How to help your child lose weight during puberty

In puberty the child is still growing, should you think about losing weight?? In addition, it is difficult for parents to be prescriptive about what they eat. But now every fifth child in Germany is already overweight!

If we don’t learn to reach and maintain a normal weight as children and adolescents, it usually becomes all the more difficult in adulthood. A low quality of life, a lack of well-being and health problems can be the result.

Here’s how you can help your child lose weight during puberty.

As parents, model the right lifestyle to support weight loss during adolescence

Children pay attention to what the people around them are doing. And so it is much more important for parents to set an example of a healthy lifestyle than to tell their children what to do.

First of all, talk openly with your child about it and try to find out what could be the reasons for being overweight. Boredom, frustration, problems at school or stress with friends can be non-disease related triggers.

Fix the cause together with your child and then start a better life together through a balanced diet and more exercise.

Losing weight during puberty only works with a healthy diet

The ideal weight for a child is rather a feel-good weight. So forget about counting calories, going to the scale every day, and dieting. Simple measures can help you lose weight during puberty without sacrificing enjoyment and taste.

Control creates counterpressure. Forcing a diet on the child could only make the problem worse. It makes much more sense to offer alternatives that automatically create a healthier lifestyle.

5 tips for "losing weight during puberty

1 – Fruit always at hand

Instead of leaving sweets lying around, we can offer a fruit bowl. A fresh apple conquers the ravenous appetite and is healthy.

2 – When shopping, leave candy on the shelf

If nothing unhealthy has been purchased, nothing unhealthy can be eaten either.

3 – No lunch money, but sandwiches

Instead of giving the child lunch money to take to school, we can make some sandwiches before school and pack a banana.

4 – Cook for yourself instead of eating out

Home-cooked food is usually healthier than store-bought food. Cooking together with your child can also be a great family experience at the same time.

5 – Less sugar

Soft drinks in particular (z.B. Coca-Cola) should get out of the house. These calorie bombs can easily be replaced with water.

Lose weight through fun and games

It’s hard to compete with the TV and the cell phone, but there are many alternatives to provide fun and active entertainment options for the child:

Again, as parents, we need to model what we want our children to know. So we can set clearly defined wi-fi times in the internet router that kids and adults have to stick to. Outside of those times, the whole family can then look for more active hobbies to do together.