Childhood obesity. Obesity in children: timely diagnosis and effective treatment methods

Parents should be aware that obesity is childhood can have serious consequences. It significantly increases the risk of developing diabetes, liver and gallbladder diseases, hypertension, infertility and other chronic diseases. People who have been obese since childhood may develop atherosclerosis at an early age, ischemic disease heart disease, myocardial infarction or chronic heart failure are diseases characteristic of older people. An overweight child often suffers from snoring and other sleep disorders. Obesity also negatively affects the psychological state of the child: excess weight creates self-doubt in children and adolescents, significantly reduces self-esteem, which leads to problems with studies, and sometimes causes ridicule from peers and, as a result, leads to isolation and depression.

Causes of obesity in children

Most often, overweight in children is the result of poor nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle, but it can also be caused by diseases endocrine system or other serious health problems. The main risk factors for obesity are the following.

• Poor nutrition
  If a child regularly consumes high-calorie, fatty and sweet foods (fast food, snacks, chips, confectionery, baked goods, etc.), this can lead to excess weight. And if you add sugary carbonated drinks, ice cream, desserts with cream and other sweets to this, the risk of obesity increases even more.
• Sedentary lifestyle
  Lack of physical activity contributes to the accumulation of overweight, because in this case, the child burns much less calories than he receives from food. If a child spends a lot of time watching TV, on the computer, or playing video games for a long time, this lifestyle also contributes to the development of obesity.
• Hereditary factor
  If family members are suffering overweight, this is additional factor the risk of developing obesity in children, especially if there is always high-calorie food in the house, which is available at any time, and the child leads a sedentary lifestyle.
• Psychological factors
  Children and adolescents, just like adults, tend to “eat up” psychological problems such as stress, troubles or powerful emotions, and sometimes they eat just like that, out of boredom. Sometimes the cause of overeating is a lack or absence of parental attention, and the extra calories obtained from food lead to excess weight.

Prevention of obesity in children

Food choices, daily menus, and family mealtime routines are up to the adults, and even small changes can have big benefits for your child's health.

This is interesting! Treatment of obesity in children depends on their age and general condition health. Children are not prescribed medications that suppress appetite or promote weight loss. If obesity in a child is caused by a disorder of the hormonal system, weight loss can be achieved through a combination of diet, exercise and treatment of the underlying disease.

• When shopping for groceries, don't forget about fruits and vegetables. Finished Products industrial production, such as crackers, cookies and baked goods, semi-finished food products, as well as ready meals, incl. Frozen ones often contain too much fat and sugar, so you shouldn't buy them. Choose healthier ones instead high-calorie foods.
• Never use food as a reward or punishment.

• Avoid or limit your consumption of commercially produced sugary drinks, including those containing fruit juice. These drinks are high in calories but contain very few nutrients.
• For every meal, try to gather the whole family around the table. Eat slowly, share the news. Don't let your child eat in front of the TV, computer or video game - this will cause him to lose control of satiety and may eat more than he should.
• Try to visit cafes and restaurants with your child as little as possible, especially fast food restaurants. In such food outlets, most of the dishes on the menu are high in calories and contain large amounts of unhealthy fats.

For increase physical activity child, adhere to the following rules.

• Limit your child's time at the computer and in front of the TV screen to two hours.
• Focus on mobility in general, rather than on physical exercises - the child does not have to perform any specific set of physical exercises, you can just play hide and seek or catch, jump rope, sculpt a snow woman, etc.
• To keep your child active, set an example for him. Think about what kind of outdoor activity the whole family can do.
• Never use exercise as a punishment or chore.
• Allow your child to vary their outdoor activities different days weeks. Let him swim in the pool one day, go bowling on another, play football on the third, and ride a bike on the fourth. It doesn’t matter what he does, it’s important that he moves more.

Discussion

Overweight in children in 90% of cases is a consequence of poor nutrition in the family. And while my mother says, “my son doesn’t eat anything at all,” he will gain and gain weight, and then at 20 GB, 35 he already has a heart attack... So you may not even wait for your grandchildren.

