What to do if your child is overweight

How to recognize excess weight in a child

Everything seems to be simple. There are Child growth standards. linking height and weight in children of a certain gender and age. If the child falls within the standard, everything is fine. If his weight exceeds the norm, this indicates one or another degree of obesity.

In general terms, you can deal with weight like this:

We calculate the body mass index (BMI): the child's body weight in kilograms is divided by the square of the height in centimeters.
We compare BMI with the standards established by the World Health Organization.

You can also check your weight online. For example, using one of the available BMI calculators.

However, it is important to take into account a number of nuances. Overweight (relative to the accepted age norm) may be due to Childhood obesity. by no means obesity, but simply the large size of the child's body. There is also such a factor as age distribution of fat. It is individual, and some 6-year-olds may retain the plumpness of 2-year-olds - this is also normal.

Only a pediatrician can assess which category the child belongs to and whether it is necessary to talk about excess weight. Here's what the medic will do:

Calculates your body mass index.
Compare this value with the tables showing the About Child & Teen BMI standards. for every age and gender.
View the history of the child's development and growth.
Asks you and your ancestors about family history and physique.

Only after receiving this information and examining the little patient, the pediatrician will make a verdict: is it worth worrying about being overweight or whether the physique of the child, even if he is significantly ahead of his peers in weight, does not inspire concern.

Why parents do not notice excess weight in children

Unfortunately, childhood obesity is common. Obesity and overweight statistics. WHO, in 2016, 41 million children under the age of 5 years and over 340 million children and adolescents between 5 and 19 years old were overweight in one way or another. These are significant numbers. Thus, in the United States, Prevalence of Childhood Obesity in the United States, 2011–2014, suffers from obesity. every sixth child from 2 to 19 years old.

It would seem that he named the problem - he has already done half of the work. But not in this case. As the Parents' perception of their child's weight status and intention to intervene: a Western Australian cross-sectional population survey, 2009–12 shows. conducted by Australian scientists, many parents simply refuse to admit that their children are overweight. Only 23% of mums and dads whose babies were diagnosed with obesity said they would try to help their child lose those extra pounds.

More than half of the parents said that they were not going to interfere, and their excessively plump baby is so good.

Sounds beautiful: parents love and accept their children by anyone. But, if you look deeper into the issue, a banal fear will be revealed behind this acceptance. The fact is that society places the responsibility for childhood obesity on parents. And people are simply afraid to look like incompetent parents in the eyes of others. It is easier for them to pretend that obesity in a child does not exist than to make excuses and suffer from feelings of guilt.

The New York Times devoted an entire article to this phenomenon Do Parents Make Kids Fat? … It was written by Perri Klass, MD, an expert in the study of eating behavior disorders. He and his colleagues emphasize that overweight in children is not always due to the incompetence of parents. Often it is a matter of the specific characteristics of the child, including his metabolism and eating habits. Dads and moms cannot always influence this.

Feeling guilty about this is destructive. It is much more correct to admit: “Yes, my baby is overweight. There is no one to blame here. We just need to solve this problem together."

What is the danger of being overweight

Extra pounds is not only an aesthetic flaw. They carry with them a number of potential complications of Childhood obesity. … Here are just a few of them.

Type 2 diabetes

This chronic disease is associated with a malfunction in the processing of sugar (glucose). Obesity and a sedentary lifestyle are one of the ways to earn this unpleasant ailment.

Metabolic syndrome

It is a combination of physiological problems that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and other metabolic ailments. These include, in particular, high blood pressure and high blood sugar.

High cholesterol

Cholesterol builds up plaque in the arteries, significantly impairing blood flow. This can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

Asthma

Overweight children are at increased risk of developing asthma. The reason for this is not entirely clear, but the link is clearly established by Obesity, Nutrition, and Asthma in Children. …

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

This is the name for the accumulation of fat in the liver, which is most often asymptomatic. This can subsequently lead to cirrhosis.

Emotional problems

Physical disorders are not limited to. Studies in Weight Status as a Predictor of Being Bullied in Third Through Sixth Grades. unequivocally show that overweight children are more likely to be bullied by their peers. In addition, they are haunted by feelings of loneliness, anxiety, depression, which negatively affects the quality of life.

Causes of overweight in children

Scientists honestly admit: modern science does not fully understand Do Parents Make Kids Fat? what exactly causes obesity. When both parents and children are overweight, the situation is more or less clear. Here you can put forward a number of reasoned assumptions. For example, unhealthy eating habits affect family weight, such as a love of fast food and a passion for ordering pizza for dinner. Or that there is too little emphasis on physical activity in the family. Or the reason lies in some hereditary factors.

But it also happens otherwise: the fit, going in for sports, who prefer healthy food from dad and mom, grows an overweight child. Or even more mysterious: both dad and mom, and even the younger children are slim, and the older child has extra pounds.

While recognizing the difficulties in establishing clear causes that cause obesity, physicians still identify several factors of Childhood obesity., each of which is capable of leading to excess weight. Most often they work together.

Unbalanced high-calorie diet

In simple words, the abuse of fast food and prepared foods from supermarkets. At risk are sweets, desserts, sugary drinks, including fruit juices.

Lack of physical activity

Here, too, everything is predictable: the more you sit, the less calories you spend. Unspent items settle in the form of extra pounds.

Psychological factors

Stress and boredom increase the risk of obesity, as they force the child to "seize" negative experiences or "sweeten" a too gray life with high-calorie foods.

Socio-economic factors

If a person does not have enough money, he will most likely consider spending on the gym or buying rather expensive vegetables and fruits unnecessary, without thinking about the consequences for their children.