More and more children and teenagers are suffering from obesity in childhood. However, some little tricks can help you lose weight and reduce excess weight. Especially serious sequelae such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease are associated with this.
Unfortunately, the health consequences are especially unaware of children, as they only occur in the last years of life. In order to preserve the quality of life of children, but also future adults, parents should pay attention to the child's weight from the beginning.
A healthy diet and exercise should therefore be an important part of education to avoid future problems with children's health and self-confidence.
If you want to know more about the obesity in childhood, Continue reading this article we prepared for you!
What is childhood obesity?
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines obesity as “an abnormal or excessive accumulation of body fat that can harm health”.
In children and adolescents, it is sometimes difficult to identify it with the naked eye. Therefore, we must take into account the body mass index (BMI) and constitution curves established according to age and sex.
The ideal is to monitor the evolution of a child's constitution curve two to three times a year, to ensure that they do not show worrying weight gain.
Calculating body mass index (BMI) is extremely important for early detection of childhood obesity. BMI is also the only indicator approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).
In 2019, the WHO estimated that 38.2 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese worldwide.
And more than 340 million children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 19 were overweight or obese in 2016.
Causes of childhood obesity
Even if genetic predispositions are given, no child or adolescent is arbitrarily exposed to obesity in childhood and must be fat. On the contrary, your own lifestyle plays a very important role.
Today, television, computers, and other consumer electronics often keep young people in their bedrooms. Many children don't move enough in everyday life and eat high-energy foods at the same time.
Eating habits make it difficult to lose weight later on – a vicious circle develops. Excess energy cannot be broken down in the body and therefore the preponderance is already pre-programmed at children's age.
Consequences of obesity in childhood
Those who weigh too much usually feel in their own skin that they are not feeling well. Clothes do not fit properly and physical condition is poor. A obesity in childhood brings several other problems:
- Retreatment/depression
- Heavy bone wear
- Missing condition
- metabolic disorders
- circulation problems
Tips for preventing obesity in children and adolescents
Under no circumstances should children or adolescents be subjected to arbitrary weight loss diets.
They are still in growth and associated development and even more need all vitamins, minerals and trace elements in sufficient quantities. Therefore, a varied diet and a complete diet are appropriate.
This can help parents help their children with healthy weight loss:
Enjoy regular and varied meals in moderation
For children and adolescents: at least three meals should be consumed during the day. Furthermore, among them, fresh fruits or vegetables can be served when hungry.
Plus, teens don't have to go without pizza, fries, burgers, and chips. But here it is important to consume everything in moderation and not in bulk so that weight loss is successful.
Anyone who completely renounces their beloved food, sooner or later, with a huge desire, eats more than usual.
Finding the causes of sweet cravings
Many children and teenagers like snacks like chips, gum or chocolate. Again, you don't have to do without it. However, one must understand the cause of these desires. This can help control your snacking problem.
However, those who snack between meals eat nothing or less at the important main meals. Food cravings are inevitable and so is a nutrient-poor diet.
Discover the world through new challenges and hobbies
The world is big and there is a lot to discover. If you spend all day in front of the computer, you won't feel anything and won't move much.
New hobbies, new challenges in the child's social environment can help create more opportunities for movement and lose extra pounds.
Going out, discovering the world and meeting people: this is how you move more automatically and the topic of food comes into the background. This makes weight loss easier.
Have a gentle diet plan instead of crash diets for the goal
Dieting, where nothing is eaten, provides only short-term success in weight loss. But not infrequently, the scale shows a little more kilos later than before.
An eclectic nutritional plan with lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and milk and dairy products provides adequate nutrition so the body can lose weight.
Iced tea, Coca-Cola, soft drinks and other drinks should also be replaced with sugar-free drinks such as water and tea to help control excess weight.