The creepy picture in the body of the article is this one, below. You could just leave it alone, without the rest of the text and the title of the article. And everything would be clear. On the children's table is Coca-Cola (or Pepsi, I don't see the difference - savvy car enthusiasts have long adapted both to their needs - like washing engines - it corrodes worse than acid). Everything else is so-called fast food - what we call fast food - even an adult body cannot digest it without harming itself, let alone a child, whose everything is growing and developing... And what do children eat in schools? And they don't eat anything there. Because tastes have already been formed for something else - not for casseroles and porridges, but for chips, nuts, crackers with glutamate and everything that has packaging. This is what they eat, running to the next store during breaks. We, parents, are horrified when we look at TV screens where they show America and its ordinary inhabitants with an average weight of over 100 kg, regardless of age. And we do nothing or cannot do anything, oppose. There is no national program (Dr. Bormental and the Land of the Slender do not count, although we must pay tribute to the commercial spirit of the cunning organizers). In sports, our best of the best from the country are far from ahead of the rest, what can we say about the average Russian, and sports are far from being among the priorities of our national policy. If in Soviet times There were sports clubs on every corner, but now parents don’t know where to place their preschooler.

The article is correct! As usual - nothing new. More movement and less fat. What to do if the child is already full? Or the child thinks he is fat. I recently read a letter from one mother - she has a 6-year-old child who is of normal weight and would like to lose weight. Baby goes on a diet

Comment on the article "Overweight in children: causes, prevention and treatment"

If your child is overweight. But most polycystic people have serious weight problems. What causes excess weight in children and how can childhood obesity be prevented? Problem excess weight after childbirth: advice for mothers on how...

Discussion

You don’t have to engage in sports to lose weight, it’s important to maintain a calorie deficit. Well, here it’s different for everyone... besides, if you have health problems, like I had with the thyroid gland, then only see a doctor - the weight didn’t move up or down, I took a course of endocrinol and then it went down. it's an individual matter)

I still didn’t understand about your weight. You weighed 115 kg all your life, and then became 103?

My child is overweight. Age 9 years, height 130, and weight 37 kg. How is the child’s activity? Although the older one had what the younger friend had now - IMHO, there is an age when even giving up buns and barneys has not yet harmed a single obese person.

Discussion

feed normally. including sometimes giving a bun and candy. no fast food. sport but within reasonable limits. and forget that this is “overweight”. Puberty will come and everything will go away

A year ago, I also thought that the main thing was movement. I enrolled my daughter, a first-grader, in two serious sports schools (not only because she is overweight, but she really likes it). All year long, 1-2 workouts a day. Sports rock and roll and badminton. She even won competitions. At school I was given only an apple for a snack all year. I rode with joy all year. I haven't lost weight. I do not know what to do. Now I think that only a strict diet will help, but I’m not tough enough to keep her on it. I can not.

The girl is overweight. Relationships with peers. Child from 10 to 13. The girl is overweight. Good evening! One friend told me yesterday about problems with overweight What causes excess weight in children and how can childhood obesity be prevented?

Discussion

I advise you to limit rolls, bread and cookies, and go dancing

There is a completely free solution to the problem: reconsider your diet, eat less sweets and starchy foods, and move more.
I believe your doctor will recommend the same thing to you.
Or are you waiting for some kind of magic pill from the doctor?

Excess weight in a child can lead to chronic diseases. How to deal with excess weight in a child, how to establish proper weight According to WHO, 22 million children under 5 years of age and 10% of children school age from 5 to 17 years old are overweight and obese.

Discussion

I am 10 years old, my height is 164 and my weight is 54
For me this is a normal weight because I go to kickboxing and half of my weight is muscles and bones
Well, I weigh the most in the class

I am 10 years old, my height is 164 cm and my weight is 54 kg.
For me this is a normal weight because I go to kickboxing and my part of the weight is muscles and bones
Well, I weigh the most in the class...

Nutrition full baby. Share menu ideas for a child with a tendency to be overweight, because there is not enough imagination. Both my daughter and I are prone to being overweight. In 1st grade, we successfully overcame excess weight, and at the age of 7 we underwent a serious examination, because we were obese.

Discussion

What do they eat at school? Everything there is usually very sweet and carbohydrate... Mine got it there in huge quantities...

With this diet and approach to nutrition, you do everything to disrupt eating behavior daughter and slow down your already slow metabolism as much as possible. The body receives a signal of hunger and stores everything “in reserve.”
If you have problems in endocrinology, get treatment. If not, go for a consultation at the Institute of Nutrition.

Childhood obesity is an excess of body weight by 10% or more relative to the upper limit of normal due to adipose tissue. The baby’s body weight depends on constitutional data, age and, of course, health status. In the first years of life, it is one of the indicators of normal development. There are special tables that compare a child’s weight according to his gender and age. Minor deviations are not yet evidence of the development of obesity in children. But any increase in body weight above normal is an alarming sign, as the load on the body increases. It is difficult for such children to master the school curriculum and they get tired quickly. In obese children, bones and joints become painful, as a large load is placed on the immature skeleton.

