Kids and Health Care: Acknowledge Obesity
Today's parents are so accustomed to seeing overweight youngsters that many fail to recognize whether their own kids fall into the obese category.
As we've illuminated in this book, being overweight and obese increases the risk of a variety of illnesses later in life. A lot of overweight or obese people have skewed perceptions of body size. They often rate themselves and others as "about right."
Prevention of childhood obesity is critical because long-term outcome data for successful treatment approaches is limited. But, how can you help prevent childhood obesity?
- Help your doctor to identify any genetic, environmental or combinations of risk factors predisposing your children to obesity.
- Assess your child's level of physical activity and recognize excessive weight gain relative to linear growth. Ask your doctor to calculate and plot your child's BMI (see www.cdc.gov/growthcharts).
- Be a good role model. Recognize the impact you have on your children's development of lifelong habits of physical activity and nutritious eating.
- Encourage moderation rather than over consumption, and emphasize healthy choices rather than restrictive eating patterns.
- Provide emotional support during childhood. Kids who receive a lot of support from their parents early in life tend to have higher self-esteem, better social relationships and a better sense of control when it comes to coping with stress and problem-solving without turning to problem behaviors (i.e., excessive eating, smoking and drinking).
- Write -- or ask your doctor to write -- your child a "physical activity prescription." This reinforces that physical activity is as important to their health as any medication that might be prescribed, allowing the child to participate in setting the physical activity goal.
- Create a social climate for physical activity. Physical activity should be fun and accessible. Help your kids choose an activity routine that is fun, developmentally appropriate and realistic given his or her individual, family and community resources.
