Children 5-8 years old obese, what should parents do?

Currently, obesity is the leading cause of children at risk for heart disease and diabetes but has yet to receive proper attention .

Many children of primary school age experience being overweight. Parents need to check to see if their child has a weight problem and find solutions.

How to know your baby is overweight

In the hospital, the doctor will measure the child's weight and height and then compare it with the growth chart. Nowadays, we often use BMI charts to compare and see if indicators are suitable or not. This is the best assessment that shows the amount of fat in the baby's body, not simply over weight. This assessment depends on age and sex because the body will have many changes during its development.

On the chart, your baby will be evaluated by percentage rating compared to other children of the same age. Ranking 85 means that the child's index is higher than 85% of children of the same age and gender will be considered overweight. If ranked 95, it is considered obese.

In addition to assessing your weight and height, your doctor will consider several other factors such as your parents' weight, how long you are overweight and your overall health.

What to do when your child is at risk of obesity?

Doctors will usually discourage parents from adopting too strict diets or weight-loss programs for their children when they are not needed (except in extreme cases). The reason is because strict diets will affect the health and development of the baby. Instead, parents should exchange and encourage children to improve eating habits and healthy exercise.

Typically, the daily diet consists of 3 servings of vegetables, 2 servings of fruit, grains, milk, and meat. Of course, parents should also limit their child's consumption of sweets and other high-calorie, low-nutrient foods.

In addition, when the whole family implements a healthy diet in each main meal and snack (with exercise and sports), it will motivate the baby to lose weight.

Help your child stay away from bad habits that cause weight gain

Snacks

Limit or replace snacks and biscuits with healthy foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, low-fat jelly, yogurt and cheese. Even though it is healthy food, parents should always control their child's snack diet.

Watch TV while eating

When they lose their focus, they will not notice that they are full. Parents should help their baby learn to recognize signs when the body has been loaded with enough energy.

Drink lots of soft drinks and juices

Only use carbonated soft drinks on special occasions. Fruit juice is considered a good source of vitamins, but drinking too much will create a feeling of fullness and your baby will refuse to eat more. Only allow your baby to drink less than 1.7 liters per day.

Buy food from a vending machine

Many foods from vending machines are nutrient-free. Parents should prepare nutritious foods for their children to bring with them before going out to play with friends.

Spend hours sitting in front of a computer or television

Your baby will be able to sit still for hours. In addition, television commercials often encourage children to buy high-calorie, low-nutrient snacks. Should limit the time for your baby to watch TV, instead exercise exercise.

Overeating during meals

Instead of teasing and disparaging the child's weight, making the baby angry and irritable, parents should encourage their baby to improve a healthy diet and exercise. Also, don't forget that adults should be an example for children to follow. Especially for young children, parents' building a healthy lifestyle and eating will help babies learn good habits quickly.

How to encourage your child to move

Exercise is an important factor to help balance the weight, but many children do not spend enough time on training. After each meal, families should spend time walking or cycling together. Try to be more active during the day by walking, cycling , and climbing stairs. For many children, parents should encourage their children to spend more time participating in outdoor activities to be more active.

Parents should help their baby improve by teaching them to eat and be healthier. This will give your child more opportunities to avoid obesity-related diseases to grow up healthy. Although not reaching the "normal" weight, the baby will still improve health if there is a habit of eating and practicing science.

Hopefully the above article will help parents get more information about obesity in children as well as help your baby avoid encountering this disease.