>>"People like to complicate things"<<

It is complicated now. "People" complicated it when they introduced endocrine, hormonal, enzyme, etc. disruptor's into the environment, food, water, and other consumables.

You can also search fat, protein, and carbohydrate metabolic disorders... if you are so inclined.

Understand that we are all different... no one size fits all, and people are affected differently by different things...

One chemical may cause one individual to waste away while another individual's physical response is unexplained weight gain.

>>"You say calories/activity is only an indirect contributing factor"<<

I never used the word "indirect".

I stated, "calories in\calories out can be a "contributing" factor.

Which would confirm and agree with your idea of move more and reduce caloric intake...

I have a question for you...

If I fed two identical people 2000 calories a day and they burned 2000 calories a day through exercise and a healthy lifestyle otherwise, however, one person ate nothing but 2000 calories of simple sugars, refined fats, and garbage protein, and the other ate high quality unrefined, whole foods, fats, and proteins would they:

1. have the same body chemistry?

2. Have the same fat\muscle ratios?

3. have the same blood\urine test profiles?

3. Enjoy the same level of health?

4. burn calories at the same rate?

of course not...

Their entire metabolic foundation will be different from one another due to the bacterial flora and fungal\yeast differences in their guts among other things.

Metabolically, chemicals from the junk diet would likely wreck some sort of metabolic havoc.

Calories in\calories out is no where near the whole picture... and judging by your post, you are well aware of that. It does a disservice to someone seeking help and answers to not lay out the whole picture of possibilities... Like the PFOA's used in non-stick pans (Teflon) causing metabolic disruption. Or plastic, or any number of houshold chemicals.

If the young child's parents are using these things in the home, along with any number of common household chemicals, including pesticides, chemical fertilizers, etc. they could be a very real part of the problem for this youngster.

The child could be a chemical sensitive...

One thing mentioned was "Eczema/Rashes and mosquito magnet (gets large welts)"

This indicates a fungal\yeast overgrowth that could easily be a big part of the problem, especially if the child eats a fairly average to high amount of dietary carbohydrates.

Moving towards a higher alkaline mineral, protein based diet with plenty of good quality green vegetables, and away from grain based carbohydrates would be prudent.

Grains, if eaten should be whole grain.

In any case, organic would be absolutely essential.

Even if the child eats the same number of calories, changing nothing else, this dietary change alone could make a substantial difference.

It has been documented as doing so for many others.

What were you saying about calories in\calories out?

About people being responsible, or accepting accountability... when people are nearly brain dead from excitotoxins, neurotoxins, dumbing down chemicals like fluoride, which is also a thyroid killer, and the misinformation blasted across the MSM, in our environments, what in the world would expect?

That you or I can think clearly about these things has more to do with our ability to stay away from this garbage, these pollutants, and also recognize, and stay away from the so called "healthy foods" that are incessantly advertised that are little more than poisons, and then make wise choices for ourselves.

You have made some good points, and perhaps between the two of us, Luxor27 can take a real hard look at the situation and come to some baseline conclusions that will lead to firm answers, or at minimum, help direct a plan of resolution for the parents.

grz-

It is this narrow minded thinking that gets people in to trouble. I can kind if see your point if you want to really stretch it. Yes, the body is going to generate the fat in large part from "calories" After all the whole body is really made from water and the food we eat if we think about it. But saying that more activity is going to make an overweight child thin in all cases is ludicrous. There are many metabolic disorders that contribute to weight gain. So these, as well as food intake could be considered co-factors rather than individual causes. What if the child had a hypothalamic tumor that is causing the weight gain and you tell the parent that they are bad because they are not making sure the child is getting enough exercise? What if the child is gaining weight because they are on steroidal inhalers for their uncontroilled asthma? And you want that child to go out and run in the pollen? Get real guy!!! Medicine does not fit in to a little compartmentalized box where everything is clearly black and white!!!