As my daughter grew, she was always on the high end of the growth chart. We hoped she would grow into her weight as her brother did; but, by age 14 she was diagnosed as morbidly obese. We knew we had to take action, but she was afraid - afraid of how hard it would be, afraid of making changes in what she ate, afraid that she really couldn't lose weight. I didn't know how to help her, though I knew that I was partially responsible for her dilemma. I've never had a weight problem and have always indulged my kids and myself with whatever we wanted to eat, including homemade sweets, sodas, and fast food.
We visited our family doctor and asked for her help. She made a referral to the only child obesity clinic in our state. It took five months to get the first appointment and the clinic is over two hours from our home. We were still apprehensive when the appointment day finally came, and we arrived without a clue what to expect. Thankfully, we left feeling very relieved and hopeful. The doctor was confident that she will lose the weight, and started us off with a few simple rules. The nutritional counselor explained just how much sugar and fat we could eliminate with a few modifications of her regular diet. We began to see how small changes done consistently can really make a difference.
Surprisingly, weight loss was not the clinic's first goal for my daughter. Stopping the weight gain is our first three-month goal. She will have to go on a weight loss plan later because after puberty she has nearly reached her adult height. If we had started this process a few years ago, she would be maintaining her weight as she grew. That's why it is so important to seek professional help for your child's weight problem early. Don't put it off as we did.
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