Childhood obesity: why does a child get fat?

Where do the extra pounds come from?

What is the measure of the health of their child for loving parents? That's right, good appetite. This echoes the difficult post-war childhood of our grandmothers. In the difficult post-war years, a lot of food and calories were indeed required. But half a century has passed since then, living conditions have changed. Today's children do not have to plow the garden from dawn to dusk or walk kilometers to get to school. But they sit around the clock, first at their desks, then at homework, then at the computer.

Before the advent of the 21st century, today's high-calorie and cheap fast food did not exist. It is naive to think that children only get it from fast food restaurants. Many families have not prepared food for a long time - they buy semi-finished products stuffed with flavor enhancers that only whet the appetite.

By the way, school meals, which parents like to blame for all sins, may not always be tasty, but they are balanced in their usefulness. And it’s not school lunches that harm children, but what our children buy instead – hamburgers, chips and soda.

“The only country that has reduced the incidence of obesity among adolescents is France,” says Olga Vasyukova . – The French have launched a special government program. As part of it, all school vending machines selling chips and soda were eliminated. But most importantly, we conducted training sessions on nutritional culture for teenagers and parents. The schoolchildren were regularly examined by a doctor, psychologists, nutritionists, and endocrinologists worked with them.”

Thus, obesity rates in France have decreased over 3 years. But are our parents ready for such tough measures? Something tells me that our grandmothers will not allow their pets to “starve.”

Treatment of obesity in children 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 years old

The selection of diet and physical activity depends on the degree of obesity. Obesity of the first degree does not require drug treatment. It is enough to increase physical activity, limit sitting at the computer to 2 hours a day and balance the diet. The baby's weight will gradually return to normal.

The second degree of obesity requires more careful nutritional correction. It is necessary to limit the amount of refractory fats during cooking and reduce the calorie content of food due to carbohydrates. In parallel with this, the child must lead an active lifestyle.

The third and fourth stages of obesity require treatment in a hospital setting. The child must be strictly limited in food intake. By strict restriction we mean split meals: small portions up to 6 times a day. In this case, the children's diet is compiled and adjusted only by a nutritionist. Medicines and dietary supplements that are intended for weight loss are not prescribed to children under 15 years of age. Surgical treatment is also not used.

Who is considered fat?

During the regular medical examination of Moscow schoolchildren, all children who were found to be overweight or obese were asked to come to the appointment again, with their parents. Alas, only 20% of parents with children made this visit - the rest ignored the problem. Someone thought that with age the child would stretch out and lose weight.

Some people simply don’t notice their child’s extra pounds. As a result, in most cases, a teenager sees an endocrinologist when his weight exceeds 100 kg! At the same time, his medical record is literally covered by doctors, but the parents are firmly convinced: the child eats little, moves a lot - he goes to the sports section once a week, but for some reason he is getting plump. Probably something to do with hormones.

Indeed, sometimes excess weight is associated with genetic diseases, when the child does not have a stop signal in food. But such cases are less than 1%. The reason for excess weight in the rest is family eating habits, lack of nutritional culture and hereditary predisposition. If one of the parents is fat, in 30% of cases the child will reach the same size. When both parents are overweight, the risk of obesity in a child reaches 60%. But even this situation is not fatal. The specificity of these genes is that they are well corrected by physical activity. There would be a desire.

How to choose a diet for a child’s body with obesity?

Diets in the usual sense are dangerous for a growing body. Overweight children are very picky about food, so choosing a menu for such a child is very difficult. Initially, old habits and stereotypes will come into play. The main condition for successful weight loss for children aged 8-12 years will be the transition of the whole family to proper balanced nutrition. Food must be not only healthy, but also tasty, otherwise the child will simply refuse to eat.

Healthy eating for schoolchildren

The child must be taught to eat fresh vegetables and fruits. Kids love to eat brightly colored foods. For the menu, you can select vegetables with different combinations of shades, and season salads with olive oil. The dish should look appetizing and make you want to try more. It is necessary to limit the consumption of store-bought juices; they contain large amounts of sugar and preservatives.

Semi-finished products are acceptable in the diet of overweight children , but only with a minimum amount of fat, for example, fish, quail or chicken. Such semi-finished products cannot be fried; it is better to stew them with a minimum amount of fat. In the menu, use products with a large amount of starch in their composition: potatoes, rice, other cereals. Limit consumption of pasta and bread. Spices and salt are used in limited quantities. The amount of salt should not exceed more than 10 g per day.

Dietary treatment should be carried out constantly and consistently. The diet needs to be adjusted. You should avoid eating late and at night, and avoid overeating, especially in the evening. You should also avoid eating confectionery and limit the amount of sugar. Potatoes and porridge served as a side dish should be reduced to 2/3 of the serving. It is better to supplement the rest of the serving with vegetables and unsweetened fruits.

What are the dangers of obesity?

