Here in the Philippines, the concept of being healthy is when a child is fat. I disagree with this belief that children who are heavier (ok, fatter) are healthier than those who are not.

There have been so interesting efforts to replay information about childhood obesity, its causes, its effects and its lifelong implications.

The causes can include diet that almost always include high-fat and high calorie food. Inactivity which stems from being sedentary in front of the television or computer also contributes to the gaining weight. Some are genetically predisposed to these issues while some children have psychological, socioeconomic and family factors.

So what are the implications when children have obesity? They tend to have diabetes, liver disorders, asthma, skin problems, early puberty and even high blood pressure.

What about the social and emotional implications? Being bullied, low self-esteem, which can lead to behavioral and learning problems or even depression.

So how should these weight issues be treated?

Treatment would depend on the child’s age. For younger children, weight maintenance should be given emphasis rather than weight loss.

For older children, changes in the diet and increase in physical activities are implemented. The use of medications or weight loss products and even weight-loss surgery can be done in some circumstances.

Children with developmental problems are no exception to this childhood obesity. In fact, several of the students I have taught are bigger, heavier and taller than other children their age.

The Interactive Autism Network had a study about this and its preliminary findings showed children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder are taller and heavier than their peers.

So how should healthy eating and living be encouraged?

Choose fruits and vegetables rather than processed food.

For snacks, have the children munch on fruits.

Limit sweetened drinks including those that have fruit flavors. If possible have these fruit juices freshly squeezed.

Discouraged eating in front of the television or the computer. Instead, make time for a family meal when members can interact and have conversation.

Limit fast food trips.

Limit television viewing and instead, encourage your child to play, read books and develop a sport activity.

Be active as a family to double the fun.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 at 6:13 am and is filed under Health, Information, Interesting tidbits. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.