Obesity In Children: Serve homemade and healthy food to not only your kid but everybody in the house
As kids age, obesity worsens even more. The majority of youngsters who are overweight are so as a result of bad eating habits and insufficient exercise. As early childhood is when these behaviours are formed, early prevention measures for obesity are essential.
Parents determine a child's physical type and shape. These elements are beyond your control, but you may have an impact on your child's diet and exercise routines, which will also affect their body weight. Lack of intervention can make your child more prone to chronic diseases. In this article, we discuss lifestyle changes that can help reduce weight in obese children.
Lifestyle changes to help overcome or prevent obesity in children:
Diet
- Regardless of whether there is food on their plate, let your youngster decide when they've had enough. Children are encouraged to comprehend hunger and fullness more as a result. As your child grows older, these behaviours might assist in regulating appetite and preventing overeating.
- Purchase, prepare, and serve the foods you want your kid to consume. Give children the freedom to decide how much and what kind of these meals they eat.
- Occasionally, include your child's preferred foods in the family meal.
- If your family eats hastily, encourage slow eating. Between bites, set your knife and fork down. Foods that need a lot of chewing should be encouraged.
- Be an example to others. Ensure that your youngster observes you consuming a balanced diet.
- Avoid using food to discipline, reward, or cheer up your kid. While it can be alluring to do so occasionally, doing so develops unhealthy relationships with food.
- Engage kids in basic meal preparation, like chopping up a salad.
- Even if you initially get a negative response, keep presenting healthy foods.
- Help your child identify when they are eating because they are bored, upset, or alone. To help them get distracted, try suggesting a different activity.
Exercise
- Be active as a family. Allow your youngster to see you exercising as well.
- Encourage lots of unstructured outdoor play.
- Make an effort to drive less. To get to school, the store, or a friend's house, take a bike or walk.
- Assist your kid in striking a balance between athletic sports, enjoyable activities, and individual sports like swimming and dancing.
- Find a fun activity for your child that is also accessible, economical, and appropriate for their age and skill level. Inquire about choices with your child's physical education teacher, daycare provider, community center staff, or other parents.
- Encourage your kids to be active, despite the fact that it's not always simple. Keep in mind that if your child becomes hot and sweaty when engaging in physical activity, this is typically a sign that they are working their body and benefiting from the exercise.
- Be encouraging and supportive. Some kids experience embarrassment and unease due to their physical appearance or attractiveness.
Lifestyle changes
- Reduce sedentary activities including watching TV, watching videos, using laptops, and playing games on personal screens.
- For children aged five and older, these activities shouldn't last more than two hours every day; for children between the ages of two and five, they shouldn't last longer than one hour per day.
- Avoid watching TV and eating. This can make family time less beneficial.
- In conclusion, inculcating a better lifestyle for your child is a group effort. These changes can be time-consuming and tiring. It is important to stay motivated and not give up.
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.