Question:
Anyone else worry that your child will have to have this surgery?
My child is a teen and I am so worried that I have passed my obesity gene on. We all eat healthy and walk 4 to 5 times a week. But I still worry. Anyone else fear that their child will be a canidate someday for WLS? I am so thankful for it and it has saved my life, but I would hate for my child to have to go thru it.My husband is 30 lbs overweight, as is my child, but I am the w=oe that needed to loose 200 plus lbs. Any thoughts? — [Anonymous] (posted on July 11, 2001)
July 11, 2001
Yes I am worry about my daughter being obese. I seem to have passed on the
gene to her. she is 13yrs old. and weighs 162lbs which is a lot. She
carries it very well but I know and she knows that is heavy for her age.
She is not fat but thick. Which is the way i started out also. She is very
athletic so I try to keep her busy. Lord knows that I don't want my child
to be obese like I was. I want her to grow up healthy and happy.
— [Anonymous]
July 11, 2001
I do worry about that. My daughters are a bit overweight
despite the fact that they are very athletic and as a family
we eat healthy foods. I know there is a genetic component to
obesity and I am quite afraid that they might, as they mature,
suffer with obesity. But, there's nothing I can do about it
except teach them good nutrition and make sure they get lots of
physical activity. I'm just glad that wls exists and that it is
getting safer and more effective all the time. My girls know all
about it...several in my family have had rny's.....and I have
faith that they'll never let themselves get as heavy as I did.
— [Anonymous]
July 11, 2001
I worry about that all the time. I can only hope that if I can ever get
this surgery that it will enable me to eat better portions and more
healthily and hopefully that will trickle down to my daughter.. she has a
good 45-50 lbs to lose.
— Dawn R.
July 11, 2001
I also worry about this. I have passed my obesity genes as well as bad
eating habits to two of my boys (the other is very skinny)They are already
asking if they will have to have this surgery when they get older. I feel
so bad for that and hope that with my having this surgery done, I can teach
them to eat right and become more active along with me.
— Dawn H.
July 11, 2001
It's my greatest fear, but I keep it inside as to talk about it outloud
would make life hard for my daughters....I don't want them worried about
food at this point in their life. As a recovering bulimic I know how easy
it is to try and control food. I pray they never have to struggle as I
did, but I see my oldest already a bit larger than the other's her age. I
have made a point NEVER to force them to eat, to let THEM decide how much
they want, and when they have had enough. They are good at stopping when
they are full and the rules in our house is a small bedtime snack, not a
meal...that's all I can do as a responsible parent. I make the good foods
available, and they eat what they want.
— Jo C.
July 11, 2001
This is a worry for me as well. I try to be casual about food, but wonder
if that will backfire. I don't keep a scale in the house and won't even
after this surgery. I don't want it to become a focus point or obsession
for me or my daughters. My girls are 5, 7, and 9 and all are normal in
size, even tending to be a bit smaller than average. I never was thin as a
child so I'm hoping they are all taking after my naturally slim husband and
his family. I do make a point to let my girls know that I am trying to
control my eating and weight because I want to be healthier and to live a
long time. If they do end up with a weight problem or even if they go thru
that very normal chunky period during adolescence, I never want them to
think they are ugly because of it. They are all active in sports and like
to play hard, so I'm hoping that and healthy food choices will protect them
from the difficulties that I experienced as an overweight child and obese
adult. I think the best thing we can do is to always let our children know
we love them for who they are not what they look like.
— Donna L.
July 11, 2001
Hi, I have an 8 year old daughter who is overweight. She is thick, but
larger than she should be. I do worry about her getting very large,
because of her health, and remembering all the torment I went though as a
child being heavy. But the one thing I do not push on her is diets. My
mother started me on diets when I was 10 and it has been a nightmare since
day one. Look where diets got me today, WLS. I make her go outside and be
active, I limit the junk that I bring home for my kids to eat, and stress
healthy eating. I know she goes over to the neighbors and eats chips, and I
although I don't like it, I never forbid her to do it. Then she'd be over
there everyday. I am hoping though, after she sees me go through surgery
(7-30-01) and see's what I will go through, that she will become more aware
of her eating habits, and want to make sure she never gets to where I am.
— Carey N.
July 11, 2001
Yes, oh yes. My ex was morbid, too. They have 100% morbid obesity genes.
