Definition
Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition that affects children and adolescents. It occurs when a child has a weight far above the normal weight for age and height. Obesity in children is very disturbing because excess weight is often trigger health problems in children was once confined to adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Childhood obesity can also lead to low self-esteem and depression.
One of the best strategies to tackle obesity is to improve diet and exercise habits of the entire family. Treating and preventing obesity helps protect your child's health now and in the future.
symptom
Not all children with a higher weight are overweight or obese. Some children have a body frame is greater than the average. And children usually have a number of different body fat at various stages of development. So, obesity in children can not be detected just by checking her weight.
Pediatricians can help you find out if your child's weight can lead to health problems using a growth chart and, if necessary, your doctor may recommend other tests.
When to see a doctor
If you are concerned about your child's weight, immediately consult with a pediatrician. The doctor will review the history of your child's growth and development, high weight history and family, and your child's growth chart. This can help determine if your child's weight is within the range that is not healthy.
Cause
Lifestyle issues - too little physical activity and calorie intake from food and drink too much - is the main cause of obesity. But the genetic and hormonal factors may also play a role. For example, a recent study found that hormonal changes can affect the digestive signals that allow us to know that we are full.
Although not common, there are also genetic diseases and hormonal disorders that can make children prone to obesity.
Risk factors
Many factors - usually the accumulation of more than two factors - which can increase the risk of child obesity, among others:
- Diet. The consumption of high-calorie foods continuously, such as fast food, baked goods and snacks, can easily lead to excess weight in children. Soft drinks, candy and desserts also can cause weight gain.
- Lack of exercise. Children who do not exercise regularly are more likely to experience obesity (obesity) because the body does not burn enough calories. Too much time to stay in one place, such as when watching television or playing video games, also contributes lead to obesity in children.
- Family factors. If your child comes from a family with a history of obesity, he will be more at risk of obesity. This is especially true in a family environment with a diet full of foods high in calories and does not suggest physical activity or exercise routine.
- Psychological factors. Some children overeat to cope with problems or to deal with emotions, such as stress, or to fight boredom. Their parents may have the same tendency.
- Socio-economic factors. People in some communities have limited resources and little access to supermarkets. Consequently, they may prefer to food are formulated from ingredients that are not easily rotten or damaged quickly, such as frozen foods, crackers and cookies. In addition, people living in low-income neighborhood may not have access to safe places to exercise.
complicationObesity in children can cause complications in the physical, social and emotional well-being.
physical complications
- Diabetes type 2. Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition that affects the way the body uses sugar (glucose). Obesity and sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of type 2 diabetes.
- Metabolic Syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is not a disease, but a group of conditions that can make your child's risk for heart disease, diabetes or other health problems. These conditions include high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high triglycerides, HDL cholesterol ( "good") is low ( "good") and excess abdominal fat.
- High cholesterol and high blood pressure. Your child is also at risk of developing high blood pressure or high cholesterol if he has a poor diet. These factors can contribute to lead to the buildup of plaque in the arteries. This plaque can cause the arteries to narrow and harden, which ends can lead to heart attack or stroke later in life.
- Asthma. Children who are overweight or obese are more at risk of developing asthma.
- Sleep disturbance. Obstructive sleep apnea is a potentially serious disorder in which the airway repeatedly interrupted during sleep at night. This condition is one of the complications of obesity.
- nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This disorder, which usually causes no symptoms, causes fat deposits to accumulate in the liver. NAFLD can lead to scarring and liver damage.
- Early puberty or menstruation. Obesity can lead to hormonal imbalance that can cause puberty Occurs Earlier than it should.
- Social and emotional complications
- Low self-esteem and bullying. Children often tease or annoy his friends are obese. It can affect self-esteem and increase the risk of depression.
- Problem behavior and learning. Children who are overweight are more Likely to experience anxiety and poor social skills compared to normal kids his age. At the climax, Reviews These problems can cause children to act out of control and Disrupt Reviews their classmates. On the other hand, it can also result in children of obese people withdraw from their social environment.
