Parents Must Know, Here's How To Overcome Obesity In Children

Illustration of Obesity in Children (Tatiana Syrikova / Pexels)

JAKARTA - When children look fatter than their peers, parents must be careful because this could be a sign of obesity. Although not all children who are overweight mean obesity, there's nothing wrong with starting to be vigilant.

To be clearer and more certain, maybe you can try to see a doctor to measure the child's weight and height. The results will be calculated to the child's Body Mass Index and compared with standard values.

Obesity is not only about being overweight, but it can also be a risk to your health. Obese children can experience airway obstruction during sleep which is characterized by snoring, posture disorders, bone development disorders, skin disorders, allergies, and the potential to cause serious diseases such as diabetes and heart problems.

If your child is already obese, what can you do to overcome it? Come on, follow these tips so that the child returns to the ideal body weight and of course all for the health of the baby.

Introducing hunger and satiety

Obese children may have been eating uncontrollably. He will eat whenever he wants to eat. Well, parents can teach children about hunger and satiety. The child must be able to distinguish between true cravings and hunger. Children must also be able to recognize satiety so they must stop eating even though they still want to.

Adjust the diet

Change the child's eating habits from now on, pay attention to all of their daily intake. Children are advised to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, drink enough water, eat three times a day, replace snacks with sliced fruit, and reduce their favorite sweet and junk food snacks such as cakes, ice cream, candy, chocolate, and sweet drinks, donuts, burgers, pizza, and various chips.

Do all the changes slowly, it doesn't matter. Changing habits, especially about eating, is not easy. Parents can also learn to sort foods that are healthy but still delicious for children. This habit, although done slowly, can be a big change in the long term.

Get the child to exercise

To help lose weight and at the same time make the child's body fitter, encourage him to exercise regularly. For the type, it can be adjusted to what the child likes or can combine sports every day so you don't get bored, starting from walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, and so on. Parents or siblings can accompany the child to exercise so that the activities are more enjoyable for the child.

Monitor body weight

During a new diet plus exercise, children will experience weight loss slowly. Don't forget to monitor their weight and routinely check the child's condition to the doctor so that they know what else can be done to overcome obesity, whether there are changes in diet, exercise, and so on.