Children’s growth rate varies at different times during their development which makes it difficult to tell if they are overweight. Parents often end up overfeeding their children out of affection and fail to notice that their toddler who was once chubby and adorable hasn’t lost his baby fat and is growing up obese. The extra fat puts them at the risk of serious health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and asthma. Obese children also have trouble keeping up with their peers in sports and activities which can take an emotional toll on them. They are also at a greater chance of being bullied leading to a negative body image, poor self-esteem and depression.
To be able to tell if a person is obese, overweight, or healthy, doctors use a scale called the body mass index or BMI. The BMI of a person is the measure of body weight relative to their height. It uses a formula to determine whether a person is underweight, normal, overweight or obese. For children, the scale uses an age and sex-specific measure called “BMI-for-age”. Doctors use BMI-for-age growth charts made by the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention to track the growth of a child as per their age. The charts use a percentile system to show how your child’s BMI compares with the other children in their age group.
The BMI of children and teens are classified as:
What the numbers mean is that if a child is in the 85th percentile, he is heavier than 85 percent of the children of his age and is overweight. If he is in the 95th percentile, he is obese.
Family history, lifestyle and psychological factors play a role in childhood obesity. Children in families where parents or other members are obese tend to follow the trend. While there is little we can do about that, here are few other causes worth considering, which we can control.
Being obese puts children at the risk or many serious health disorders that would affect them their whole lives. Some of them are as follows:
Doctors use the BMI criterion to diagnose obesity along with other factors. BMI doesn’t account for muscle mass, larger than average body frame and varying growth patterns among children. Therefore doctors also look for:
The doctor may also ask for cholesterol and blood sugar tests along with checks for hormone imbalances and other conditions that go with obesity.
Since parents have the control over groceries, ‘healthy’ will have to be the motto of buying in the first place. Here are a few tips in that direction.
There are a few basic ways to prevent childhood obesity:
Keeping the child healthy is more of the parents’ job as they know better. Here are some childhood obesity solutions to help your child maintain a healthy weight.
1. Learn The Basics Of Nutrition
Quite a few parents are clueless about what is essential and what isn’t in terms of nutrition and they often go with advertisements. Learning the basics of nutrition would allow them to choose smart and beat misunderstanding. That way they can help their child eat better.
2. Get The Whole Family Involved
Healthy habits are established at home. When everybody sticks to eating healthy food and engaging in a good amount of physical activity, it compels the children to keep up. Since they learn extensively by observing you, it’s important that you lead them by example.
3. Emphasize On Physical Activity
Allow your kids to play more outdoors than indoors. Physical activity is a must for growth and development and you can participate with your kids and have a good time together. Also encourage them to take up sports and activities such as dancing, swimming, skating, football etc.
4. Be Smart About Food
You don’t need to turn into a food police and enforce a ban on all foods that can be fattening, that only makes them crave it more. The key is moderation. Limit junk and fast foods and increase healthy home-cooked meals. It also sets up a long-term eating habit in the children that is healthy.
5. Talk To Your Children About Their Feelings
If the child is obese, help them to better deal with their emotions than to eat excessively. Do not pass negative comments that can be hurtful even if it is well intended. Praise them when they make efforts and progress.
Your child may not fully lose the extra fat, but to ensure health you can teach them to make better choices in food and to always get adequate exercise. Staying active can improve their chances of heading off a weight problem as they grow older. Even if they don’t achieve a normal weight, they can continue being healthy through good habits.
Fighting childhood obesity involves a combination of awareness and continuous effort on the part of both the parents and the children. By establishing healthy eating habits and with adequate exercise, it is possible to beat obesity.