Parenting tip: 6 ways you can help your kid fight childhood obesity

Parenting tip: 6 ways you can help your kid fight childhood obesity
Dr Tejender Kaur Sarna, Childhood Obesity Expert, shares some tips on how to manage obesity in children.

Childhood obesityis on a rise, and there are many reasons for it. Apart from an unhealthy, sedentary lifestyle that most children lead nowadays, diet plays an extremely important role. Kids nowadays can’t do without junk and processed food and you probably don’t even realise that you are raising a fat kid.If you think eating oatmeal cookies and ready to eat soups that are marketed as healthy are a substiture for healthy home-cooked meals, you are mistaken. Dr Tejender Kaur Sarna, Childhood Obesity Expert , says that there’s nothing better than a home-cooked meal in a child’s diet. She shares some tips on how to manage obesity in children.

1. Stop nagging him –Your kid must have put on a lot of weight and you are probably worried about her health, but nagging will take you, or her, nowhere. Continuously reminding her that she has put on weight and how unhealthy it is can take a toll on her self-confidence. Do not watch her diet like a hawk either. While you should definitely set some ground rules for healthy eating and cheat meals, avoid badgering constantly.

2. Be a role model yourself –If your child is not eating healthy, remember it’s because maybe you don’t too. Practice what you preach. Eat right, follow a healthy lifestyle yourself and your kid will follow your footsteps.

3. Do not compare him to other kids - Parents tend to compare their kids with other children. Remember, every child is different with different metabolisms and body structures. Don’t tell him things like, see how fit your friends are, or, look at the amount of time they spend playing. Avoid doing that. Instead, help her understand the importance of healthy eating and exercising. Tell him what obesity will do to his body.

4. Make sure he’s active –Sedentary lifestyle is one of the biggest reasons for the increasing rate of childhood obesity. Most kids nowadays are busy with electronic gadgets. They hardly ever step out of the house to play. Make sure your kid gets some amount of physical activity regularly. Chalk out his schedule and dedicate an hour to a physical activity such as swimming or playing a sport such as tennis, or whichever sport she likes.

5. Watch his diet- -Visit a nutritionist for an ideal diet plan for your child. Get a diet plan which includes all the required nutrients. Make sure there’s no calorie restriction in the diet. Dr Sarna says that there should be no calorie restriction in a child’s diet because they are in a growing phase and require more energy than they will ever need. Cut down on junk and processed food and give her healthy home cooked food. There will be days when she will want junk food, so try cooking whatever she wants at home.

6. Stop the reward system –Many parents reward their child for every little achievement and in most cases, the reward is eating out, which is mostly a pizza or a burger. Stop that! You might think that she has followed a diet for five days so it should be okay to eat junk as a reward. But Dr Sarna says that should be avoided at all costs. Rewarding him will do more damage psychologically than physically. She will start thinking that he deserves a reward and will expect one for every little thing she does. Plus, a cheat meal once a week is not healthy either. If she must eat out or eat junk food, make sure it is followed by an hour of physical activity.

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