teenage dieting

[butterfly]

Hi, this is about a good friend of mine. Her parents are making her go on the Atkins diet because they think she's "getting fat", despite the fact that she looks totally normal to me and to everyone else. She's also very active (she's on my swim team) and as far as I can tell, quite healthy. I was just wondering if such a drastic change in diet could be dangerous for someone as young as her (she's only 16) and especially considering she doesn't appear to really need it. If so, is it something I should approach her parents about??? I'm very reluctant to do that though because I don't want to interfere.

[Multimom]

I doubt at 16 her parents are going to be able to "make" her do much. Unless she is in the overweight catagory (meaning at least 30% above her ideal weight) she should not diet.

Teenagers (girls especially) are quite prone to eating disorders and it is really common among athletes. And since this is really a control issue and not a food issue this could be really dangerous.

I would see if your friend can get her mom to take her to the Dr. for a check up and then she can ask if the Dr. feels she needs to be on a diet.

At 16 her parents may "try" to put her on a diet, but I doubt they can govern her eating 24/7. Atkins isn't as extreme as some but at 16 the decision should be her's not her moms.

There was a recent lifetime movie entitled "Dying to be Thin" and it was about this very topic and both girls in the family developed anorexia due to the controlling mother's obsession with being thin.

An obese child needs help, a teenager should be able to ask for it.

[UberHouseWife]

I'd be worried that if she isnt overweight now, starting a parent governed plan could very well get her there. If my mother told me not to overeat, I was sneaking food every time she wasnt looking!

[Michele]

I dont think it would technically be bad for her physically to start going on a diet at 16, but I cant imagine what it would do to her emotionally. I have been chubby all my life and at the age of 20 I decided for myself that I wanted to lose weight and get healthy. If my parents had confronted me like that about my weight when I was 16 I would have been hurt. But, by no means should her parents allow her to become completely unhealthy; they should still be her parents and subtley guide her to do the right thing (subtley being the key word ;) ).

[butterfly]

The thing is that she's not at ALL overweight and as far as I can tell very healthy. I could see them restricting junkfood, which isn't healthy for anyone, but cutting out carbs altogether seems a little extreme for someone who doesn't really need to lose weight. And trust me, I've seen her in a bathing suit, she's fine. She spent the whole practice tonight talking about how "fat" she was, something she'd never done before. :( Blah, I know I'll just cause more trouble if I get involved, it just really bugs me that any parent could call their kid "fat", especially one who obviously isn't.

[Multimom]

If her parents force the issue, she may very well become a kid with an eating disorder.

I would find out exactly how much she weighs and run it by a couple of websites. Use WebMD because people tend to trust that site since it's operated by the medical community.

She may very well be on the low side of normal for her height and someone should tell her before she begins obsessing and eventually "vomiting" to stay thin.

[UberHouseWife]

There's also other eating disorders to consider. She might go extreme & gain weight... I know that the fatter I thought I was, the fatter I seemed to get...

What you think about yourself sometimes comes true if you believe its true... :sorry:

[butterfly]

Thanks for all the responses. :) I was talking to her and apparently her parents have a habit of going on these weird "health kicks" for a few weeks and then discarding it. The last one was some herbal supplement for "brain power", but that gave her stomach cramps so they took her off it. She seems to have got through all right so far so I imagine she'll get through this one too, though I'll keep an eye on her all the same. Thanks again!

[SecretHeart]

I struggle with my weight.
I went on a diet because I was told that I was getting fat.I exercised morning and night and I didn't eat much.I lost allot of weight very fast and my hair started to fall out and I would be sick even if I ate a small amount of food because my stomach just couldn't handle it.I found the more weight I lost the better I felt about myself.I never went to any doctors or talked about it with anyone.There is just so much pressure on girls to be thin and to fit a certain image.

Diets can be dangerous especially if you take it to the extreme as I did.

[arielgirl]

I just posted about this in the Womens Forum on the Body Image thread. I am very concerned about my teenage cousins. They are both in track and run a lot and suddenly they are on this thing to lose weight. Even though they are naturally tall and skinny. My mom saw them at a picnic recently and my aunt (their mom) had brought these tiny pieces of chicken for them and these vegetables and bottled water. Thats all they ate all day. It is really weird because they have never been like this before. They eat cereal for breakfast, when they come home from school, they have dinner (although with my aunt i doubt its much), and then cereal later in the evening. One is 16 and the other is 14. There is also a 12 year old sister who is being pushed into it also. THey have lost so much weight that they are even more thin than they were. ANd they are very pale. I am very worried about them. I am certain they are on the road to an eating disorder, if they dont already have one. I dont think it's right for my aunt to encourage this. She also doesnt let my uncle eat anything. Couldnt that be some form or child abuse?

~Amy

[butterfly]

Yah I think it is but legally....I'm not sure. :sigh: Is your aunt on a diet? Maybe if she is she's kind of put the whole family on a diet. Of course, that doesn't explain why she'd bring special food for them to a barebeque. I don't know, sounds like a really strange situation to me.