- Depression. Low self-esteem can lead to despair remarkable in some children. When children lose hope for a better quality of life, they are very susceptible to depression. A child who is depressed will start to lose interest in doing normal everyday activities, sleeping more than usual or frequent crying. Some depressed children hide their sadness and emotional show flat instead. But in other cases, depression can be very serious in children as in adults.
Preparation Prior to the Doctor
The family doctor or pediatrician will probably make the initial diagnosis of obesity. If your child has medical complications associated with obesity, you may be referred to the additional specialists to help manage this complication. Because the consultation time is usually quite short, whereas a lot of things that need to be discussed with your doctor, you are advised to prepare in advance for your initial consultation. Here's some information that can help you get ready.
What you can do
- Know any restrictions on pre-consultation. If blood sugar or cholesterol test is required for the benefit of diagnosis, your child may need to fast for eight to 12 hours. When you make an appointment, ask if your child needs a previous fasting.
- Write down your child's symptoms experienced, including any that may seem unrelated to obesity (obesity).
- Have a family member or friend to accompany you during the consultation, if possible. The treatment of obesity requires you to gather and remember a lot of information, and sometimes it will be difficult to remember all the information given by the doctor during a consultation.
- Bring a notebook and pen or pencil to write down important information.
- Write down questions you want to ask the doctor.
- Bring certain records related to your child's growth measurement results you've prepared at home
- Carry as well as body weight data of your children and the other parent.
- Note any type of food consumed by your child for a week to show to your child's doctor.
Your time with your doctor is limited, so preparing a list of questions to help you make a good consultation. Sort list your questions from most important to least important to anticipate the end of time. For obesity, here are some basic questions you need to include in your list.
- What other health problems might my child have?
- What are the treatment options for my child?
- Are there any medications that can help manage my child's weight and other health conditions?
- How long will my child have to undergo this treatment?
- What can I do to help my child lose weight?
- Are there any brochures or other printed material that I can take home?
- What websites do you recommend?
In addition to the questions you've prepared in advance, do not hesitate to ask other questions during a consultation.
What can you expect from the doctor
During the appointment, your child's doctor or other health care provider will probably ask a number of questions related to your child's eating habits, physical activity, mood and thoughts, and symptoms that may be experienced. The doctor may ask the following question.
- What types of foods consumed by children everyday?
- How much physical activity your child every day?
- What are the factors that you believe affect your child's weight?
- Diet or what treatment, if any, have you already tried to help your child lose weight?
- Do you have any family members with weight problems?
- Are you ready to make lifestyle changes a family to help your child lose weight?
- What do you think that might hamper your child lose weight?
- How often does your family eat together? Does your child help prepare meals?
- Does the child, or your family, eating while watching TV or using the computer?
What can you do in the meantime
If you have a few days or a few weeks before the consultation schedule your child, prepare notes to write down what your child eats and how much he did physical activity or sport.
Tests and Diagnosis
As part of regular health checks of children, doctors calculate your child's body mass index (BMI) to determine your child's BMI position on BMI growth charts for her age. The body mass index helps indicate whether your child is overweight for age and height.
Then, using a growth chart, your doctor determines your child's percentile, which means comparing the growth of your child with other children on sex and the same age. For example, you may be told that your child is in the 80th percentile. This means that compared with other children of sex and the same age, your child has a weight of 80 per cent lower.
Cutoff points on growth charts below can help identify overweight and obesity in children:
- If the body mass index for age between 85 and 94 percentiles, means that your child is overweight
- If the body mass index for age 95 percentile or more, meaning your child suffer from obesity
Because the body mass index does not take into consideration such things as muscle mass or body frame as well as growth patterns vary greatly among children, doctors usually consider factors of growth and development of your child. This helps determine if your child's weight is normal or not.
