A child being overweight or obese is one of the common causes of concern for parents these days. It starts all with a child being chubby in childhood which parent adore. Slowly and gradually the chubbiness starts turning into obesity which is initially ignored by parents. For them all that matters is that the child looks healthy. But before they realize that their healthy child is growing more towards the heavier side with huge bellies and double chins, it is quite too late. This realization dawns only after the child starts complaining about being tired, lethargic or even breathless with or without any physical activity. Ignoring the fact that a child may have weight issues is a mistake a parent usually does. It is only when the child starts to develop medical conditions due to their weight issues, the parent realizes that the child needs help. Parents run to doctors and friends with complains like, 'my daughter is overweight what can I do?' or 'My child is overweight but he eats healthy, so how?' or even questions like, 'Is my child overweight?' In the current scenario more and more kids are facing the issue of being overweight or obese.
A child being overweight or obese could be kept under check, if a parent is aware of the symptoms of childhood obesity. How do you know whether your child is overweight or not, is all upon these symptoms. Just relate any or few of these symptoms with your child's condition and you have your answer. You could check just one box or more than one, it all tells you how overweight your child is! Once you know the symptoms of obesity your child relates to, you would be in a better position to explain the same to your doctor for further help and analysis. Here are few symptoms of childhood obesity -
1. Your child often complains of his clothes being too tight and demands for large sizes, even though they were bought recently.
2. You notice your child's belly fat and an increasing weight gain around his waist.
3. You can notice large deposits of fats or stretchmarks around your child's chin, neck, hips, abdomen, thigh and arms.
4. Body Mass Index of the child confirms being overweight and obesity.
5. Your child complains constantly of being tired.
6. Your child has difficulty walking and running.
7. Your child is lethargic and always complain of being sleepy or drowsy.
8. Your child is fat as compared to the kids of his class.
9. Your child constantly complains of have trouble breathing while sleeping.
10. Your child constantly complains or faces gastric problems or even constipation.
11. In overweight girls delayed menstruation could be an symptom you cannot ignore.
12. In overweight boys delayed puberty is one of the symptoms.
13. Your child complains of difficulty breathing while doing any physical activity.
14. Your child complains of lower backaches, dislocated hip or flat feet.
15. Weighing scale confirms constant weight gain in your child.
When you check the obesity symptoms with your child and few of those symptoms relate to him or her, you could take up your child's condition with your doctor. A doctor can help you confirm whether your child has overweight issues. Normally a doctor keeps tab of the regular checkup of a child right from infancy to his growing years which helps him observe the child carefully for weight issues. In such cases a doctor warns parents immediately if he finds anything wrong with the weight chart of a child. But any sudden symptoms that were not observed before and are happening recently should be checked with a doctor. A doctor would determine whether your child is overweight or obese by carrying out a thorough examination. He would check your child's Body Mass Index (BMI). The family history of child would also be taken in concern, for any problems such as obesity in parents, diabetes, sleep apnea, heart conditions, blood pressure problems etc.
The answer is yes. A parent should definitely be concerned about their child's weight issues. The reason is with a child being overweight, he or she is more threatened with serious health issues which may have long term effects. An overweight child may develop serious medical problems in initial or even later part of their life as compared to the other children. Imagine this, currently if your child has issues such as breathlessness or lethargy - what would happen when they grow? These problems would grow with them! Today's breathlessness may turn to asthma! Apart from medical problems a child will have to face severe effects of childhood obesity in their life.
And hence we as parent should help our child to fight obesity or overweight issues. What we do today is going to help them in the near future. The efforts would count and the child would be really thankful to his parents for the same.
Learn more about overweight child diet plans
If your child has a habit of eating junk, it needs to stop right away. No more candies, chocolates, chips, cold drink and all those junk. But you can't just put a stop to whole thing immediately. Start putting a stop slowly. Other than three to four servings that your child has of his favorite junk food daily, limit it to two servings. Include healthy food rich in fiber, protein, vitamin, minerals in the next two servings. This way a child is happy and the mother is happy too. Plus try different overweight child diet plans and include whichever is suitable to your child.
Do not put your child on any weight loss program without consulting your doctor. You can actually consult your doctor for any weight-loss program which is essential for your child and only if he suggests, you should carry on such weight loss schedule. Get your child treated for any sleeping disorders such as sleep apnea or other health problems due to obesity.
Children are known to be good learners. And parents have to remember that! Your healthy choices towards life can help your child to make healthy choices for his life. If you live a passive life, your child would follow the same. And hence it is important that parents be a good role model for overweight children by making healthy choices such as eating healthy food, being physically active and enjoying active pastimes.
