Causes of Childhood obesity

How you can help your overweight child?

There are many reasons that could lead to obesity in children. The most common among them are:

Genetic Factors:

Genetic determinants can either play a major role in the pathogenesis of obesity or enhance susceptibility to its development. There is evidence for strong genetic influences on the development of obesity. Although the weight problem runs in families not all children with a family history of obesity will be overweight. Genetic factors play a role in increasing the likelihood that a child will be overweight, but shared family behaviours such as eating and activity habits also influence body weight.

Lack of Physical activity:

Today with the increasing popularity of television and the computer, with the Internet to boot it, in addition to video games are all culprits in causing children to lead inactive lives. Also increasing competition among school children, causing them to spend more time with their school – books leaves them with very little time to play and indulge in physical activity.

Endocrine disorder:

Changes in thyroid hormone and its metabolism occur with changes in the level of nutrient intake. Growth hormone secretion is reduced, but insulin-like growth factor I level are normal suggesting that the level of growth hormone is sufficient to stimulate production of this important hormone. Obesity leads to an earlier onset of menarche, to a greater frequency of irregular and anovulatory cycles.

How you can help your overweight child?

Support:

An overweight child needs the support of his/her parents. It is very important that the parents make the child feel that they are okay whatever their weight may be. The child knows that he is overweight and therefore it is important that they need support and encouragement.

Involve the family:

It is important that the whole family helps the child in dealing with his weight. The obese child should not be set apart because of his weight. Family involvement helps everyone in the family to inculcate healthy eating habits, without ruling out the overweight child alone.

Increase the physical activity of the family:

Regular eating habits in addition to good amount of physical activity leads to a healthy life. Simply leading an active life will ensure that you remain fit always. Some easy ways to increase the physical activity of your family are:

	Firstly reduce the amount of time that you and your family spend in sedentary activities like watching TV or playing video games or chatting on the Internet.
	Try and be as active as possible, be a role model for your child, it is likely that children will be more active if they see their family more active and having fun.
	Plan activities like swimming, dancing etc… in the family than watching TV.
	Be sensitive to your child’s needs. Do not force him into any activity that he may be too embarrassed to do or an activity that may be difficult for him. Find him activities that he enjoys.

The point is to make all general activities that are carried out in a more active way and make most of the opportunities that are available to be more active.

Help your child develop good eating habits:

Children should never be placed on a restrictive diet to lose weight, unless a doctor supervises one for medical reasons. Limiting what children eat may be harmful to their health and interfere with their growth and development.

To promote proper growth and development and prevent overweight, parents should offer the whole family a wide variety of foods.

If you are unsure about how to select and prepare a variety of foods for your family, consult a physician or registered dietician for nutrition counselling.

Cut down on the amount of fat in the diet:

Making small changes to the amount of fat in your family's diet is a good way to prevent excess weight gain in children.

Reducing fat is a good way to cut calories without depriving your child of nutrients. Simple ways to cut the fat in your family's diet include having more of natural foods like fruits and vegetables. Also reduce the amount of fat that is used to cook the food.

Encourage your child to eat slowly:

One of the causes of obesity is eating fast, due to which one tends to eat more. Teach your child to chew his food well and slowly so he can detect hunger and fullness better.

Eat meals together as a family:

It is important to eat meals together and more important for mealtimes to be cheerful. If mealtimes are unpleasant then children will tend to eat fast and leave the table quick.

Plan for snacks:

Continuous snacking may lead to overeating, but snacks that are planned at specific times during the day can be part of a nutritious diet, without spoiling a child's appetite at mealtimes. You should make snacks as nutritious as possible, without depriving your child of occasional chips or cookies, especially at parties or other social events.

Discourage children from watching TV or reading while eating:

It is important to teach children to concentrate on their food while eating and to ensure undivided attention to their meals.

Set a good example:

Children are good learners, and they learn best by example. Setting a good example for your kids by eating a variety of foods and being physically active will teach your children healthy lifestyle habits that they can follow for the rest of their lives.