8 year old thinks shes fat?

Question

My younger sister gets teased at school because of her weight. She weigh 105 pounds. Shes a tall girl though. Shes only 8. She continues to talk to me about how she must loose weight to fit in. I don't understand? shes only 8 years old. She is eating apples now for snack because she thinks shes fat. anyone relate?

Answer 1

she is big for her age, it is good for her to eat healtier.  she should put down the chips and junk food and start eating more fruits and veggies, but she should also be exercising.  even if it is just running around in the yard for an hour or 2 a day.  this is good for all kids

Answer 2

my daughter thinks she is fat too and she is 10.  Its only natural for them to compare their bodies to the other girls in the class.  I talked to my daughter about womens bodies and I show her pictures of beautiful women in all shapes, sizes and colors.  This helps to know that she fits in no matter what.

Answer 3

My brother is like that too(tall). Talk about how she needs to love herself for who she is and not for what others think, because she is the one who matters. Encourage her to be confident in herself. If she still wants to lose weight try to do it in a healthy way like play outside more. Don't do diets though that really had my brother on the wrong path. Also maybe it's not just school maybe it's what she see's in magazines or on tv. Try helping apply talents like height into sports like basketball  to help energize her. It worked for my brother he love basketball now and everyone want's to try to beat him.

~Good Luck

Answer 4

First you have to look at the entire picture.  My son is 8 and he is already 4'11 which is tall for his age and he weighs 94 pounds.  105 pounds for a child although she is tall and might not be obese is a lot of extra weight and could cause her health problems later on down the road.  At this age you do not want her thinking everything is about image as much as it is about health.  Start by telling her that diets at this age are unhealthy for a kid and that what she thinks is fat is actually just she hasnt grown into her body yet and that in time she will be tall and slim and eating healthy will help her get there faster.  DO NOT LET HER THINK IT IS A DIET.  Kids end up with to many eating disorders because they are obsessed with body image and skinny isnt the answer healthy is.  A lot of 8 year olds are still carrying around "baby fat" and will not loose all of it until they hit puberty.

Instead of her thinking she is fat get her to think she is big for her age.  Find some old photos of people you know that are now normal size but were like her when they were a kid nd show them to her so that she knows it will not always be like that. Encourage the apples there is nothing wrong with it and if she is that tall and big it will teach her the healthy habits now and stick with her so she wont be a 16 year old starving herself to loose 5 pounds.

Answer 5

105 is fine if she is 5 feet tall...which I doubt.  Apples for a snack is great...

Answer 6

I was like that. I hurt my back around that age and gained weight because I couldn't move very much. I was all ways tall. I like that. You can weigh more but don't look like you weigh that much. Just tell her she's beatiful. Do stuff to make her feel like it like do her nails for her ect.

Answer 7

There's nothing wrong with eating apples for snack.

105 pounds is a LOT for an eight year old, though - I know you say she's tall, but my average height and not particularly skinny 11 year old daughter weighs 20 pounds less than that.

She may just be one of these kids who is big and chubby - and then when they hit puberty they shoot up and suddenly they're tall and elegant. But if she's worried now, then the thing to do is encourage her to eat healthy. The apples are a great start - I'm astonished you think it's a problem. Fruit instead of sugary or fatty snacks won't just help her lose excess weight (if indeed she has any and it's not just her build right now) they are also excellent for her health. Mealtimes similarly - discourage her from not eating, instead encourage her to eat vegetables instead of chips, for instance.

Answer 8

Tell her that just because she thinks she is overweight doesn't mean she is. Tell her that she will stretch up and will lose all of that "fat" that she thinks she has. Encourage her to think otherwise so she doesn't become anorexic.

Answer 9

send her 2 tha hospital sum where sumthin wrong wit her i'm only 98 pounds she need a check up

Answer 10

If she weighs 105 pounds at the age of 8, she IS overweight.  There's nothing wrong with eating apples for snack.  In fact, it's exactly what she should be doing.  What she SHOULDN'T be doing is losing the weight to fit in.  She should lose the weight to be healthy and find other ways to fit in...as in opening up more and losing the negative attitude about herself.  That's where you, as her older sister, can come in.  Find ways to compliment her.  Tell your parents about her issues with her weight.  Hopefully they'll intervene and help her get on track to being a healthy girl.  :)

Answer 11

awww thats too bad just watch out make sure she doesnt bilmic or anerexec if she wants to eat healthy good for her buy a trampolien they will help u have fun and exersize