Excess weight is both an aesthetic problem (stretch marks, fat folds on a young body, acne) and psychological (the child begins to feel embarrassed about his appearance). But this also puts enormous pressure on all systems of the body.

In terms of endocrinology, obesity is a risk of developing type 2 diabetes. If it affects a child under 18 years of age, his life expectancy is unlikely to be more than 50 years.

Obesity is infertility: both male and female. In boys, sexual development is delayed; in girls, on the contrary, it accelerates; in the future, polycystic ovary syndrome may develop. Obesity is a chronic fatty degeneration of the liver - hepatosis, which can lead to cirrhosis. During the period of active growth, when bone tissue is not yet formed, problems with joints and spine begin due to excess weight. Obesity also means apnea syndrome - stopping breathing during sleep. Early atherosclerosis, arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease - these diseases “thanks to” obesity make people much younger.

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Causes of obesity at 9 years old

The main causes of obesity at 9 years of age are:

• physical inactivity;
• poor nutrition;
• hereditary predisposition;
• metabolic pathologies;
• hormonal pathologies;
• gastrointestinal diseases.

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There are, of course, situations when the cause of pathological obesity is serious diseases: for example, diabetes. But more often than not, the cause of excess weight is poor nutrition - when a child takes in more calories than he burns.

How to calculate excess weight

Excess weight in children and adolescents is determined using special height and weight tables - separately for boys and separately for girls. If you are overweight, your pediatrician will help you adjust your weight through exercise and diet; obesity requires serious monitoring by an endocrinologist and nutritionist.

If a child plays sports, a simple determination of body weight will not work for him; inflated data may be obtained due to muscle mass. This method is not suitable for children with growth deficiency. Then excess weight is determined by the thickness of the folds.

Now a new study has emerged that reveals the percentage of muscle, fat and bone tissue. The child stands on a device that resembles a scale, his height and weight are entered, and the device produces an accurate result.

How to lose weight: diet

At the age of 9 years, increased growth and development of the body occurs. This age is very important because it prepares the child for puberty. And it is very important that the child enters the period of hormonal changes as healthy as possible. Therefore, to develop a diet, so as not to harm the processes occurring in the body, you need to contact a nutritionist with the boy and together with him create a suitable diet.

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Reviewing the diet of a 9-year-old child is a necessary step in overcoming obesity. The diet must provide the growing body with the required amount of vitamins, micro- and macroelements. All components that are not useful and unnecessary for the body for growth should be excluded from the diet. Unnecessary items include:

• fried foods - fried potatoes, croutons, cutlets, fried eggs. In return they should receive boiled, baked, steamed dishes;
• sausages, sausages and semi-finished products should replace lean meats: chicken, veal, rabbit;
• fast food: hamburgers, fries, hot dogs - can be replaced with homemade poultry sandwiches;
• sauces, ketchups, mayonnaise can be replaced with homemade yogurt dressings or abandoned altogether;
• store-bought sweets can be perfectly replaced with honey, dried fruits, nuts, and dark chocolate;
• soda can be replaced with juices, nectars, dried fruit compotes without sugar and fruit drinks;
• reduce the consumption of foods with easily digestible carbohydrates - pasta, white bread, rolls, semolina, etc.;
• periodically cook soups in vegetable broths; there is no need to fry vegetables into the soup in oil;
• There should be no more than 3 pieces of fruit per day (especially bananas should not be given more than 3 pieces per week).

This diet is not strict, so you can stick to it for quite a long time.

To reduce appetite in a child who is used to eating a lot:

• reduce the amount of salt in dishes;
• to give a feeling of fullness, add more fiber to your diet;
• introduce more vegetables into your diet, as they contain tartronic acid, which prevents the conversion of carbohydrates into fat;
• reduce the number of eggs in your diet, as they contain an appetite stimulating substance;
• Pay attention to the child chewing food thoroughly.

Diet also plays an important role. The number of meals and the size of dishes consumed at each meal should be regulated by a specialist depending on the child’s condition. The most optimal diet is considered to be 4 meals a day:

1. the main breakfast should include 25-30% of the total daily diet;
2. second breakfast – no more than 10-15%;
3. lunch accounts for 40-45%;
4. for dinner – 15-20%.

During the main breakfast and lunch for weight loss, foods that contain a lot of protein are used (meat, fish, eggs); for dinner, you should mainly serve vegetable and cereal dishes. After the main dinner (at 7 pm) there should be no more snacks. If your child is hungry before bed, offer him an apple or a glass of kefir.

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When switching to a healthy diet, you should not allow a 9-year-old child to experience psychological stress. Changing the diet itself can have an impact on the child’s psyche, causing stress, depression, and deterioration in emotional well-being. Therefore, it is important to distract him from sad thoughts about hamburgers, activate his lifestyle, and switch his interest to some new interesting hobby or activity. Parents should pay more attention to the child himself, his problems, his mood. Always find a reason to praise your child.