Obesity in children

Obesity means having too much of fat in the body.

Prevention of obesity in children:

• Serve more fruits and vegetables.
• Avoid soft drinks and high-fat or high-calorie snack foods like chips, cookies and candy.
• Make sure to give health breakfast daily.
• Avoid all kind of fast foods.
• Offer the child more of water or low-fat milk instead of fruit juices.
• Avoid the amount of saturated and trans fats in the diet.
• Plan healthy meals.
• Avoid high-fat or high-sugar foods and beverages which is strongly marketed to kids.
• Avoid the child eating while watching television.
• Avoid the child spending more time for watching television, playing video games and being on computer.
• Encourage the child to get up and move during commercials and discourage snacking while watching television.
• Encourage the child for physical activities like riding cycle, jumping rope, dancing, climbing on a jungle gym, playing catch.
• Encourage the child to join sports team or class like dance, soccer. Basket ball or gymnastics.
• Involve the children in household chores like making beds, washing the car or vacuuming.

Risk factors of child hood obesity:

• Diet: Regular intake of high-calorie foods like fast foods, bakery products like burgers, pizzas.
• Regular intake of soft drinks, candy and desserts also contributes to weight gain. These foods are rich in sugar and calories.
• Sedentary children are more prone for obesity
• Socioeconomic status: Children from low-income back ground are at higher risk of becoming obese since the parents may lack time and resources to make healthy child eating and exercise.
• Genetics: If there is a family history of obesity, the child will be more prone for excess of weight.
• Psychological factors: Children try to over eat to cope up the problems with emotions like stress, boredom.

Test and diagnosis:

• Body mass index (BMI) is an indicator for determining overweight and obesity.
• Growth chart can be used for determining the overweight.

Complications of child hood obesity:

The obese children are more prone to:

• Type 2 diabetes.
• High blood pressure.
• Asthma and respiratory problems.
• Sleep disorders.
• Liver disorders.
• Eating disorders.
• Early puberty or menarche.
• Skin infections.

It can also causes low self –esteem in children, behavioral, learning problems and depression in children.