Reply #160: I think there's more to it than that [View All]

[mzteris]

not just "diet", not just "activity.... I think there is genetic/metabolic component that has gone unrecognized. And no one is looking.

Let me tell you why I believe this.

My son is adopted African American - our diet is so healthy in this house that his nutritionist said he "needs more fat in his diet". . . and that if anything, he needed to eat "larger meals". The biggest complaint with our "diet" is that yeah, we "eat supper too late" most times, and he does tend to eat quickly...

He is VERY active. He's a dancer - from 4:30 - 8:30 two nights a week and Saturdays from 9 - 12 or 1 or 2 depending on the season, sometimes Sunday and other"extra rehearsals" - depending on performances.

He's also a football player. Last fall - that meant practice 5:30 - 7:30 three nights a week (yeah the other three nights), plus Saturday games.

He's just started track for the summer.

He plays football/soccer at school during recess.

in his spare time - He rides his bike. Plays outside. Runs around. Plays basketball.


If ONE more person looks at him and says "maybe he needs to eat better and exercise more" - I think I will most likely just punch someone!! No he doesn't "sneak eat". No he doesn't get up in the night and "raid the fridge". No he doesn't get food from other kids at school!

:grr:

He's never even had a damn Twinkie and would probably throw up if you made him eat one.

He's 190 and eleven years old. (5' 2.5") We've been working with a clinic for nearly two years. They've analyzed his diet (food diary) and his exercise/fitness levels and do a complete bodyscans. They are out of suggestions. "He's just big". Oh, when he hits his growth spurt he'll stretch out. . . Oh it's just genetics. His birth family was all large. . .

Yeah - they were. And they subsisted on fried chicken and other typical Southern fare (where EVERYTHING is cooked with FAT!!) (not stereotyping, I grew up with the same damn diet in South Georgia, so I know what that "diet" consists of.) AND his birth family didn't exercise, play sports, etc...

So why is HE still so LARGE? Yeah, "most of it is muscle and bone density", but he wears a 34 or 36 men's waist pant. He wears a large men's shirt.( His football coaches are in Nirvana, but he's not.) Trying to find pants to fit over his thighs (which are bigger than his hips) and still fit in the waist without that godawful sagging (which he doesn't want to do, but finding pants to fit?????)

(Being recital this weekend, we just went through HELL, trying outfit him and the other boys who are half his size. Trying to find "matching items" in the men's and boys department that "worked" with the girls costumes. . . he kept blaming himself because of "all the trouble" everyone had to go through. :cry: We tried to really downplay it, but he knew it was "his size" that was the complicating factor no matter how you sliced it.)

In some ways, being a football player helps to really push that, aren't you glad you're built like a linebacker meme 'cause you're such a good player.... but that only goes so far, ya know? It helps to mitigate his pain somewhat, but only some. He wants to be a running back, but he's just not that fast anymore. And yeah, he used to be the fastest kid on the track you'd ever seen!! He can't "run very fast" or "very far" anymore and it just kills him.


I keep questioning the endocrinologist who keeps saying he's "normal". How can someone on that healthy of diet, that active of a lifetyle, STILL be so grossly OVERWEIGHT??? It is NOT NORMAL!!

I've been looking for an African American endocrinologist or other AA docs who might be pursuing research in this arena, but so far no luck. Everything I find on AA weight issues assumes poor diet and sedentary lifestyle. EVERY THING. Like it's impossible to find a black person who eats right and exercises!! :nuke: Really really pisses me off!!

I'm not buying it. There HAS TO BE AN EXPLANATION! And it torques me off to no end that they just shrug their shoulders and get all f'ing patronizing about it.

Yeah, I'm venting a little here. I maintain a much more "positive attitude" around my son. I never ever use the words fat or overweight. His "diet" is the same diet as the entire household - except he has some non-"lowfat" products that nutritionist wants him to use - like mayonnaise, etc. I encourage and support him and try my best to diffuse his anger and sadness. I just want my little boy to be happy and healthy.