Moms and dads can do a lot to prevent weight problems in their children and prevent them from becoming obese adults.
Since the end of the second millennium, the incidence of obesity has been steadily increasing all over the world as if it were an irrepressible epidemic.
The United States, as is known, holds the world record for overweight, both for children and for adults. But Europe is no joke either: the latest surveys show that the phenomenon is also on the rise in the Old Continent.
And in Italy? According to the most recent estimates by the Higher Institute of Health, the incidence of childhood obesity has risen from 9 to 12.5 per cent in the last decade; if we analyze the age group from 6 to 13 years, almost one in four children is obese or overweight.
And given that obese children will almost certainly become obese adults, with all the consequences of the case, it is good that prevention begins as soon as possible.
Measures that weigh
In adults, the definition of overweight and obesity is based on the Body Mass Index (or Bmi from English Body mass index) which is the ratio between weight in kg and height in meters squared. In children, the evaluation is more complex and it is up to the pediatrician to make a precise diagnosis.
Regardless of the measures, it has been proven that overeating in the first two years of life, in addition to causing an increase in the volume of fat cells, also causes an increase in their number. Having many adipocytes means having an excess of fat tissue, thus favoring the appearance of overweight and obesity.
If the tendency to obesity is not corrected from an early age, it will be increasingly difficult to achieve lasting weight loss as adults: the volume of fat mass can be reduced with an adequate diet, but the cells already present in excess cannot be eliminated.
Career mothers, plumper children
Obesity is a multifactorial disease, in the sense that several factors contribute to its cause. At the base, in addition to an unbalanced diet, there can be metabolic and hormonal diseases, but they are quite rare, contrary to popular belief.
The role of mothers, on the contrary, is of considerable importance from the first days of the child’s life. Not only because breastfeeding seems to be the first step in preventing the risk of childhood obesity, but also because if the mother is often away from home for work, her children are more prone to weight gain.
Recent British research has also highlighted how the situation goes from bad to worse when children are entrusted to young babysitters who, in order not to feel tantrums, satisfy their desires by stuffing them with sweets or other snacks of dubious nutritional value, but with a high fat content .
All this adds up to a substantial sedentary lifestyle of the child, which gradually translates into weight gain. And that’s not all yet.
Obviously overweight children (and this also applies to adults) comparing themselves with thinner peers develop a psychological discomfort that lasts over time and leads them to low self-esteem.
The weight of the parents
With regards to children’s nutrition, it seems that mothers, especially the Italian ones, are always worried if their child does not eat or eats little, almost never if he eats too much. Indeed, according to a survey conducted in our country, they seem not to notice the extra pounds of their children.
But the father also “weighs” on the obesity of the child. A 2000 Istat research showed that about 25 percent of overweight children and adolescents have a fat parent, a percentage that rises to about 34 percent when both parents are fat.
Indeed, as far as the hereditary nature of obesity is concerned, alterations of some genes have been highlighted which would have an important role in the production of adipose cells. But they are still only hypotheses and studies in this regard are still ongoing.
The good example above all
A factor that, on the other hand, certainly influences childhood and adult obesity is a sedentary lifestyle. Children who always go to school accompanied by car, and who spend hours in front of the TV or playing on the computer while eating all the time what fate can they have, if not to accumulate fat?
To prevent obesity, light physical activity is enough, provided it is daily: any movement that subjects the muscles to a moderate and constant effort forces the body to draw fuel above all from fat deposits. Optimal would be a bike ride or even just a walk in the open air. And doing it with the parents also becomes fun for the child.
If the child is overweight, before thinking about prohibitions or too restrictive diets it is better to turn off the TV and “run” together to the pediatrician.
Joycelyn Elders is the author and creator of EmpowerEssence, a health and wellness blog. Elders is a respected public health advocate and pediatrician dedicated to promoting general health and well-being.
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