Dr. Vincent Boggio’s recommendations on losing weight for French kids

Aug 23, 2009 by Anna Migeon

HEALTHY EATING IN FRANCE is pure temptation when you see such gorgeous fresh produce, offered here at a Sunday morning outdoor market in Paris. — photo by Anna Migeon

“What do I do? My child is fat,*” French parents are starting to ask.

French pediatrician Vincent Boggio of has published two books (Que Faire? Mon Enfant est Trop Gros*, 2004, and La Methode Papillote, 2008 ) to answer that question. His method for weight loss designed for children, with the support of their parents, is simple:

1. Walk 30 minutes a day,

2. Eat only during meals,

3. And don’t ever take seconds.

Boggio insists on the importance of waiting for the momentum of a child’s own motivation to give wings to the plan.

Younger kids will be motivated by not wanting to be made fun of (I hope we can do better than this to encourage them), Boggio explains. A middle schooler’s greatest concern is to be like the others (I’m not really in favor of exploiting that weakness, either). As they get a little older, motivation will come from wanting to be romantically attractive.

At any age, the desire to participate in sports can be an excellent motivator to lose kilos, though we should never insist on a child’s participation as a way to lose weight, he cautions.

I’m all for the first two parts of his plan. I don’t see any reason for the third if you are serving all excellent foods: vegetables, fruit, unprocessed meat. It’s hard to stuff yourself on those foods and they aren’t going to make anybody fat anyway.

Related post: “How to get fat eating vegetables”

https://www.thehappydinnertable.com/2009/06/18/how-to-get-fat-eating-vegetables/