Parents Can Help a Child Have a Healthy Weight
Childhood obesity is growing at an alarming rate, but experts say parents are more powerful than they imagine at helping kids fight the problem.
About 17 percent of US children and teens, ages two to 19, are overweight, according to the US National Center for Health Statistics.
But three studies presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting offer ways to help kids get to healthier weights.
Helping your child have good self-esteem can motivate him or her to lose weight, found Kiti Freier, Ph.D., a pediatric psychologist at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, Calif.
When she interviewed 118 overweight children participating in a 12-week program, she found that good self-image was even more important than how much excess weight they carried in predicting whether they were ready to lose excess weight.
"Their readiness to change relates to whether they felt supported, not how big they were," she says.
The message for parents of overweight children is clear: Do not point out how overweight they are. Instead, try something like this: "We love you so much. We want you to be healthy and have a long life," says Dr. Freier. Then offer them a plan and support.
The second study revealed that parents may have the mistaken belief that a child is not overweight, when he or she actually is overweight.
Dr. Elena Fuentes-Afflick, at the University of California San Francisco, tracked the attitudes of Latina mothers with preschool-age children on their children's weight.
She analyzed data from interviews with 194 women and children taking part in the Latino Health Project.
The women were recruited during pregnancy and then interviewed annually for three years.
By the time they were three years old, more than 43 percent of the children were statistically overweight.
But, "in the group of kids overweight by our measure, three-quarters of those mothers thought their child's weight was just fine," says Dr. Fuentes-Afflick.
"We are living in a society where two-thirds of adults in the US are overweight or obese," says Dr. Fuentes-Afflick. "What concerns me is the risk that we are normalizing overweight body images."
In a third study, mothers in families where food is sometimes scarce due to money problems have a tendency to give their children high-calorie foods to boost overall calories or foods to stimulate the appetite.
These two practices should be avoided if they want their child to remain at a healthy weight, says Emily Feinberg, an expert at Boston University School of Public Health.
In her study, Feinberg interviewed 248 mothers of normal and overweight African-American and Haitian children, ages two to 12.
She found that 28 percent of them had shortages of food from time to time.
When that happened, 43 percent used nutritional drinks such as high-calorie instant breakfast drinks, and 12 percent used substances to stimulate appetite, such as traditional Haitian teas.
Feinberg says this was a well-meaning effort to be sure the children got adequate nutrition.
Instead, Feinberg says, these low-income mothers should "try in general not to focus as much on calories but on the quality of the diet. Instead of a nutritional drink supplement, we would recommend increasing the intake of fruits and vegetables."
The studies provide valuable information for researchers and parents, according to Connie Diekman, a registered dietitian and director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis.
The study relating a child's self-esteem to their readiness to lose weight also makes sense, comments Diekman.
"Self-esteem is a major factor in the establishment of healthy behaviors and [a lack of it] can contribute to overeating and eating disorders," she says.
The second study confirms the key role mothers play in determining what a child eats and weighs, says Diekman.
Finally, the last study on scarce food, "provides some support to why the prevalence [of overweight] is higher" in poorer populations, she says.
Always consult your physician for more information.
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The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) say that the new food guide pyramid is a guideline to help you and your child eat a healthy diet.
The food guide pyramid can help you and your child eat a variety of foods while encouraging the right amount of calories and fat.
Health experts prepared the food pyramid to guide parents in selecting foods for children 2 years and older.
It is divided into six colored bands representing the five food groups plus oils:
Orange represents grains: Make half the grains consumed each day whole grains. Whole-grain foods include oatmeal, whole-wheat flour, whole cornmeal, brown rice, and whole-wheat bread. Check the food label on processed foods - the words “whole” or “whole grain” should be listed before the specific grain in the product.
Green represents vegetables: Vary your vegetables. Choose a variety of vegetables, including dark green- and orange-colored kinds, legumes (peas and beans), starchy vegetables, and other vegetables.
Red represents fruits: Focus on fruits. Any fruit or 100 percent fruit juice counts as part of the fruit group. Fruits may be fresh, canned, frozen, or dried, and may be whole, cut-up, or pureed.
Yellow represents oils: Know the limits on fats, sugars, and salt (sodium). Make most of your fat sources from fish, nuts, and vegetable oils. Limit solid fats like butter, stick margarine, shortening, and lard, as well as foods that contain these.
Blue represents milk: Get your calcium-rich foods. Milk and milk products contain calcium and vitamin D, both important ingredients in building and maintaining bone tissue.
Purple represents meat and beans: Go lean on protein. Choose low fat or lean meats and poultry. Vary your protein routine - choose more fish, nuts, seeds, peas, and beans.
Activity is also represented on the pyramid by the steps and the person climbing them, as a reminder of the importance of daily physical activity.
According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005, a decrease in energy intake of 50 to 100 calories per day for children who are gaining excess fat can reduce the rate at which they gain weight.
With this reduction in energy intake, they will grow into a healthy weight as they age. Help your child to find higher-calorie foods that can be cut from his/her daily intake.
Try to control when and where food is eaten by your children by providing regular daily meal times with social interaction and demonstration of healthy eating behaviors.
Involve children in the selection and preparation of foods and teach them to make healthy choices by providing opportunities to select foods based on their nutritional value.
For children in general, reported dietary intakes of the following are low enough to be of concern by the USDA: vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and fiber. Select foods with these nutrients when possible.
Most Americans need to reduce the amount of calories they consume.
When it comes to weight control, calories do count. Controlling portion sizes and eating non-processed foods helps limit calorie intake and increase nutrients.
Parents are encouraged to provide recommended serving sizes for children.
Children and adolescents need at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity on most days for maintenance of good health and fitness and for healthy weight during growth.
Always consult your physician for more information.
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