greatly underestimate the huge psychological and emotional issues

Talking to your children about the complicated thing in life like sex and drugs is obviously difficult and requires tact and in some cases many parents find the whole thing too daunting and just avoid it completely.  Unfortunately this can sometimes lead to the children getting into trouble!

The same thing applies to parents who don't talk to their children about obesity and unhealthy eating. You might think that it would be easy for a parent to talk their children about losing weight but that would greatly underestimate the huge psychological and emotional issues that tend to accompany obesity. Many parents themselves have suffered from long term obesity problems and therefore they may feel that they don't have the authority to preach to their children about what to eat.

A large proportion of overweight children will say that their parents never told them what to eat and actively encouraged them to eat a lot. In fact, psychologists could even argue that overweight parents are in denial not only about their own weight but also the weight of their children.

If you have an overweight child and you are not doing anything about it you could be setting him or her up for a lifetime of health problems as well as the other emotional and psychological problems that obesity brings with it.

You need to have the conversation! You need to sit your child down and explain that reason they are overweight is because they are eating unhealthily and they are not getting enough exercise. It might sound draconian and harsh and you are likely to upset your child but sometimes it is kind to be tough and direct with them.

You might also need to do something about your own eating habits because it's no good preaching to your children if you continue to overeat yourself. Leading by example is always the best way to get your children to lose weight.

You might find that your child resents been told that they are not allowed to have fast food or second helpings but you will find that they will thank you when they are grown up.