During
your child’s check up his doctor can determine
if he is currently overweight. The doctor will measure
your child’s height and weight and see how the
results compare with the ideal range for his age,
sex and height. If your child is deemed overweight,
his doctor may ask you some questions about what he
eats and this activity level. Their doctor may even
suggest the help of a registered dietician.
Overweight
children are at risk for many health related complications,
as are overweight adults. These children are at risk
for high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease
and high cholesterol. Being an overweight child does
not just affect their internal health, it also puts
them at risk for low self esteem, depression, bullying
from peers and increases the risk of eating disorders
and chemical dependency/abuse later on in life.
While
some children may be overweight due to genetics or
medical disorders, most become overweight due to increased
portion sizes of high fat convenience food and little
to no exercise and activity.
Take
a look at your current attitude towards food. Do you
eat a lot of high fat convenience foods? Do you eat
out of boredom? Eat when you’re not hungry?
Do you eat for comfort? When you’re upset, sad
or feeling depressed? We lead by example. Our children
are watching and following our lead.
The
first step in overcoming overweight kids is to realize
it’s going to have to be an entire family effort.
Everyone is going to have to actively change how and
what they eat and get active together.
It’s
a good idea to get yourself familiar with healthy
food choices. One good way to get everyone motivated
is perhaps taking a trip to the library. Depending
on your child’s age, you can locate books and
magazines that describe why certain foods are better
than others.
They
also make cook books that are designed for quick meals
that are healthy and taste great. Check out a cookbook
and start meal planning with your family. Involve
your kids in the grocery shopping. It might not be
a good idea to talk negatively about certain foods
or making them completely off limits. If they love
chocolate cake, work on moderation. Making something
off limits increases the chance of binge eating and
hiding their eating. This doesn’t mean, however,
that you stock your shelves with high sugar, high
fat foods.
Limit
the amount of cola’s that you buy. Having a
soda pop as a treat is ok, but sodas and other sugary
drinks are high in empty calories that nobody needs.
All
eating, including snacking, should be done at the
kitchen table. Eliminate snacking in front of the
TV, video games and computer.
Do
not reward your children with treats or food. This
will do nothing but teach them to turn to food for
comfort and reward.
Try
to refrain from the “clean plate” system.
Try giving your child smaller portions and if they
cannot finish the entire plate, that is ok.
Encourage
your child(ren) to get involved in a sport or hobby.
Kids spend way too much time being entertained by
electronic means than by physical activity. Gym classes
in school, if they are even still offered to your
child, do not provide all the needed exercise required
to stay fit and healthy. Sports have also been known
to help build your child’s self esteem and self
worth.
Even
though you may already have a busy hectic schedule,
plan and make time for family activities. Make sure
you stick to it. Arrange meetings and errands around
these activities. Things like: going for walks, window
shopping at the mall, bikes rides, swimming etc. These
are all inexpensive activities the entire family can
participate in. whatever you and your family needs
to do to start getting more active.
The
most important thing to remember is that our children
lead by example, are mirror reflections of ourselves.
If we want to give our children the best possible
chance at a long healthy life, we need to set that
example.
©
Rebecca Pillar 2007
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