In addition to body mass index calculation and recording of weight on a growth chart, the doctor usually will also evaluate:
- History of obesity and health problems related family weight, such as diabetes
- Your child's eating habits
- The level of activity your child
- Other medical conditions that may have your child
blood tests
Doctors may recommend a blood test if the results of the initial examination found that your child is overweight. These tests may include:
- Cholesterol Tests
- Test your blood sugar
- Other blood tests to check hormone imbalance
Some of these tests require your child to not eat or drink anything before the test. Your pediatrician will definitely tell you whether he need to fast before blood tests and how long.
Treatments and Medications
Treatment for obesity based on age and other medical conditions you have. Treatment usually includes changes in diet and physical activity levels. In certain circumstances, treatment may include drugs or weight loss surgery.
Treatment for overweight in children
American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children over the age of 2 years and adolescents whose weight falls in the category of overweight to follow a weight loss program to slow weight gain later. This strategy helps the growth of the child's height and prevent weight gain, so slowly the body mass index for age will move into the category of normal or healthy.
Treatment for obesity in children
Children aged 6-11 years are obese may need a weight loss program gradually, no more than 1 pound (or about 0.5 kilograms) per month. Children and adolescents who are obese or extremely obese can be a diet which aims to reduce body weight by 2 pounds (or about 1 kilogram) a week.
Methods to maintain ideal body weight or your child's current excess weight loss is basically the same: Your child needs to implement a healthy diet - both in terms of the type and amount of food - and increase their physical activity. The success of this diet depends on your commitment to help your child's lifestyle changes.
Healthy diet
In a family, parents who are responsible for buying groceries, cooking meals and decide the food that will be eaten by the entire family. Small changes can make a big difference to your child's health condition overall.
- When shopping for foods, choose fruits and vegetables. Reduce tasty and convenient foods - such as cookies, crackers and ready meals - which often contain sugar, fat and calories are high. Then, make sure healthy snacks are always available in your home.
- Limit sugary drinks. In this case excluding drinks containing fruit juice. Reviews These drinks provide little nutritional value as a substitute for high-calorie content. Sweet drinks can also Accelerate the feeling of satiety in children so that they will tend range to leave more healthy food.
- Limit fast food. Most fast food offer will be full menu of foods high in fat and calories.
- Sit down together for family meals. Make this moment as a routine event - a time to share news and tell stories. Furthermore, avoid eating in front of the screen - such as a TV, computer or video games - that can trigger rapid eating habits and decrease awareness of children about the quantity of food that has been consumed.
- Serve food in proper portions. Children do not need food in equal portions with adults. Let your child eat until he was full, even if he left his food on the plate. And keep in mind, when you eat out, the portion of the food served is usually exceed the portion of food for children.
physical activity
One important step to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight and ideal, especially for children, is physical activity. Physical activity not only burns calories but also helps build strong bones and muscles and helps your children sleep soundly at night and stay focused during the day. Good habits that began in childhood will help adolescents maintain healthy weight despite the hormones her body began to change, growth and rapid social influence often leads to excessive eating habits. And the kids are active from an early age will be easier to maintain and achieve physical fitness at the time growing up.
To improve your child's activity level:
- Limit time watching TV and using the computer no more than 2 hours a day. A good way to increase your child's activity level is to limit the time watching TV every day. More sedentary activities - such as playing video and computer or talking on the phone - also should be limited.
- Emphasize the importance of physical activity, not limited to sports. Children are active and eager for at least an hour a day. Physical activity children should not always be a structured exercise program - the aim is simply to encourage children to be always on the move. Free play activities - like playing hide and seek, tag or jump-rope - could be a good choice to burn calories and improve fitness.
- Find activities that you liked children. For example, if your child enjoys artistic activities, take her out to collect leaves and stones that can be used to create a collage. If your child likes to climb, point it to a nearby forest area of your neighborhood, or to a nearby gym or climbing wall. If your child likes to read, take it walking or biking to the neighborhood library to get a book.
