Did you know that up until the very recent past medical guidelines suggested pediatricians place a child — dealing with obesity — on a diet? And, in some cases, they were even told to promote weight loss surgery?
Well, it’s true.
But after decades and decades of research, those guidelines have changed!
Why You Shouldn’t Put Your Child On A Diet
We have learned that putting a child on a diet or providing weight loss intervention, like surgery, is incredibly detrimental.
In fact, nothing is going to be a greater predictor of:
- lifelong struggle with their weight and body image
- future obesity
- depression
- thoughts of suicide
I’m not about picking on the doctors, but…
How much can we teach docs about psychology in school? Aren’t there obvious limitations around this?
And yet, we expect our pediatricians — because they’re wearing a white coat and have a degree — to understand how to handle a child (and their future) who may be overweight.
But again, I’m not blaming pediatricians — they weren’t trained in this manner.
Guess what? Parents weren’t trained either on how to communicate to their child when it comes diet and a whole host of other things.
Take, for example, the birds and the bees.
Did your parents teach you how to talk to your kids about this sensitive subject?
I bet not. Instead, they role-modeled it.
Then, as the years went on, you decided whether their “birds and the bees” talk was:
- good or bad
- helpful or damaging
- useful or unproductive
And so, your parents probably didn’t talk with you about how to talk to your kids about their:
- health
- body image
- weight
Think about some of the things that were said to you by a parent or caretaker — where, perhaps, they may have meant well, but it had a negative impact.
My God, just writing this blog is bringing back so many memories of what was said to me (and around me), as a child, in regard to body image/diet/weight.
For much more on that, plus:
- What people (on my social media) said was helpful/damaging (growing up) for their body image
- The book I’m loving that references parents influence on body image
- A shocking survey about the root cause of adult body image issues
Then, you must listen to The Chalene Show episode below:
And don’t forget to subscribe to TCS for weekly shows dedicated to your overall health, happiness, mindset and productivity!
