Food is not a reward or a consolation. How to protect children from overeating from 0 to 15 years

The prevalence of childhood obesity in the world today is 10 times higher than 30 years ago. About 20% of children and adolescents are overweight, and this is an alarming trend. How not to provoke obesity in a child was told to a BelTA correspondent by doctors from the Republican Scientific and Practical Center "Mother and Child": HEAD of the laboratory for children's and adolescents' HEALTH problems, MD, associate professor Margarita Devyaltovskaya and pediatrician, senior researcher of the laboratory, candidate of medical sciences Anna Simchenko.

The key to a child's health is proper and nutritious nutrition. All the necessary substances come with food, which provide a person with energy and building material for organs and tissues. This does not mean at all that "the more the better". Systematic overeating is the main cause of overweight and obesity. To assess its danger, it is necessary to know the characteristics of the metabolism of the child's body, to have an idea of ​​​​the factors that affect metabolic processes. In many cases, obesity in children does not cause concern for parents, because in the first couple this problem is not accompanied by obvious changes in the functional state of the body.

The main focus of the modern pediatric community is focused on changing the perception of overweight in children: obesity is not the norm, but a chronic disease. According to WHO, there are 120 million overweight children in the world: every third child suffers from obesity. Two-thirds of children do not have any physical activity during the day, 90% of the time of modern teenagers does not involve physical activity.

Being overweight in children leads to low self-esteem and depression due to the perception of a non-standard body. There are problems with the respiratory system - shortness of breath and intolerance to physical exertion; with cardiovascular - arterial hypertension, clotting disorder, blood lipid profile; with digestive - indigestion - gastroesophageal reflux, cholelithiasis, constipation; with musculoskeletal - loads on the joints, ligamentous apparatus, flat feet, curvature of posture, bone fragility; with the nervous - increased intracranial pressure, headaches; endocrine - diabetes mellitus of the second type.

Among the causes of childhood obesity are low physical activity, the predominance of fast food, fast carbohydrates, liquid calories (juices, soda), uncontrolled consumption of sweets, convenience foods and culinary foods, highly processed products (sausages, sausages, dumplings), the absence of unsaturated foods in the diet. fats (fish, vegetable oils, nuts), and the predominance of trans fats (baking on margarine, cookies, factory sweets), food is not for hunger, but as an entertainment.

It is important to form healthy eating habits in your child. For example, thanks to a family breakfast, the child does not miss the first meal and maintains a balance in the distribution of macronutrients throughout the day. Regular dinner with the family helps to form a normal diet and not feel hungry before bedtime. A healthy child is able to understand how much food he needs to eat, he can stop in time without overeating. Parents should remember: food is not encouragement, reward or comfort, it has only one function - energy.

In addition, children poorly distinguish between hunger and thirst, so the child should be offered water when he is thirsty. It is undesirable to satisfy thirst with juice or soda. It must be understood that 1 liter of juice is equivalent in calories to 100 g of chocolate, 1 liter of lemonade can have a calorie content equal to the daily volume of food.

Doctors advise talking with children about food, the importance of their components. It is advisable to involve the child in cooking. Moreover, you yourself need to eat healthy foods, thereby setting an example for the child. Do not focus on forbidden food: the greater the interest in it, the greater the desire to eat it in excessive quantities.

Care must be taken to ensure that the child always has food with him in those situations where access to it is limited. For example, for school or a trip, you can collect a lunch box with vegetables and fruits, sandwiches with bread, lean MEAT and cheese (if the ambient temperature allows), unsweetened yogurt or kefir.

At certain ages, children have different risk factors for obesity. In the first year of life - this is an increase in the share of food, an increase in portions, in the second and third - the use of fried and smoked foods by children. Risk factors are the predominance of protein complementary foods, that is, the introduction of whole MILK and cottage cheese, as well as the use of highly processed and semi-finished products by children. Parents are advised to introduce complementary foods in accordance with the nutritional interest of the child and with the support of the pediatrician. Do not increase portions. It is important to control the weight and height of the child. You do not need to feed a child of the first year of life from the general table, do not force feed him. It is worth remembering that in 9 out of 10 cases, the reasons for overfeeding are in the lifestyle and food culture of the family.

At 6-7 years old, risks arise due to a decrease in parental control over nutrition, a decrease in physical activity (children spend time outside of school on gadgets), the first independent purchases (an excess of sweets, refined carbohydrates), a violation of the diet (refusal to eat at school, refusal of a full meal at home, uncontrolled snacking). Parents need to control the nutrition of younger students, monitor what and how much the child eats. Particular attention should be paid to sweets, snacks, juices, soda. It is better to give healthy snacks (lunch box) to school. Reduce time with gadgets, encourage physical activity. Children need to explain the meaning of fast food and the consequences for the body.

At 13-15 years old, risks are possible due to the predominance of fast food and multiple snacks in the diet, and a decrease in physical activity. Adolescents eat food to regulate emotions, eat for company, often for them food as entertainment. At this age, the first independent attempts to reduce weight (drying, starvation, extreme diets) are possible, which can lead to serious violations. Parents should involve the child in cooking, talk about the choice of healthy products. It is necessary to teach the child to understand products, read labels, encourage any physical activity, support by personal example. It is not necessary to use popular weight loss schemes on a teenager: this can lead to irreversible damage, it is better to contact a nutritionist.

The problem of overweight in children is easier to prevent than to solve. If necessary, seek help from a nutritionist. It is important to remember that the family plays a leading role in the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity.

BELTA.-0-