How can I help him before its too late?!??!?!??

Question

I have a problem with my dad.

He is about 44 years old and he already has a tiny bit of plaque build up on his heart. He runs everyday 4-6 miles. He works more than 20 hours 4 days a week for the State of MN and he is also a volunteer firefighter.

My Dad has a lot of stuff going on in his life. He is also the coach of my 16u fastpitch softball team. There is a lot of drama with that too.

He gets stressed out sometimes with all the stuff going on in his life.

My problem is besides stress, my dad is not eating healthy. He eats some of the unhealthies foods more than once a day. He eats ice cream a lot. And my mothe and I are not like this at all. We are quite opposite of some of the foods he eats.

He is not over weight or fat, he is about 6 feet 1 inch and i believe he weighs 215-225. And he is in shape, since hes a firefighter.

But he has started getting a tummy and he also has a little plaque build up on his heart.

My mom and I tell my Dad, that he has to start eating healthier.

When she or I buy groceries, we buy healthy food. But my dad goes out and always gets liek a bag of chips.

He tells us that he runs and burns a lot of calories from it.

That may be true but it doesnt burn all of the calories he eats.

He rarely goes to the doctor.

And I am worried about him.

He is in pretty good health, but I am worried about later on in his life.

Heart disease AND diabetes runs on his side of the family, but some people in his family wer overweight which is why they had diabetes, but still that gene may carry on into him. Who knows.

My mom and I just want to precaution his future just in case.

I am worried if he doesnt change his eating habits and not going to the doctor habits now, he may end up very unhealthy in the future.

How do my mom and i tell him that he really has to see a doctor year round to make sure nothing is wrong..?

How do we help him rid of his bad habits?

I love my dad to death, but he is stubborn and sometimes just blows off what we say to him about how important it is to be in good health.

I know that he may look healthy now, but who knows what the inside of him looks like.

Can someone please help me. I dont want my father to live an doctor free visit, eat what ever i want because i can,...life.

Please help.

Answer 1

he is fine. Ignore his eating.

Answer 2

Your father is adult, and he's free to do whatever he wishes.

It's not bad to be concerned about him, but it's not your place to dictate what he eats.

You can voice your concern, but leave him alone after that.   Don't try to run his life; he's the parent, you're the child.

Answer 3

well i would ask dad to sit down becuase you need to talk to him and then explain you love him and are bothered by what is going on with eating habits and explain how bad you feel and how you are wanting the best for him ,alot of parents will take this as a sign  like wow i am making my kid feel so bad and try to improve it. you just must explain how bad you feel  

Answer 4

I don't know, but it sound to me like you're over-reacting quite a bit. If he's running four to six miles a day and he's a little overweight, the only thing I would be worried about are his knees. All that running makes for a strong heart, so he should be okay.

A doctor's visit wouldn't hurt. Why don't you just tell him how you feel?