Drug
In some situations, the doctor may prescribe drugs to lose weight in adolescents as part of a weight loss plan as a whole. There is only one prescription weight loss drug available to teenagers, ie orlistat. Orlistat (Xenical) can prevent the absorption of fat in the intestine. Risks of using these drugs in the long term is unknown, and the drug's effects on weight loss and maintenance of weight loss for teens is still questionable.
Weight loss surgery
Weight loss surgery can be a good choice for very obese adolescents who are unable to lose weight through conventional weight loss methods. However, just like other types of surgery, there are potential risks and long-term complications that may result. However, long-term effects of weight loss surgery is the growth and development of children in the future is largely unknown.
Weight loss surgery in teens is rare. But the doctor may recommend surgery if your child's weight could potentially pose a greater health threat than the potential risks of surgery. A child is recommended to undergo weight loss surgery are required to meet very specialist teams of children, including pediatric endocrinologist before a scheduled surgery.
Weight loss surgery is not a magic solution to tackle obesity in children. This operation does not guarantee your child will reach your ideal weight afterward or can sustain in the long term. And it should also be remembered that this operation is not to replace a healthy diet plan and regular physical activity. Lifestyle changes is a mandatory step that must be followed by your child to maintain an ideal body weight and general health condition.
Lifestyle and Home Treatment
Your child the best chance for achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is to start eating a healthy diet and exercising more regularly. Here are some steps you can take at home to help your child maintain their weight:
- Be a role model for your child. Choose healthy foods and entertainment in the form of physical activity for you and your family. If you need to lose weight, doing so will motivate your child to do the same. Children are good learners and they often imitate what they see.
- Involve the whole family. Make healthy eating habits as a priority and emphasize the importance of physical activity for the whole family. This helps the children with excess weight to achieve their ideal weight.
Treatment and Support
Parents play an important role in helping children to always feel loved and to control their weight or obese. Take advantage of every opportunity to improve your child's self-esteem. Do not be afraid to talk about the topics of health and fitness but you should always be sensitive, so that children do not consider your concern as an insult. Talk with your kids directly, openly, and without critical or judgmental nature.
Additionally, consider the following suggestions:
- Be sensitive to your child's needs and feelings. Be active is a lifestyle change that is important for your child, but your child will be with and adhere to these changes if you give freedom to your child to choose a physical activity she enjoys.
- Find reasons to praise your child's efforts. Appreciate every little change made by your child, but do not give food as a reward or prize. Choose another way to praise your child's progress, such as taking her out parks or tourist attractions.
- Show your concern about what he feels. Help your child find ways to handle his emotions, so he does not vent feelings of despair or grief with overeating.
- Help your child focus on positive goals. For example, show that he can now bike for more than 20 minutes without getting tired or can run some physical activity.
- Be patient. Many children with excess weight then progressively gain weight in line with the growth of his height. You must also realize that the attention and excessive pressure on the dietary habits and weight loss plan your child can backfire, causing a child's eating habits instead continue to follow through excesses even more than usual, or perhaps make him more prone to eating disorders.
Prevention
Healthy habits is important, not only for children who are at risk of overweight but also for those who already have a normal body mass index, you can take proactive steps to help make sure that your family implement healthy living habits.
- Limit consumption of sugary drinks for kids
- Prepare foods that contain lots of fruits and vegetables
- Eat together as a family as often as possible
- Limit eating out, especially at fast-food restaurants
- Adjust servings of food to the age of the family member
- Limit time watching TV and more in front of the monitor screen is not more than 2 hours a day
Make sure you take your child to the doctor regularly for a general health examination at least once a year. During this visit, the doctor will measure the height and weight and calculate your child's body mass index or BMI. Increased BMI or a child's percentile rankings after one year is a sign that indicates that your child is at risk of becoming obese.
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