Young children do look cuddly with 'baby fat', but there are good reasons for taking a closer look at your child's weight to prevent obesity. Childhood obesity is a pressing issue as it is associated with chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, fatty liver disease, some forms of cancer, and other conditions.
Studies in recent years showed an increase in the number of children suffering from obesity. Generally, a child can be considered obese if his weight is at least 10% higher than what is recommended for the child's height and body type. If left unmanaged, a child's excess weight may lead to serious illnesses, including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and breathing problems.
Source: PreventCancer.org
The measure of body fat determines obesity in childhood. However, it can often be challenging to tell overweight from obese children. The only way to do this is to calculate a child's body mass index (BMI) based on the difference between their body weight and height. You can check the result you get against the BMI chart below to see if your child is healthy, overweight or obese:
- 5th percentile to 84th percentile: Healthy weight
- 85th percentile to 94th percentile: Overweight
- 95th percentile or greater: Obese
An overweight child is not only likely to face a host of health issues, but he or she is also at risk of being bullied because of their physical appearance, which could lower their self-esteem. Imagine what obese children must endure.
Causes of obesity in children
The development of obesity begins when a child starts consuming more calories than their body can burn. This could be due to a number or combination of causes:
- Poor diet packed with high-calorie foods and less nutritious foods
- Overeating
- Lack of exercise
- Genetic factor or a family history of obesity
- Medical illness
- Stress from life-changing events (death in the family or divorce)
- Peer problems
- Parental neglect
- Certain medications
- Using food as a reward
Weight management
Luckily for children, their young bodies are able to burn calories more effectively than most adults so that putting a child under a weight management program at the soonest time should yield positive results. While a weight loss plan may differ from person to person, a successful one must include some basic changes such as the following:
Better food choices
If you don't buy it, your child won't eat it. Your child is likely to eat anything that you have in your cupboard. Teach your child to develop healthy eating habits by refraining from buying junk food like chips, cakes, biscuits and sugary drinks. Replace these foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt with fresh fruits, vegetable crackers and grains to protect them from the risk of childhood obesity. Prepare healthy meals at home instead of reaching for fast food items like greasy pizzas, burgers, doughnuts - or anything deep fried. These foods are fine in moderation, but too often these days they are becoming the staple diet of kids.
If getting your child to eat vegetables is a problem, explore creative ways to incorporate veggies into ordinary dishes like spaghetti, lasagna, frittata, omelet or burritos.
Portion control
People, children included, tend to stop eating only when there is nothing left to eat. The problem is that most food sold in stores and restaurants are super-sized. Chips often come in giant bags, while restaurants treat their diners to huge portions that are meant for sharing.
The more food your child eats during a meal, the more calories he accumulates in his body. To lose weight, your child must reduce his daily calorie intake while increasing his calorie-burning activities.
While total deprivation of your child's favourite foods is not recommended, it is best to teach your child to eat his meals in smaller portions. Try serving your child's meal in a smaller plate, which will make the food on his plate appear ample without depriving him of nourishment.
When eating out, try asking the staff to serve only half of your child's favourite meal and have the other half wrapped as take-out. That way, your child will not be tempted to consume everything that he sees on his plate.
Children also tend to have snacks in between meals. Set reasonable intervals between the last meal and snack time and observe portion control so that your child does not sabotage his eating plan by bingeing in between meals.
Increase physical activity
Aside from changing your child's eating habits, you should encourage your child to engage in regular exercise in order to burn more calories. Better yet, plan some outdoor family activities to motivate your child to get out of the couch or bed. Set a limit for playing with console or computer games. Playing video games and excessive computer use have been closely linked to excessive weight gain and obesity in kids.
On the other hand, playing ballgames, biking, swimming, and other recreational sports will not only keep your child healthy and fit, but will also help develop his self-esteem.
There are many ways you can help your child reach their ideal weight. It just takes a little creativity, or you can seek the help of a child nutritionist to develop a balanced diet for your child. It's important that your child understands the dangers of obesity and the importance of maintaining a healthy weight.
Reward them for every accomplishment, regardless of size. However, you should never use food as a reward system; otherwise your child will associate it with good or bad behavior, rather than a fundamental, life-sustaining need.
Originally published on Jun 15, 2009
