Learning Child Obesity

I heard it on the news that us adults, are fat. Eat right and exercise will help us stay healthy. Now I heard our children are getting fat! What are our children eating lately?

Parents may not realize that their children are showing signs of obesity. A person is considered obese when he or she is 20% above the ideal weight for their height, age and body type. Obesity is a contributing factor to one or many diseases and especially correlated to diabetes and hypertension. Weight that is lost slowly and over time is most likely not to be regained.

A study , Journal of the American Medical Association, has found emotional consequences affecting obese children and teens, affects their social life, quality of life and may develop eating disorders or become chronic dieters. Parents are the role models that lay the foundations towards developing healthy attitudes towards food.

Control of what a child eats during childhood may develop into unhealthy binging of the *forbidden* foods leading to weight gain and poor self esteem. Children that don’t like to try new foods is due to parents that don’t eat a wide variety of foods especially vegetables. Starting early and regular installments repeatedly will gain eventual acceptance. Forcing or pressuring children to eat can lead to them avoiding and disliking the foods altogether.

Addressing the problem and a few tips, of ensuring our kids learn healthy eating habits and prevent obesity are as follows ;

– Serve fruit and vegetables, repeatedly
– Kiddie portions
– Self serve, allow children to serve themselves
– Allow sweets, teach, that once in a while is okay

 Parents want good role models in their children’s lives but that should first start at home.  We must learn to set the example and encourage our children to *learn* that food is good.  Good nutrition starts at infancy and parents are the ones to introduce foods. Serving foods from the major food groups help us to help our children learn healthy eating habits.

Fortunately, there are also tools available for parents to access to find out on their own, if their children are obese, as follows;

– Find a BMI (Body Mass Index) calculator, online
– Tape measure
– Accurate Scale
– Measure your child’s height (no footwear)
– Weigh your child on the scale
– Write down both numbers
– Enter numbers into BMI calculator

A healthy BMI for children and teens rise and fall with age and gender.  Access to a growth chart will be required.  Most children’s BMI will fall between 16 -30 which will reflect their weight in relation to their height.  Asking your doctor to keep an eye on your child’s weight and growth patterns can help in assessing concerns to BMI readings that are extra high or low.  Remember to take into account any extracurricular activities such as dancing or sports.

Our own actions can leave positive and lasting effects on our children for healthier lifestyles. We can sit down together and eat a nutritious meal then take a 30 minute walk around the neighborhood or some other activity. Family is about being together and as parents, we do wish the best for our children.

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