Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

It’s time to stop focusing on family weight

Wendy Schofer, MD
Physician
February 3, 2023
Share
Tweet
Share

My eyes fell upon a horrible newspaper headline from 2008: “Fat kids die earlier.” That is the first article that I remember talking about obesity in childhood, but there were plenty more in the early 2000s. At the time, I clipped it because it reinforced my approach at the time: identify issues, educate, act, and avoid.

Over the past two decades, there has been an increase in the prevalence of children being diagnosed as overweight and obese.

The jury is out on the specific reasons why. Could it be the processed food, the portion sizes, the composition (macros), the ready-access, the emotional eating, distracted eating, the preservatives, or hormonal disruptions? Could it be us: our genes, our eating habits, our sedentary lifestyle?

The search for an answer, a culprit to blame, and something to fix is buried inside the question of why waistlines are increasing.

Consider this: What if the answer is to stop focusing on the waistline and the scale?

The vast majority of the approaches to childhood weight are to focus on it to control it. We label the weight, first with numbers, then BMI, and then with diagnoses of overweight or obesity. We think that to name it is to tame it. But as we have learned on the playground, when a label is given to you by others, it produces shame by indicating that something is wrong with the person.

Parents approach overweight and obesity in their kids in a very understandable way: fear, worry for their children’s health, the long-term impact of weight, as well as social pressures and bullying. We parents also fear what it means about the job we’ve been entrusted to do: raise our kids to be healthy.

We think that if we change our weight, our kids will have better health, better social interactions, and no bullying. If we help them change, we can tell ourselves that we’ve done all we can and are good parents.

That is the wrong focus.

Fear is a potent motivator to get us moving into action, but fear puts blinders on us – all we see is what we have to fear.

When we focus on the weight, the food, and the exercise – we create fear and a diet mentality for our kids under the guise of trying to avoid the consequences of heavier body weight. We cannot fear ourselves for health or use fear to reach a sustainable, healthy weight.

Fear is exhausting. Willpower is used to avoid foods and to stick with an exercise plan. And eventually, the willpower runs out.

When willpower runs out, when we become exhausted – we seek comfort. And do you know an amazing source of comfort that a lot of us find? Food.

Food is not the enemy. Food is not bad. And neither is our weight. It’s just a small part of the story.

ADVERTISEMENT

Fearing obesity and focusing so much on what we try to avoid is not the answer.

It’s time to focus on what we do want. The parents that I work with describe wanting to have freedom from food rules, freedom from focusing on weight, and the scale to determine what kind of a day/week/month they’re having. It’s time to focus on improving our relationship with food, our bodies, and our kids.

I took over as the obesity champion for the medical society. First order of business: removing the word obesity. We do not work to champion something with all the connotations of fear and avoidance. I embrace championing what we want. I was briefly the artist formerly known as the obesity champion. And then, I became a healthy lifestyle champion.

It’s not a perfect name, but it is moving toward something. And I am a strong proponent of moving towards what we want, not just looking at what we don’t want, running away, yet constantly keeping an eye on it.

When will we learn that if we really want to impact our society’s weight health, we need to move toward a goal we want? What do we want to create for our health?

Wendy Schofer is a pediatrician.

Prev

Navigating the challenges of coaching in the medical field

February 3, 2023 Kevin 0
…
Next

The hidden costs of teaching surgery: an academic surgeon's perspective

February 3, 2023 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Pediatrics

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Navigating the challenges of coaching in the medical field
Next Post >
The hidden costs of teaching surgery: an academic surgeon's perspective

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Wendy Schofer, MD

  • Unlearning perfectionism: Embracing imperfection and finding my true self through improv

    Wendy Schofer, MD
  • The power of self-appreciation: Why physicians need to start acknowledging their own contributions

    Wendy Schofer, MD
  • Why physicians should go on a retreat

    Wendy Schofer, MD

Related Posts

  • Finding happiness in the time of COVID

    Anonymous
  • A medical student’s reflection on time, the scarcest resource

    Natasha Abadilla
  • It is time to make the unvaccinated pay their fair share

    Hayward Zwerling, MD
  • 5 ways to maintain family bonds in medical school

    Micaela Stevenson
  • It’s time for physicians to be less “productive”

    Anonymous
  • Easing a burden, one step at a time

    Ellen Rand

More in Physician

  • Why working in Hawai’i health care isn’t all paradise

    Clayton Foster, MD
  • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

    Patrick Hudson, MD
  • Why compassion—not credentials—defines great doctors

    Dr. Saad S. Alshohaib
  • Why Canada is losing its skilled immigrant doctors

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

    Maureen Gibbons, MD
  • Why screening for diseases you might have can backfire

    Andy Lazris, MD and Alan Roth, DO
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • How community paramedicine impacts Indigenous elders

      Noah Weinberg | Conditions
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How medical culture hides burnout in plain sight

      Marco Benítez | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Who will train the next generation of primary care clinicians without physician mentorship? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • The CDC’s restructuring: Where is the voice of health care in the room?

      Tarek Khrisat, MD | Policy
    • Choosing between care and country: a dual citizen’s Independence Day reflection

      Kathleen Muldoon, PhD | Policy
    • What Elon Musk and Diddy reveal about the price of power

      Osmund Agbo, MD | Conditions
    • 3 tips for using AI medical scribes to save time charting

      Erica Dorn, FNP | Tech

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • How community paramedicine impacts Indigenous elders

      Noah Weinberg | Conditions
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How medical culture hides burnout in plain sight

      Marco Benítez | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Who will train the next generation of primary care clinicians without physician mentorship? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • The CDC’s restructuring: Where is the voice of health care in the room?

      Tarek Khrisat, MD | Policy
    • Choosing between care and country: a dual citizen’s Independence Day reflection

      Kathleen Muldoon, PhD | Policy
    • What Elon Musk and Diddy reveal about the price of power

      Osmund Agbo, MD | Conditions
    • 3 tips for using AI medical scribes to save time charting

      Erica Dorn, FNP | Tech

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...