Causes of obesity in childhood

Typically, excess weight is observed in children with metabolic pathologies.

Girls are much more likely to be obese than boys. The problem of obesity in children can be caused by a hereditary disease, or it can develop as a result of excess food consumption, i.e. overeating. Your child’s body receives a large amount of fat and carbohydrates along with food, and with a reduced metabolism, the body cannot cope with their processing, so excess fat begins to be deposited in organs and tissues.

Also, the problem of childhood obesity may be associated with hormonal disorders in the body during puberty. In case of brain injuries or pathological processes occurring in it, the activity of the hypothalamus may be affected, as a result, the centers that regulate the saturation of the body cease to function normally, and the child begins to eat a lot.

Obesity can be primary or secondary. The main cause of primary childhood obesity is usually excessive food consumption, that is, overeating, and not genetic mutations. Secondary obesity, as a rule, develops with diseases of the endocrine system.

In childhood, obesity, which is associated with dysfunction of the hypothalamus, is often a congenital pathology. The child is born with a normal weight, at first he gains weight poorly, but closer to 1 year his body weight begins to increase rapidly. Besides congenital pathology, such obesity can occur after injury, with infectious lesion central nervous system.

1, 2, 3 and 4 degrees of obesity in children and adolescents

IN medical practice There are four degrees of obesity in children:

• 1st degree obesity in children is characterized by the fact that the baby’s body weight exceeds the norm by 10-30%;
• in children, stage 2 obesity is diagnosed at the moment when body weight exceeds the norm by 30-50%;
• Level 3 obesity in children is determined by doctors when the child’s weight becomes 50-100% higher than normal;
• The fourth degree of obesity is diagnosed when body weight exceeds the norm by more than 100%.

Experts note that adipose tissue tends to accumulate intensively only during certain periods of a person’s life. Therefore, for example, the first accumulation begins from the moment the toddler is born and continues until approximately the day the baby turns 9 months old. When children reach 5 years of age, the rate of fat gain stabilizes. The second period, which requires special parental attention, occurs at the age of 5-7 years. The third stage coincides with the child’s puberty and lasts until your child turns 17 years old.

In this regard, doctors consider the following to be the most critical periods during which obesity can occur in children and adolescents:

1. In infancy - until the baby is three years old.
2. That same preschool period is between five and seven years of a child’s life.
3. A rather long third stage, which begins at 12 years and ends only at 17, is the period of puberty.

Children suffering from primary and secondary obesity (with photo)

You can see in the photo of obese children in different periods their lives:

As we have already said, in medical practice a distinction is made between primary and secondary obesity. You also need to know that the primary form of this disease divided by:

• nutritional – that is, its cause is errors in the child’s nutrition. Most often it occurs during those very “dangerous” periods of life - in early childhood, preschool and adolescence;
• and exogenous-constitutional - caused by heredity that the parents passed on to the baby. Naturally, in this case, it is not the excess weight of his mother or father that is passed on to the baby. In such children, metabolic processes are simply distorted.

Please note that secondary obesity in children is caused by diseases of the endocrine system, which, unfortunately, are accompanied by diseases of the adrenal glands, often causing problems thyroid gland and ovaries.

It is an established fact that if mom and dad are prone to or suffer from excess weight, then their child can also inherit this disease. The probability percentage is at least 80%. If obesity is diagnosed in only one parent, then the probability percentage decreases to 50% when the carrier of such a disorder is the mother, and to 38% when the father is the carrier.

Obesity in a child under 1 year of age and older children

Adults need to remember that obesity in a child under 1 year of age is most often caused by increased body weight from birth, exceeding 4 kg. In addition, infants are at risk because overfeeding them with all kinds of formulas that have a high percentage of calories also leads to the occurrence of this disease.

Speaking about older children, it should be noted that they suffer from excess weight because their diet is simply disrupted, and physical exercise, which could improve the situation, is excluded from their daily life. Parents do not monitor the diet of their offspring, who happily consume excessive amounts of carbohydrates - sweets and baked goods, solid fats - hamburgers, burgers, sweet water - juices and soda. Getting worse this situation also because children spend most of their free time not on fresh air, but in front of a TV or computer monitor.

A child suffers from obesity: signs, complications and consequences

A clear symptom of obesity in children is bulimia - an unreasonably increased appetite. Fat on a child's body may be distributed unevenly. Over time, the skin stretches and stretch marks form. Blood pressure rises, heart rate increases, shortness of breath occurs, and arterial hypertension may develop in the future. First, shortness of breath appears after physical activity, then constantly.

