I was inspired to cover this topic after observing for the umpteenth time that there’s never any fat children in the jungle room at the wall climbing gym.

It’s easy to observe the young kids – toddler, preschool and early elementary age – in this dedicated room, because it adjoins the weightlifting room and has a large see-through window.

On Saturdays after top-rope climbing I work my chest, shoulders and triceps in the adjacent lifting room, and I have a clear, head-on view of that jungle area.

It got me thinking that in addition to the different types of climbing, scaling and jumping that goes on in that room, there are many other things that obese children also cannot do, or if they can, a struggle comes with it due to the obesity.

10 Things Fat Children Can’t Do

#1     Romp around in a room with all sorts of fascinating things to climb up on, hang and jump while retaining enough stamina to truly enjoy the experience and not have to take breathing breaks.

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These kiddie gyms have implements such as climbing holds on walls, loops on the low ceiling to hang from or to do walking hangs, obstacles to climb over, angled rope nets for climbing and jumping, surfaces to bounce on, etc.

#2     Wall climbing. This consists of top-roping, leading and bouldering.

This sport is unique in that, at competitions, even those who fail to complete a route may get a big applause from spectators for their effort.

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It’s so unfortunate that fat kids are very limited in progressing at this endeavor because it helps fuel the ability to plan and plot, study various sequences of movements while viewing a climbing route and doesn’t require much coordination like traditional sports do. Amanda Martinez Beck

Plus, climbing is an individual sport; great for introverts or autistic kids.

#3     Gymnastics. Though “chubby” kids can learn gymnastics, a child’s overweight will become increasingly relevant as they get older, because competition gets stiffer as kids get older – so much so, that you will never find an obese, let alone morbidly obese, juvenile excelling on any gymnastics apparatus or the floor.

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#4    Horseback riding. The weight limit of the rider may go up to 250 pounds, depending on the weight of the horse and the equipment for riding.

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There are elementary age kids of normal height range who actually weigh in the 200s.

#5    Neighborhood games that involve running or aerobic-based movements.

Certainly, tag comes to mind. But double Dutch is also a consideration: Two long jump ropes being turned in opposite directions by one child at each end, while a third (or more) jumps the rope.

I once saw an overweight woman double Dutching on TV; she was very impressive.

But we don’t know her history. Maybe she had only recent weight gain and had been jumping at a normal weight all her life.

Double Dutch is a fun, social activity for which there’s even competitions.

#6     Ice skating. It need not be explained why fatness in a child will prevent doing well in figure skating, especially with jumps.

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But even just skating around in an oval at a rink or frozen lake can be daunting for a child with significant excess body weight. Competitive hockey is out of the question.

#7     Skiing and snowboarding. Beyond a recreational level, these activities will be very troublesome for fat children.

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#8     Long distance running. You may be wondering why a fat child would even want to do this.

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Well, it’s entirely possible for a child with obesity to imagine winning long distance races and wish they could do this. But it will only be a dream.

#9     Any sport that demands a lot of running and especially quick sudden changes of direction such as soccer, tennis and basketball.

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#10     Being efficient at miscellaneous activities.

This includes quickly bounding up a flight of stairs, quickly bolting down the street after a runaway puppy, deftly chasing down a frisbee, running bases in softball, baseball or kickball, participating in vigorous snowball fights, roller skating and more.

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Honorable mention: Fitting comfortably in school desks; being under the weight limit for amusement park rides; being carried by their mother in an emergency. Amanda Martinez Beck

Does everything have to be about sports, though?

First of all, not all of the experiences listed above involve athletics.

Secondly, all kids should have the opportunity to play sports — and excel in them. 

This doesn’t mean force your kid to stay in your favorite sport and pressure them to win.

It’s about opportunity — having a fair, optimal opportunity to be the best they can be in a sport they love.

Unfortunately, some “fat liberationists” or “fat activists” don’t believe in athletics for their overweight kids. Amanda Martinez Beck

But playing sports builds character, develops the resilience to resist peer pressure (particularly drug and tobacco use), teaches goal setting, enhances self-confidence, encourages teamwork and can improve social skills.

For those who wouldn’t do well or enjoy being on a team due to, for instance, autism, individual sports can give them a chance to thrive.

Furthermore, one must wonder what kind of athletic talent a 170 pound, 10-year-old girl could potentially develop if she were of a normal weight.

For all we know, she could excel in volleyball, lacrosse, sprinting or the long jump.

The aforementioned list is pretty broad. Fat activists believe that the solution is to eliminate “fatphobia.”

But what they call fatphobia will never go away.

Furthermore, special accommodations, such as getting bigger desks for obese kids, do not solve the problem. Amanda Martinez Beck

Though a fat child can indeed participate in the aforementioned activities — to some extent including very limited — it needs to be repeated that their weight will become increasingly relevant and progressively restraining with each birthday, since as kids get older, competition gets stiffer.

This is why, for example, a very overweight girl who did decently on her grade school cheer squad will not be able to meet the demands of a typical high school cheer squad if she’s still very overweight.

Sports Where Excess Weight Isn’t a Hindrance

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Kids who are overweight can excel at some sports due to the nature of the activity.

Examples include judo, jiu-jitsu, karate board breaking, archery, bowling, golf and football.

However, two points need to be considered.

First, even though these activities are friendly towards the overweight juvenile body, severe obesity would still make it difficult to train in these sports, let alone do well in competition.

And second, a child who does very well in judo, bowling or football can still suffer from the many issues, due to their weight, that this article has already covered.

Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified by the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness, where she was also a group fitness instructor, she trained clients of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness, and improved cardiovascular and overall health.

Amanda Martinez Beck, fat liberationist, deprives her obese kids from the sports experience.

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