Is Your Child Heading Towards OBESITY?

We all love our kids. When they want something, especially if it’s a food or drink, we tend to oblige, sometimes even when we know that what they want isn’t good for them. Cake, ice-cream, sodas – how can we deny them all these delicious goodies, right? The fact is, it’s really easy for a child to head towards obesity in this commercialised world of fast foods and heavily processed edible products. Sugar and bad fats are routinely added into processed foods, even children’s cereals and snacks, to make them addictively tasty. Read on…

Some parents still feel, till today, that chubby kids are a picture of health. They may even assume that thinner children are underfed, or even malnourished. Here’s a fact: Did you know that a really chubby kid may be more malnourished than a thinner, leaner child? It all depends on the kind of food they eat. A thinner child who eats a diet of mainly good carbohydrates, fresh fruits and vegetables may be far more healthy compared to a chubby one who indulges in foods that contain little or no proper nutrition.

Obesity in Children
The percentage of overweight kids is growing at an alarming rate with one in every three kids being obese in some countries! Many kids these days spend most of their time in front of the television, computer or playing video games instead of spending their free time playing outdoors. Plus, parents’ busy schedules are an addition to the unhealthy lifestyle their kids live – everyone is looking for quick and easy ways to get by, which more than often leads to processed foods during mealtimes.

Preventing your child from becoming overweight means adapting the way you and your partner eat and exercise, and how you spend your family time together. Helping your child lead a healthy lifestyle first starts with you setting a good example.

Is my child overweight?

Children grow at different rates and different times, so it is not very easy to determine if your child is overweight. Body Mass Index (BMI) uses weight and height measurements to estimate how much body fat a child has and can be used to check for weight and obesity problems from the age of two.

While BMI is a good indicator, it usually is not a perfect measurement of body fat as it can be misleading during puberty, where children are going through a phase of rapid growth. If your child measures a high BMI-for-age measurement, your doctor may need to run other tests to determine if excess fat is the problem.

Why is My Child Overweight?
Understanding how children become obese or overweight in the first place is an important step toward breaking the cycle. Most cases of childhood obesity are caused by eating too much and exercising too little. Children need enough food to support healthy growth and development. But when they take in more calories than they burn throughout the day, the result is weight gain.

Many factors contribute to the growing imbalance between calories in and calories out. Here are some of them:

Busy families are cooking less, and eating out more.
Easy access to high-calorie fast food and junk food.
Food portions are bigger than they used to be; in restaurants and at home.
Kids are consuming large amounts of sugar from sodas and an array of food.
Kids spend more time watching TV or playing video games instead of playing actively outdoors.
Many schools don’t take physical education classes seriously.

What can Obesity lead to?

Obesity does not just mean being overweight. Being obese can lead to several other health conditions, including:
High cholesterol
High blood pressure
Early heart disease
Diabetes
Bone problem
Skin conditions, such as heat rash, fungal infections and acne

Dealing with Obesity – 5 Useful Tips!
Healthy habits start at home. The best way to fight or prevent childhood obesity and weight problems is to get the whole family on a healthier track. Making better food choices and becoming more active will benefit everyone, regardless of weight. And with the whole family involved, it will be much easier for your overweight child to make lasting changes.

1. Get the whole family involved

What you eat: Tell your child about what you are eating, provided it is healthy and offer him some.
When you cook: Cook healthy food at home. Better yet, give him an age-appropriate job in the kitchen – explain to him what you are making and why it is good for his body.
How you move: Exercise in some way, everyday. Do it in front of your child and invite him to join in.
Your free time: Avoid turning on the TV and watching it all day. Try doing something fun outdoors with your child and your husband.

2. Encourage healthy eating habits

Eat the rainbow: encourage consumption of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. This should include red (beets, tomatoes), orange (carrots, squash), yellow (potatoes, bananas), green (lettuce, broccoli) and so on—just like eating a rainbow.
Make breakfast a priority: Children who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight or obese than those who skip the first meal of the day. It’s important to focus on healthy choices, though, like oatmeal, fresh fruit, whole grain cereal high in fiber and low in sugar, and low-fat milk.
Cut back on fat: Really cut back on fast food, junk food, and sweets.
Look for hidden sugar: Your body gets all it needs from sugar naturally occurring in food—so added sugars amounts to nothing but a lot of empty calories. Check labels and opt for low sugar products and use fresh or frozen ingredients instead of canned goods.
Regular meal times: Children enjoy routine. So, if your child is used to getting meals only at a certain time – he is most likely to eat exactly what he gets.
Limit dining out: Once in a while is completely fine, but even then try to go to restaurants that offer healthy options on their menu.

3. Get your kid moving

Play active indoor games: Spending time indoors does not always mean watching TV and playing video games. Put away the remote and play a game of tag with your child indoors.
Get outside with your child: Take a walk together, cycle around your neighbourhood, visit a playground and if your child goes to school nearby – walk him to school every morning.
Do chores together: This is not anyone’s cup of tea, but get him to do household chores like taking out trash, mopping and sweeping the floor, wiping the windows and washing the car. These activities surprisingly help you burn a lot of calories.

4. Reduce screen time

Limit daily screen time: Studies show that obesity is linked with screen time. So, limit your child’s screen time to no more than two hours per day.
Avoid eating in front of the TV: Children who eat while watching TV, tend to snack on more junk food which eventually leads to being overweight. Set your rules and tell your child that your family will do all the eating at the dining table.
Pick a different reward or punishment: Instead of rewarding your child with more screen time, try rewarding him with an outdoor activity that would keep him active.

5. Get involved

Talk to your child: Ask your child how his day went. Listen to him carefully and take note of any concerns that seem worrying.
Be in touch with his teachers: Keep track on how your child is doing in school. Find out if he is active and eats all his vegetables and fruits.
Defy busy schedules: You may feel like neither you nor your child has time for long chats about the day. This may be the toughest lifestyle change to make, due to busy schedules, but it can be done. If you need to, get involved like another appointment or meeting in your day.
Spend time with him: You don’t have to spend all your time having heart-to-heart talks. Playing, reading, cooking, or any other activity, when done together, can supply your child with the self-esteem boost he may need to make positive changes.

When to seek Professional Help?
If you have changed your family’s eating and physical activity habits and your child has not reached a healthy weight, or if your doctor determines that your child’s health or emotional well-being is at risk because of his or her weight, you may want to consider a weight-control program.

Depending on your child’s BMI, age, and health, your doctor may refer you to a registered dietitian, psychologist, exercise physiologist or encourage you to get your child’s heart checked. Check-ups can be done at the National Heart Institute of Malaysia, or better known as Institut Jantung Negara (IJN).

Institut Jantung Negara (IJN)
IJN is Malaysia’s premier heart centre. IJN provides cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery services for both adult and paediatric cases. As the national referral centre for cardiovascular, IJN sees new cases referred from all over the country and abroad as well as follow-up cases at the outpatient clinics.

3 Myths & Truths about Childhood Obesity!
Myth: Childhood obesity is genetic, so there is nothing you can do about it.
Truth: A person’s genes do influence weight, but are only one small part of the equation. Most kids can maintain a healthy weight if they eat right and exercise.
Myth: Children who are obese or overweight should be put on a diet.
Truth: Unless directed by your child’s doctor otherwise, the treatment for childhood obesity is not weight loss. The goal should be to stop weight gain.
Myth: It’s just baby fat. He will outgrow the weight.
Truth: The majority of children who are overweight at any time during the preschool or elementary school are still overweight as they enter their teens. Most kids do not outgrow the problem.