When your child is overweight

Tackling your child’s weight problem

A new report says that a third of our kids are overweight, and increasing rates of childhood obesity also factor in the rising incidence of diabetes and high blood pressure among children.

What lies behind child obesity? Our diet is notoriously bad for starters. Kids who spend their evenings in front of the TV aren’t only missing out on the exercise that could help them keep off the pounds – they’re also indulging in mindless snacking and constantly tempted by commercials for fast food. More than 90% of elementary schools don’t offer opportunities for phys ed on a daily basis (with schools in states that have a law requiring it finding it hard to plan it into the curriculum), and school vending machines dish up calorie-laden soda and candy.

If your child is overweight, how best can you approach the problem without harming her fragile self-esteem and sending the signal that her worth depends on her looks?

• Don’t be critical Criticizing your child’s weight is unlikely to encourage her to give up the bad in favor of healthy, nutritious food and exercise  – instead, she’s likely to resort to unhealthy dieting. One 2006 study carried out by the University of Minnesota indicated that around two-thirds of girls and a third of boys had taken up smoking or were skipping meals or fasting in order to lose weight. Conversely, she may turn to food to comfort herself.
• Demonstrate that she’s way more than her looks Make sure your child knows that her appearance isn’t everything by celebrating her personality, strengths, talents and skills.
• Make food the hero, not the villain Don’t refer to food in negative terms – for example, as the means to get fat or stay slim. Instead, emphasize how good healthy food gives her energy, strengthens her muscles and bones, and boosts her brain power.
• Keep healthy foods available Keep the fruit bowl full of pre-washed fruit so she can help herself; chop it into snack-size portions and store it in baggies on a refrigerator shelf where she can reach in and grab it if she’s hungry between meals.
• Let her regulate her own appetite Don’t enforce a clean plate rule: she needs to be able to recognize the internal signal her body sends her when she’s full, instead of being conditioned to clear her plate out of habit.
• Model a healthy attitude yourself when it comes to food and exercise. Never use the phrase “straight to my hips” in her presence, avoid junk food yourself and don’t let on if you’re dieting. Focus on exercise as a means of boosting health and vitality, not as a means of losing weight.

 

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