Overweight in children

Contents:

Medical Video: Top 10 causes of obesity in children - Boston Children's Hospital - Top 20 Health Challenges

Body Mass Index (body mass index / BMI) is a method of using height and weight measurements to determine a person's body fat, but calculating BMI itself may be a little complicated. An easy way to calculate BMI is with a BMI calculator.

When your child's BMI is known, BMI can be entered into the BMI standard table. Children aged 2 to 19 fall into four categories:

  • Lack of weight: BMI is below 5 percent
  • Normal weight: BMI between 5 and less than 85 percent
  • Excess weight: BMI between 85 and less than 95 percent
  • Obesity: BMI 95 percent and above

BMI calculation is not used to determine body fat in infants and toddlers. For children under the age of 2 years, doctors use weight and height charts to find out how the baby's weight is compared to his height. Children who are at or above 85 percent can be said to be overweight.

Doctors, nurses, and other health care providers can check whether your child is overweight or obese by calculating their BMI. BMI is a measure of weight associated with height. BMI is calculated by dividing your child's weight in kilograms with height in square meters (weight (kg) / height (m2). However, it is important to know that a child's BMI is not interpreted in the same way as an adult BMI. special growth chart This graph can show how your child's BMI is compared to the normal range for children based on age, gender, and similar ethnic backgrounds.

Depending on your child's BMI (or height-weight size), age, and health condition, the doctor can refer you to a nutritionist for additional advice, and may suggest a comprehensive weight management program.

Health risks in children with excess weight

A child who is overweight or obese has a higher risk of being affected:

  • Joint problems, including tearing (osteoarthritis) and splitting of the joint from the hip joint from the tip of the thigh bone (slipped capital femoral epiphysis). Obese children also have a higher risk of having bow leg (foot shape like the letter O) and more likely to be fractured
  • Enter puberty early
  • Respiratory problems, including more severe asthma, difficulty breathing during sleep (obstructive sleep apnea) and shortness of breath during exercise
  • Iron and vitamin D deficiency
  • Overweight or obese as adults (more than half of obese children grow into obese adults too)
  • Have heart problems as adults

Being overweight or obese when children or adolescents can have psychological effects on some sufferers. This then results in feelings of inferiority and lack of confidence. Children can become victims bullying because of his weight. They can withdraw and avoid social contact. This can lead to a bad mood and, in severe cases, depression.

If overweight and obesity are known and overcome in childhood and adolescence, some of these health problems can disappear, or even be prevented. The child is also more likely to grow into an adult with an ideal body weight

What to do

If you try to help your child who is overweight to lose weight safely, you should ignore popular diet books — and sometimes your own instincts. Even though you feel you have to force your child on a diet, experts generally do not recommend that approach.

To help children who are overweight, you can start with small changes in your family's diet and lifestyle to make them healthy.

Start with one or two steps and slowly enter into a healthy lifestyle. Discuss with your child's health care provider to achieve goals or guidelines for ideal / target weight.

For younger children and children who will still grow up, the goal is more to maintain weight, not reduce it. This can make it easier for children who are overweight to grow into their ideal weight. Reducing calories in children who are still growing to reduce weight is not a good idea unless advised by your doctor.

Some other ways that can be done are:

  • Help your family live a healthier lifestyle

Be a loyal supporter of your family. Make a healthy lifestyle that is fun, enjoyable, and positive. Then find additional supporters - your spouse or child - to help maintain your family's motivation.

  • Eat at the dinner table

Even though eating in front of the TV sounds interesting, or each family member has their own time to eat, try to set aside time to eat together at the dinner table at least 5-6 times a week. Children who eat with family have a lower risk of excess weight.

  • Focus on vegetables and fruits

Find out how many servings of vegetables and fruits your child eats. Your goal is to have your child eat five or more servings of vegetables and fruit a day. An easier way for your child to eat vegetables and fruit is to make vegetables and fruit more visible.

  • Avoid sugary drinks like soda, energy drinks, and fruit punch.

It's hard to get rid of the habit of drinking sugary drinks every day. If they usually drink 4 sugary drinks a day, try reducing them to 3 times a day for a week. Then reduce it to 2 drinks a day next week, and so on.

  • Limit the frequency of your family drinking 100% juice

Fruit juice has more vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients than soda or fruit drinks such as fruit punch. However, 100% juice also has high sugar levels and often has calories equivalent to soda.

  • Make sure your child has breakfast every day

If there is no time, choose food to eat on the way. If your child does not like the taste of the food that is usually served at breakfast, any healthy choices can be consumed — you don't have to 'eat breakfast'.

  • Reduce the time to watch TV to less than two hours per day

Instead, do physical activity. To help motivate excess weight children, invite children to list activities that they like and can be done instead of watching time.

  • Increase your child's daily physical activity

Slowly increase your child's physical activity to at least one hour every day.

  • More often prepare food at home and become a cook

When you cook at home, you can control what you put in the food. At home, you can read labels, use healthier ingredients, and control how much sugar is used.

If after three to six months the change is not enough to help your child maintain weight as it grows, it is advisable to consult a nutritionist for children.

When intensive lifestyle changes cannot help your child lose weight in six months, your child health care provider has other choices to help, including more structured and medically supervised programs designed for children.

Overweight in children
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