7 Ways to Manage Weight Problems in Children

On the rise, children at increasingly younger ages are developing weight problems. This has turned a serious health problem, since many illnesses are associated with increased weight. Children who are overweight are much more likely to be overweight in adolescence and adulthood. Eventually, it gets hardener to lose weight as one gets older. Diets are not the only way to go when it comes to managing weight as they create temporary eating patterns landing it up temporary results.

Managing weight is most likely to be successful when parents or guardians change their children’s habits, replacing old, unhealthy ones with new, healthy behaviours. Here are 7 ways to manage weight problems in Children and make that happen:

• Make Healthy Tweaks – Swap fried and packaged food with healthy options such as fresh fruit salads, nuts, yogurt and more. This will help improve the gut health of your kids as well as boost metabolism and keep them away from unhealthy food items thereby keeping a control over weight.
• Encourage Physical Activities – Modern lifestyle have contributed to children’s weight problems children do not work or exercise. There are many ways to get more exercise for your child into their daily lives and fun activities, such as walk together, jump ropes, swimming, dance around, participating in a sport etc.
• Avoid distractions/entertainment during eating – It has become a normal practice to let kids stare at screens while eating, which is an extremely unhealthy practice. Watching at the screens leaves the child distracted and he/she ends ups eating less or far more than required. Therefore, meals should be enjoyed without distractions.
• Keep Child-sized Portions – Try to avoid feeding your child oversized portions. A thumb rule is to start meals with small servings and let your child ask for more. Also try not to make your child eat more than they want to. Most importantly, encourage your child to eat slowly and have set mealtimes.
• Avoid Introducing Junk Food – Children are often seen consuming junk foods such as chips, chocolates, fries, aerated drinks, and more. They are all filled with trans-fat, oxygenated oils and more. Children in habit of consuming junk food often suffer from weight problems and other issue in terms of health.
• Ensure adequate Sleep –. The less children sleep, the greater the risk of them becoming obese as inadequate sleep makes us eat more and be less physically active. So, children need more sleep than adults, and the amount varies by age. Lack of sleep also affects mood and behaviour
• Acknowledge your child – Talk with your child about what it means to be healthy and how to make healthy decisions. Consider how physical activities and certain foods and drinks may help their bodies get strong and stay healthy.

Over to you:

Start slowly. It is advisable to manage one or two small changes before moving on to the next change. Hence, always remember that small changes every day can lead to success!