Childhood obesity is a serious problem. Here are 8 tips to keep your child healthy

Childhood obesity is not a blessing. The prevalence of obese children is high.

Raising a child to be overweight may be harm rather than love! Childhood obesity is not a blessing. In Taiwan, approximately 1 in 4 children is overweight or obese. Even though weight loss has become popular in recent years, the trend of children becoming overweight has not been slowed down. As high as 80% of obese children will continue to be obese when they grow up, and their risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease also increases. How to get children back to a healthy weight has become an important issue for parents.

Childhood obesity is not a blessing. In Taiwan, approximately 1 in 4 children is overweight or obese.

How does obesity differ between growing children and adolescents? Yang Zhiyao, a doctor from the Taiwan Obesity Medical Association, said that the definition is more complicated, but there are a few that are easier to calculate:

1. Defined by BMI: The obesity values ​​for children and adolescents are 25kg/m2 and 30kg/m2 respectively.

2. Based on the BMI percentile of the same age group, a BMI above the 85th percentile is considered overweight, and above the 95th percentile is considered obese.

3. In terms of weight, being 20% ​​above the average weight for people of the same age is considered obesity.

The three highs diet is the accomplice of childhood obesity

The causes of childhood obesity include family environment, social factors, lifestyle, psychological factors, genetic factors, and metabolic abnormalities, but the most fundamental factor is that they eat more and exercise less. In recent years, with the flood of 3C products, children's exposure to television, computers, the Internet, and mobile phones has greatly increased, and they have developed bad habits of sitting for long periods of time and doing little exercise. Television and online media, which broadcast a large number of advertisements for various foods and beverages, have also become accomplices in overeating. Parents’ living and eating habits will also become a “role model” for their children. If the parents’ own diet is high in sugar, salt and fat, and their children “inherit” these three high eating habits, obesity is only a matter of time.

Obesity affects children's health and makes them more susceptible to diseases in adulthood

It is well known that obesity increases the incidence of many diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hyperuricemia, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, infertility, etc. If children are obese from a young age, they will be more likely to suffer from these diseases as adults. Taking hypertension as an example, studies have shown that obese children are 10 times more likely to develop hypertension in the future than non-obese children. Even the age of onset is getting younger. Many obese children have already developed diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, gout, etc. by the time they reach adolescence. In terms of mental health, obese children have a higher proportion of social disorders, depression tendencies, lack of self-confidence and other problems.

It is very important to help children control their weight, instill correct eating concepts, and cultivate an interest in sports.

[8 rules to help children control their weight]:

Start with breakfast: Start preparing a nutritionally balanced breakfast for your children from an early age, and don’t let them eat out too early. If you have to eat out, teach your children to choose the right food.

Instill correct dietary concepts: Many dietary concepts should be taught from an early age, such as three lows and one high (low oil, low sugar, low salt, high fiber), calorie concept, meal time, eating speed, balanced diet, not being picky about food, etc.

Keep snacks and drinks away from home: reduce the chances of children eating junk food.

Limit the time spent using 3C products: the more time you spend watching TV, playing computer games, or scrolling through your phone, the less time you have for physical activities.

Get outside and increase your activity: arrange outdoor trips with your children during holidays to get in touch with nature.

Cultivate an interest in sports: Let your children learn some sports skills as early as possible, such as swimming, ball games, bicycles, etc., and give them an exercise habit that will keep them healthy for a lifetime.

Set a good example by leading by example: Parents can only ask their children to do it if they can do it themselves, and the whole family should change their diet and exercise together.

Replace blame with encouragement and support: A word of encouragement and praise is far more effective than a word of blame.

Parents play the most important role in whether their children will be obese in the future. Parents must face up to the physical burden and psychological impact that obesity brings to their children, and teach their children to develop correct and balanced eating concepts to keep their children away from the threat of obesity.