Neither is more than 70# over YET, at 28 & 31. But neither was I, at
that age. Obesity hits our family about age 6 or so, both my boys, me, my
mom, her mom.... I was never much of a sugar eater, so desserts were rare
& taught to be thought rare, I worked toward balanced meals, heavily
veggie & fruit, with meat & starch on the side, limited snacks,
nothing after dinner, rarely cokes........ They've got the genes, I taught
them better than I was taught---- it just doesn't matter. My only hope is
MAYBE if they do not diet, MAYBE, they will stop where they are?
— vitalady
July 11, 2001
I have two sisters and we are all morbidly obese. My father's family runs
about 200 lbs. overweight, and my mother's family runs about 50-75 lbs.
overweight. My husband's family runs about 100-200 lbs overweight. My kids
have no chance. I truly believe that MOST morbid obesity is genetic. Have
you ever seen ANYONE eat enough to add 100 lbs? We just don't metabolize
calories in the same way. My kids live on vegetables, fruit and regular
portions(as my whole family does.) They also swim 1 hr a day and play
softball. They are VERY active. My 14 year old is 5'2" and weighs 170,
and my 12 year old is 5'1" and weighs 227. I am having this surgery
not only for myself, but for them. I fully expect when they reach 18 they
will have this surgery and with me already going through it, I will be able
to help them to the best of my ability. I am truly thankful that at least
they won't have to spend any of their adult years as obese people because
of this surgery. I always liken it to, if you didn't have a limb, wouldn't
you jump at the chance to have surgery to grow a limb? Of course you would,
then why wouldn't you have surgery to correct a genetic weight problem?
Anyway, that's my two cents. It doesn't have to be a worry, there's a
solution, and it's WLS! :)
— sandieguy
September 20, 2001
I worry about this on a daily basis!! My daughter was tiny as a baby at 5
lbs. 1 1/2oz. I was the same way. I was a very small in early childhood, as
is she. I started gaining my weight at the age of 6, as did she. She is now
7 and weighs 77 lbs. I don't know what to do. I remember going through all
of that..my mother constantly TRYING to put me on diets...other children
making comments...I wanted to eat constantly because I was REALLY hunger
constantly. I never knew what it was like to have a full stomach until my
surgery. I know my daughter feels that same. I know that it is a genetic
thing and there's not anything that a doctor can do for her. I'm at my wits
end. I'm glad that WLS is here if she should need it, but I truly hope that
she doesn't have to endure the same things that I did. I had a lot of
trouble dealing with the opposite sex when I was a teenager. I truly
believe that it was because of the weight. I was a HUGE teenager, but I did
carry many extra pounds. I had a hard time seeing what was really going on
because I loved the attention from boys. I guess I didn't think that I was
pretty enough to deserve attention at all. I'm now going through a divorce.
(He couldn't handle my new look.) I'm beginning to see that I still haven't
learned quite how to handle attention, but I'm not as foolish as I was back
then either. I just don't want my daughter to have to learn the way I did.
It's so strange how much our weight/looks contribute to other things in our
lives.
— [Anonymous]
October 8, 2001
We need to begin thinking about this before our children develop the
behaviors that lead to obesity. Especially if we are carrying that gene
and happen to pass it along. When my daughter was born I knew I had to do
something different from the start. So, I continued to feed her when she
was hungry just like when she was a tiny infant. Why do we stop that? All
of a sudden, we feed our kids three meals. What's up with that? Maybe
with the exception of breakfast, the "meals" our society concerns
itself with are based on convenience and nothing else. We eat lunch at
noon or thereabouts. Why? We eat dinner somewhere around 5-7 pm. Why?
Why don't we just eat when we are hungry, just like the crying infants we
all used to be? Anyhow, I've continued to tell my 4'9" 11 year old
daughter - who is 65 lbs. - to eat ONLY when she is hungry. Sure, she eats
junk that she isn't hungry for, but I have no fear that she'll be obese.
She has control, because she's in tune with her body. Something I never
had.
— 207Loree
October 8, 2001
My mother allowed me to eat whenever I wanted and just kept sugar and fat
out of the house. I never dieted as a child either, not till I was in my
twenties, didn't help me. Sometimes you can't avoid obesity.
— kcanges
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