I have a dcg that will be 4 years old in January. I am concerned about her diet and interest in physical activity. She is a skinny little thing, but I can see her having health problems if she continues down the path she is on.

My concern: she chooses 9 times out of 10 to just sit and watch the other kids run and be active instead of participating herself. I have two other kids her age that love to run, climb, jump and it is great watching them having such fun and getting good exercise. But this dcg would rather just sit and watch (preferably on my lap if I let her). I'm always asking/telling her to go run with the others, but she almost always says no. I will flat out tell her that she cannot sit with me/hold my hand and to go play. It is not that she is shy or anything.

I know at home that she still gets pushed in her stroller when she goes out with her mom, which I never do with her. She gets lots of walking done with me. Her mom also told me that she would just sit and watch tv all day if she let her.

I am always trying to encourage her with how much fun being active is, and how healthy food makes us strong and fast. I have the parents provide lunch everyday and her lunch is always a jam sandwich, yogurt, apple sauce, fruit punch. I am wondering if the food she is eating is affecting her energy level. I don't know for sure what food she regularly eats at home, though I know mom has trouble getting her to eat. I force her to drink water every day, it takes her half an hour to drink a 1/4 cup of water.

So I think it is part of her personality to be this way, but I just keep thinking more and more about the growing obesity problem in this generation of young people and I want this little girl to grow up without those problems.

Thoughts? Ideas?