure to thrive, cardiac disease, eating disorders, and others.  Nicole’s approach and philosophy are based on a client-centered model.  She looks at each client on an individual basis and develops their plan according to their specific needs.  Nicole works with her clients to develop realistic and attainable goals. 

Prior to opening her private practice, she practiced as a clinical dietitian at the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (outpatient clinics, school-based clinics, community education), at Cedars Sinai Medical Center and in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Cedars Sinai Medical Center.  

In addition to her clinical work, Nicole publishes her own newsletter, NutritionWise Monthly. She has contributed to numerous publications and websites including Healthy Child Healthy World, Breezy Mama, Parenting, The Bump, ICAN (Infant, Child and Adolescent Nutrition- a professional publication) and is a frequent speaker to local schools, corporations and the community at large. Nicole has also provided consulting services to several national food and beverage companies.  She is the founder of the San Fernando Valley Family Food Allergy Support Group and is on the medical advisory board for the Celiac Disease Foundation. 

Nicole received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan and a Master of Arts Degree in Preventive Nutrition from the University of Southern California. She then completed the Dietetic Internship program at California State University Northridge.

 

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Transcription: 
When we see our pediatricians, our pediatricians are tracking our children’s weight on their growth chart. And some children are on the lower percentile, some children are on the upper percentile, some are right at the 50th percentile. But generally, what we want to see is that they’re following in their percentile. When we see a child that actually jumps up in their percentile – so maybe they were following at the 50th percentile and then they jump up and now they’re at the 75th. That’s when we usually start to see that there is a problem, they’ve gained… that their weight gain has increased and that usually indicates that there is a problem, they’re gaining weight too rapidly. And that’s when we generally might have a red flag go up. And have to… have a first conversation with your pediatrician and see if anything needs to be done – maybe some blood tests to check their cholesterol, depending on their age. And look at your family life style, check in and see, “Are we eating out too much?” “What are our portions like?” “Do we need to increase our fruits and vegetables?” Focus on physical activity, take family walks, make sure you’re not drinking too much soda or juice, really drink a lot of water. So those are some easy things that you can start out with. And if you need some help, look for a local dietician in your area.
ALL PARENTS, Nutrition