Set a limited screen time for your overweight child. Be it use of mobile phones, computer, online games, PlayStation or just watching TV. Set a time limit for daily usage of all these electronic appliances. Like you could allow them one hour of television time and one hour of computer usage every day. Children spend most of the time in their room playing games or watching television. This passive hours promote sedentary and lethargic lifestyle. Hence curtail the time limit for screen time usage for your child.
Starting slow, promote a regular work-time for your overweight child. Make the plans by taking into consideration your child's likes and dislikes. If your child enjoys swimming then plan a 30 minute to 1 hour swimming session at least twice or thrice a week. Plan a walking schedule or a jogging schedule with your overweight child. Do not force him to work out for long hours. Start slow and allow him to adjust according to the schedule and then slowly increase schedule from twice a day to thrice a day. You could alternatively put two or three activities schedules for the whole week. For instance swimming twice a week, active past time such as table tennis or football once or twice a week or even daily walks.
A sudden change in daily routine may amuse children. Children are unaware of how bad a problem of being overweight could be. Hence parents can help them understand in easy words. A child's age needs to be taken into consideration while making him understand and discuss obesity. It may be a bit easier to discuss the problem of obesity with elder kids rather than younger. But with simple words and little understanding a parent can easily discuss this problem with children. It is essential that a child realizes how important it is to stay healthy and how too much of junk food is ruining their health.
Appreciate the efforts your child puts into it. If your overweight child participates in any school event such as a dance competition or even a sport activity, there are possibilities that he may not fare well in the beginning. But still he has tried. Even if he fails or does poorly in any physical activity or school activity, praise him for his efforts and motivate him to carry on. You can reward him for his efforts by cooking him his favorite sweet or any other gift.
1. Ensure that your child gets enough sleep daily. Lack of sleep is directly associated with weight gain according to some research studies.
2. Helping your child lose weight by starving him is not the right approach. Instead minimize his portions and include wholesome food in his daily diet.
3. Try to monitor your child's weight on a regular basis.
4. Encourage your child to participate in school activities such as sports, drama and dance.
5. Cut down on your child's daily dosage of aerated drinks and replace it with fresh fruit juices.
6. Teach your child to chew his food and eat slowly.
7. Once you limit your child's television hours, make sure that this rule applies to everybody in the household. This behavior motivates your child positively.
8. Encourage your child to carry out simple fun activity at home when he is alone. This could include playing with ball, shooting baskets, cycling, skipping.
9. Plan family active outings for weekend such as camping, hiking, bird watching, nature trails or a long walk.
10. Let your child know that you will always be there to support him. Your support will mean a lot to him and would inspire him to lose weight and be fit.
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| One symptom of overweight children is Belly fat |
Symptoms of Childhood Obesity
A child being overweight or obese could be kept under check, if a parent is aware of the symptoms of childhood obesity. How do you know whether your child is overweight or not, is all upon these symptoms. Just relate any or few of these symptoms with your child's condition and you have your answer. You could check just one box or more than one, it all tells you how overweight your child is! Once you know the symptoms of obesity your child relates to, you would be in a better position to explain the same to your doctor for further help and analysis. Here are few symptoms of childhood obesity -
1. Your child often complains of his clothes being too tight and demands for large sizes, even though they were bought recently.
2. You notice your child's belly fat and an increasing weight gain around his waist.
3. You can notice large deposits of fats or stretchmarks around your child's chin, neck, hips, abdomen, thigh and arms.
4. Body Mass Index of the child confirms being overweight and obesity.
5. Your child complains constantly of being tired.
6. Your child has difficulty walking and running.
7. Your child is lethargic and always complain of being sleepy or drowsy.
8. Your child is fat as compared to the kids of his class.
9. Your child constantly complains of have trouble breathing while sleeping.
10. Your child constantly complains or faces gastric problems or even constipation.
11. In overweight girls delayed menstruation could be an symptom you cannot ignore.
12. In overweight boys delayed puberty is one of the symptoms.
13. Your child complains of difficulty breathing while doing any physical activity.
14. Your child complains of lower backaches, dislocated hip or flat feet.
15. Weighing scale confirms constant weight gain in your child.
How does a doctor determine your child's obesity?
When you check the obesity symptoms with your child and few of those symptoms relate to him or her, you could take up your child's condition with your doctor. A doctor can help you confirm whether your child has overweight issues. Normally a doctor keeps tab of the regular checkup of a child right from infancy to his growing years which helps him observe the child carefully for weight issues. In such cases a doctor warns parents immediately if he finds anything wrong with the weight chart of a child. But any sudden symptoms that were not observed before and are happening recently should be checked with a doctor. A doctor would determine whether your child is overweight or obese by carrying out a thorough examination. He would check your child's Body Mass Index (BMI). The family history of child would also be taken in concern, for any problems such as obesity in parents, diabetes, sleep apnea, heart conditions, blood pressure problems etc.
