[jomi822]

BBC NEWS | Health | Kacey's weight went off the scale

Kacey Gibbs is a bright and very lively four-year-old, and like most children of her age is constantly on the move.

On the day I met her she was racing around her grandparents' garden in the sunshine, chatting non-stop.

What makes her stand out is her height and size.

As a result of becoming obese when she was still a baby, Kacey has had a premature growth spurt and is now the height of an average 10-year-old and still weighs five stone (31.7kg).

Kacey's weight began escalating when she was barely six months old.

In the red book given to every parent to chart their child's development you can see the point when Kacey quite literally went off the scale.

Ballooning

Her mother Nadine was terrified to see her baby girl ballooning almost visibly.

"I was scared, worried - because the weight gain was so fast. It wasn't like a couple of ounce, it was like two, three pounds every week.

"And it was getting so fast her breathing was getting bad - she had bad asthma, running around she was getting so breathless."


If we hadn't had cut down on everything she eats - by the time she was eight, Kacey would have been about eight and a half or nine stone
Kacey's mum

By the time Kacey was 18 months old she weighed more than three stone.

Her parents could barely lift her, and Kacey wouldn't fit in the child seat of a supermarket trolley.

A whole team of doctors carried out a range of tests which failed to find any underlying medical cause for her condition.

Nadine became increasingly distressed and worried about her daughter, as no-one else in the family had shown the same tendency to rapid weight gain.


On holiday at the age of two Kacey looked visibly bloated and large.

The turning point came when Kacey was two.

Her parents decided they had to control what she was eating much more closely.

Nadine drew up a list of healthy foods and told Kacey she had to choose off her special list of "princess" foods.

A typical lunch might now be a bowl of soup with a slice of bread, and a piece of fruit.

Nadine says what prompted them to act was thinking about Kacey's future.

"If we hadn't had cut down on everything she eats - by the time she was eight, Kacey would have been about eight and a half or nine stone.

"It completely frightened me. When you're seeing your only daughter and she's running and getting breathless and you can hear the breathing. She couldn't climb things - it was choking, extremely upsetting to see her like that. "

Gradually over the last two years Kacey's weight has stayed almost stable and she has grown into it.

Her mum hopes that will continue and by the time Kacey is reaching her teenage years her height and weight will be much closer to the average child.

By taking control of Kacey's food her parents have transformed their daughter's future.

[sdmf45]

i had no idea you had to control childrens food intake. instead of 2 happy meals they now only get one.

[anabolicrhino]

This could change the diet industry as we know it !!!

[BMW]

and why is this news???

[gotripped]

lol...............................

[Nutz]

oh my god, not only is it news, its BBC news, now, no offence, but over in america where you do have a ( now slightly!) higher level of obesity, I might get it, but the BBC! one of the most respected, independent news organisations based here in britain.

oh dear! : hangs head in shame:

[prld2gr8ns]

That's amazing. Talk about technological advancement.

[thesinner]

Wow, another study showing that the first law of thermodynamics applies to diet and exercise. Do they do these studies thinking scientific doctrine won't apply?

[bioman]

I like it when an article;

A. states the completely obvious

B. does so in a manner that could insult the intelligence of a garden slug

C. makes you want to brutalize the journalist and editor who printed this

[wastedwhiteboy2]

on the other hand I hear so many people say they cant lose weight and look for every excuse they can find. it seems obvious to us but its news to some.

[Nullifidian]

Originally Posted by wastedwhiteboy2

on the other hand I hear so many people say they cant lose weight and look for every excuse they can find. it seems obvious to us but its news to some.

That is the single biggest thing that pisses me off about people. The whole "I don't eat much but I still gain weight."

HORSESHOT

Ugh. It's as if people think their bodies are these megical entities able to defy the laws of physics and store more energy than they take in. Amazing, absolutely amazing.

[thesinner]

Originally Posted by Nullifidian

That is the single biggest thing that pisses me off about people. The whole "I don't eat much but I still gain weight."

HORSESHOT

Ugh. It's as if people think their bodies are these megical entities able to defy the laws of physics and store more energy than they take in. Amazing, absolutely amazing.

The thing is that you don't have to have a large daily caloric intake to still be gaining weight. This whole "daily values" bullsh*t has a great tendency to over simplify how the human body functions.


The problem with a lot of people is that they do not eat a lot of food throughout day, but they eat it all in one sitting. I did a diet analysis of the typical diet of a few women at my church last year, who wanted some help with getting their diet straight. I just had them write down what they ate on (I'm pretty sure it was) 14 random days and calculated their calorie totals and macro breakdowns.

What I had found was that these women were eating <1000kcal per day, over 50% of those kcal's were eaten at dinnertime.

I had to explain to them that it's not about how much you eat in one day; it's how much you're gonna eat RIGHT NOW.

[wastedwhiteboy2]

Originally Posted by Nullifidian

That is the single biggest thing that pisses me off about people. The whole "I don't eat much but I still gain weight."

HORSESHOT

Ugh. It's as if people think their bodies are these megical entities able to defy the laws of physics and store more energy than they take in. Amazing, absolutely amazing.

I totally agree. And thats usually my reaction to them too.