Obesity in children is a problem that has been on the rise in recent years. In the United States, the number of children who are overweight has doubled from the last decade and approximately 10% of children who are younger than five years are overweight and at risk of becoming obese. The most common cause of obesity in children is unhealthy eating with a lot of processed foods. The risk rises if the child is not physically active.
You can determine if your child is obese by taking them to a doctor who will measure their weight for height and age to check for obesity. If your child is obese, Dr. Rohit Suri will advise you on how you can go about getting them to a normal weight. Unlike in adults, management of weight in children does not involve weight loss because children are in the growth phase of their life. The doctor will advise you on the best diet and plan that will help to reverse your child’s obesity.
Dietary Modification in Prevention of Childhood Obesity
Dietary modification is one of the effective ways of preventing childhood obesity. Some of the changes in diet that can help your child to avoid being obese is feeding them a healthy diet that has high nutritional value, like fresh vegetables and fruits and foods with low sugar, fat, and meat. Discourage your children from eating processed foods and a lot of snacks, like candy and cake.
It is also important to teach children about the nutritional value of the foods that they are consuming. Discourage your children from eating while they are watching or playing video games because if they do this, they will not pay attention to when they have eaten enough food or when they are full. Labeling foods as good or bad is highly discouraged, but instead teach your child how to eat everything in moderation.
Eating together as a family is another effective way of avoiding childhood obesity because it discourages overeating. It is also a good practice to limit the number of snacks that your child takes in between the main meals. When you are feeding your child, serve them smaller portions of food that are sensible for their age. Do not use food as a reward for your child and encourage your child to eat slowly.
Lifestyle Modification in Prevention of Childhood Obesity
One way to prevent childhood obesity is to encourage your child to be physically active. You can take walks together for shorter distances instead of taking a car. Act as a role model for your child by being physically active by jogging, talking walks, or going to the gym. It also helps to limit the amount of time that your child spends watching TV or playing video games. Limit this time to less than two hours per day.
It is also good to encourage your child to join sports in school and to play outside rather than indoors so that they are more active. Being physically active for more than one hour daily helps your child to burn extra calories as well as maintain a healthy body weight. Exercise also helps to improve the concentration and school performance of your child . Since obesity in children puts them at risk of lifestyle diseases like heart disease, it is important to prevent obesity and thus avoid these diseases.
In conclusion, childhood obesity is becoming a health challenge in many children as it puts them at risk of lifestyle diseases. To prevent this, it is important to put your child on a healthy diet and to encourage them to become physically active. If you are worried that your child is obese, take them to a doctor who will examine them and advise you on how to maintain a healthy weight for the child.