Should a Parent Be Concerned about their child being overweight or obese?
The answer is yes. A parent should definitely be concerned about their child's weight issues. The reason is with a child being overweight, he or she is more threatened with serious health issues which may have long term effects. An overweight child may develop serious medical problems in initial or even later part of their life as compared to the other children. Imagine this, currently if your child has issues such as breathlessness or lethargy - what would happen when they grow? These problems would grow with them! Today's breathlessness may turn to asthma! Apart from medical problems a child will have to face severe effects of childhood obesity in their life.
And hence we as parent should help our child to fight obesity or overweight issues. What we do today is going to help them in the near future. The efforts would count and the child would be really thankful to his parents for the same.
Learn more about overweight child diet plans
How to Help Your Overweight Child Lose Weight
Include Healthy Food in Your Child's Diet
If your child has a habit of eating junk, it needs to stop right away. No more candies, chocolates, chips, cold drink and all those junk. But you can't just put a stop to whole thing immediately. Start putting a stop slowly. Other than three to four servings that your child has of his favorite junk food daily, limit it to two servings. Include healthy food rich in fiber, protein, vitamin, minerals in the next two servings. This way a child is happy and the mother is happy too. Plus try different overweight child diet plans and include whichever is suitable to your child.
Listen To Your Doctor
Do not put your child on any weight loss program without consulting your doctor. You can actually consult your doctor for any weight-loss program which is essential for your child and only if he suggests, you should carry on such weight loss schedule. Get your child treated for any sleeping disorders such as sleep apnea or other health problems due to obesity.
Be a Good Role Model
Children are known to be good learners. And parents have to remember that! Your healthy choices towards life can help your child to make healthy choices for his life. If you live a passive life, your child would follow the same. And hence it is important that parents be a good role model for overweight children by making healthy choices such as eating healthy food, being physically active and enjoying active pastimes.
Limiting Your Child's Screen Time
Set a limited screen time for your overweight child. Be it use of mobile phones, computer, online games, PlayStation or just watching TV. Set a time limit for daily usage of all these electronic appliances. Like you could allow them one hour of television time and one hour of computer usage every day. Children spend most of the time in their room playing games or watching television. This passive hours promote sedentary and lethargic lifestyle. Hence curtail the time limit for screen time usage for your child.
Planning a Regular Workout Routine For Your Overweight Child
Starting slow, promote a regular work-time for your overweight child. Make the plans by taking into consideration your child's likes and dislikes. If your child enjoys swimming then plan a 30 minute to 1 hour swimming session at least twice or thrice a week. Plan a walking schedule or a jogging schedule with your overweight child. Do not force him to work out for long hours. Start slow and allow him to adjust according to the schedule and then slowly increase schedule from twice a day to thrice a day. You could alternatively put two or three activities schedules for the whole week. For instance swimming twice a week, active past time such as table tennis or football once or twice a week or even daily walks.
Discussing Obesity with Your Child
A sudden change in daily routine may amuse children. Children are unaware of how bad a problem of being overweight could be. Hence parents can help them understand in easy words. A child's age needs to be taken into consideration while making him understand and discuss obesity. It may be a bit easier to discuss the problem of obesity with elder kids rather than younger. But with simple words and little understanding a parent can easily discuss this problem with children. It is essential that a child realizes how important it is to stay healthy and how too much of junk food is ruining their health.
Appreciate Your Child's Efforts
Appreciate the efforts your child puts into it. If your overweight child participates in any school event such as a dance competition or even a sport activity, there are possibilities that he may not fare well in the beginning. But still he has tried. Even if he fails or does poorly in any physical activity or school activity, praise him for his efforts and motivate him to carry on. You can reward him for his efforts by cooking him his favorite sweet or any other gift.
Top Ten Tips To Help Your Child Lose Weight
1. Ensure that your child gets enough sleep daily. Lack of sleep is directly associated with weight gain according to some research studies.
2. Helping your child lose weight by starving him is not the right approach. Instead minimize his portions and include wholesome food in his daily diet.
3. Try to monitor your child's weight on a regular basis.
4. Encourage your child to participate in school activities such as sports, drama and dance.
5. Cut down on your child's daily dosage of aerated drinks and replace it with fresh fruit juices.
6. Teach your child to chew his food and eat slowly.
7. Once you limit your child's television hours, make sure that this rule applies to everybody in the household. This behavior motivates your child positively.
8. Encourage your child to carry out simple fun activity at home when he is alone. This could include playing with ball, shooting baskets, cycling, skipping.
9. Plan family active outings for weekend such as camping, hiking, bird watching, nature trails or a long walk.
10. Let your child know that you will always be there to support him. Your support will mean a lot to him and would inspire him to lose weight and be fit.
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