Is it just me or is this heartbreaking to read?

[i-need-a-martini]

It is an excerpt from a book and it is too long to post so have only put the link in. It is a mothers book about the struggle to out her 7 year old daughter on a diet. Dotted throughout the article are comments from the mother about her own dieting and self esteem issues and she thinks that putting her daughter on a strict diet will ensure she doesn't have the same issues she does. What a wack-job!

I'll copy in some sections but it worth reading the whole lot:

(should point out that the daughter was never obese)

This is what happened when daughter complained about being hungry at a family function. She had just eaten a smaller (than the other kids) portion of pasta: 

"If she's hungry, she can have some salad," my friend offered again.

"Okay," said Bea.

I stared at the Niçoise salad, full of tuna, eggs, potatoes - and olive oil.

"I'm sorry. Bea," I interjected. "It's got a lot of dressing on it, and ..."

"Just olive oil!" my friend interrupted. "It's super healthy!"

I forced a grim smile. "I know, but ..."

"Just a little!" my friend insisted, and pushed the bowl into Bea's hands.

I didn't know what to do. My friend was being a hospitable dinner hostess, responding caringly to a child complaining of being hungry. I was trying to be a good mother, an advocate for my child's health. But I also wanted to be a polite dinner guest. Bea happily devoured the salad as I sat silently.

I was mad at myself for not being more protective. I felt bad that I'd let her eat food we hadn't planned on, just to avoid some social discomfort. It wasn't the one bowl of salad that worried me. It was the very real fear that not sticking to our strategy 100 per cent, all the time, left the door open for more such moments to creep in. I'd been on enough diets myself and had tried enough half-hearted measures with Bea to realise what was required.

And this is the transcript when she came out of the weigh-in with a doctor:

Bea stepped on the scale, and i had a moment of reflection. I recalled the previous year's weigh-in at 42 kilograms. I remembered the worry over whether I could help her, of my determination to help her, of the effort of helping her, of the frustrations and triumphs and surprises and disappointments. All, it seemed, leading up to this moment.   

The digital scale displayed her weight as ... 35 kilograms.

There it was. The magic number we'd been working towards, finally appearing on the scale.

When our appointment ended, Bea got dressed and we stepped outside of the office. I looked at her, beaming expectantly as we walked down the street. But she said nothing.

"How do you feel about all the weight you lost?" I asked her when we got home.

"Good," she said, blandly.

"Do you like the way you look now?" I asked.

"Yes," she said, definitively.

"Do you feel different?"

"No. That's still me," she said. "I'm not a different person just because I lost seven kilograms."

http://www.dailylife.com.au/lifestyle/if-shes-hungry-she-can-have-some-salad-20130126-2dd0b.html

[cherry*135]

right:^O

I am 5' 71/2".

[i-need-a-martini]

Low Self Esteem in teenage years when you don't feel comfortable to go to the beach with your friends can be damaging too, it's a disease.

As a parent, you should be empowering your kids to increase their self esteem emotionally rather than through physical means. Reinforcing why they are being bullied by focusing on weight is dealing with emotions in a really shallow way.

[donnashuggy]

It is unhealthy I think, I imagine it must have been quite difficult and it would be difficult to restrict food to a child of that age.  If nothing was done she may have developed serious health issues.

am, she is normal healthy weight, probably genetics, her sister was only 47 kilos at age 18 and definitely not skinny.

[cherry*135]

The mother is a Manhattan socialite.

To help Bea lose 16 lbs. from her 93-lb., 4'4" frame, Weiss primarily focused on "reducing processed food, increasing fruits and vegetables, and getting a little more exercise," she says. 

The Heavy, by Dara-Lynn Weiss (book written by mother)

They also changed how they share their quality time together. "We bake less at home now. I think it was really fun to bake cupcakes together, and we have come to realize that's not a great idea.

I don't see this is such a revelation that she could write a book about it. The child got overweight by the food the mother provided for her/allowed her to eat.

Maybe it is news for Americans that less processed food and more fruit and veges is good for you, but most people already know that.

[donnashuggy]

Low Self Esteem in teenage years when you don't feel comfortable to go to the beach with your friends can be damaging too, it's a disease.

As a parent, you should be empowering your kids to increase their self esteem emotionally rather than through physical means. Reinforcing why they are being bullied by focusing on weight is dealing with emotions in a really shallow way.

I think you can blame the magazines to a certain degree - just how you empower an obese child I wouldn't know how? Kids have always bullied the fat kids.

Does anyone remember "piggy" in that movie? If you look back at it now he doesn't barely look overweight compared to kids of today.

[i-need-a-martini]

I'm sure the article I read over the weekend had her at 45 kilos?

Yep. That's what I read too. The weight scale range for an average 7 year old is 25 to 37kg. She was over a bit but not obese.

My 11 year old daughter is currently at 22kg which is grossly underweight according to the charts. She is meant to be 30 to 45kg. If I were to take the averages too seriously, then I'd be stuffing her with fatty foods every chance I got lol!

[cherry*135]

BMI - female

167cm (5'6'')

45kg

Your BMI 16

Your suggested 
healthy weight range 52-69 Kg 

Your category Underweight

[donnashuggy]

I'm sure the article I read over the weekend had her at 45 kilos?

Yep. That's what I read too. The weight scale range for an average 7 year old is 25 to 37kg. She was over a bit but not obese.

My 11 year old daughter is currently at 22kg which is grossly underweight according to the charts. She is meant to be 30 to 45kg. If I were to take the averages too seriously, then I'd be stuffing her with fatty foods every chance I got lol!

I don't think you need to look at graphs and scales too closely, you just need to be honest with yourself with what you see, fat is fat. Anyway I am off to the airport to pick her up, wish the darn rain would stop

[i-once-was-bump]

piggy as in Lord Of The Flies?

There was a lot more than weight going on there!

[cherry*135]

I don't think it is wise to write a book about a 7 yo's weight issues/diet. Is that child going to feel the pressure,  with the world looking at her, from now on, if she puts on a little too much weight in the future.