A child who is obese develops behind his peers. With age, he begins to feel complex about his appearance. Sexual development is delayed. Such children should go through special treatment, otherwise the disease will progress further.

In addition, a severe complication of obesity in children can manifest itself in the form of early atherosclerosis, and hence - spasm of cerebral vessels and headache, irritability, fast fatiguability. In children, the consequences of obesity can be dysfunction of the musculoskeletal system, development, and infertility.

Among other signs of obesity in children of various age categories doctors call the following:

• You can observe with hypothyroidism (congenital) that the baby still does not want to hold his head, refuses to sit and cannot walk, and his teeth begin to erupt much later;
• It is not toddlers who suffer from acquired hypothyroidism, but children who have reached the age of puberty. In them, obesity is accompanied by weakness, drowsiness, dry skin and menstrual irregularities;
• The situation is different with those children who experience the following changes in the body: they have noticeable changes in the abdominal area body fat, but the limbs are characterized by an exhausted state.

How to determine obesity in a child and photos of childhood obesity

Let's summarize in order to better understand how to determine obesity in a child, and what symptoms of this disease are typical for a particular age group:

1. Infants: suffer from frequent allergic reactions and excess weight.
2. Preschoolers (the same children under 7 years old): they show excessive sweating, deformation of the figure occurs, they are characterized by rapid breathing and excess weight.
3. Teenagers (puberty): characteristic increased fatigue, there is frequent swelling in the arms and legs, they are bothered by pain in the joints, outbursts of aggression and bouts of depression occur. In addition, teenagers suffer from constant migraines, and girls experience irregular menstrual periods.

Pay attention to the photo: Childhood obesity is a disease that can make the life of your son or daughter very difficult. Therefore, if you notice the first signs of excess weight in your daughter or son, immediately go to the doctor.

Examinations for diagnosing obesity in children

To find out what caused the excess body weight, it is necessary to diagnose obesity in children: this procedure involves consultation with an endocrinologist, neurologist, gastroenterologist and geneticist. After talking with experts, you will be able to figure out some very important points:

• what lifestyle is typical for this family;
• How healthy are the food preferences of family members?
• your baby has or does not have any chronic diseases.

After all this, to establish more accurate results, the doctor may send you for the following examinations:

1. Firstly, the procedure of a biochemical blood test will help to find out what level of glucose is contained in the child’s body, whether the level of cholesterol and other substances that directly affect the development of obesity are not exceeded. The protein level will show the condition of your son or daughter’s liver.
2. If it is determined that the glucose level is exceeded, the baby must undergo examinations that will confirm or rule out the presence of diabetes.
3. If the doctor does not rule out secondary obesity, he recommends taking urine and blood tests.
4. They resort to procedures such as magnetic resonance imaging and CT scan if there is a suspicion of a pituitary tumor.

After establishing the true cause of excess weight, the doctor prescribes special treatment for obesity in children.

How to treat obesity in children at home

Treatment of childhood obesity consists primarily of adherence to therapeutic diet. The daily calorie intake is reduced, and the consumption of easily digestible carbohydrates is eliminated. During a low-calorie diet, children are usually prescribed vitamin therapy. Children of senior school age are prescribed medications that reduce appetite (anoretic drugs). Good effect provides physical therapy. Her tasks in in this case consist in increasing metabolism, while the cardiovascular and respiratory systems will actively work, reducing heart rate and shortness of breath.

A set of properly selected physical therapy will help reduce weight and increase the physical endurance of your daughter or son. Indications for physical therapy can be very diverse, any degree of obesity. Exercises are selected individually for each patient. Most often, the mornings of an obese child begin with gymnastics.

At lunchtime physical therapy is carried out directly, special exercises, water procedures. The only contraindication for physical therapy is circulatory failure.

At home, you can treat obesity in a child using all kinds of active games. Buy a subscription to the pool, this will not only increase the metabolism in his body, but will also have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular system. IN winter time During the year, ice skating or skiing is possible; in the summer, cycling or roller skating is possible.

The outcome of the disease with correctly selected treatment tactics is favorable. But you need to teach your child that weight loss occurs gradually. You should not go on a hunger strike, this will have a detrimental effect on his health. Better food take fractionally, in small portions, 5-6 times a day. In this case, the weight loss process will go much faster.

What to do if children are obese: how to deal with the disease

So, how to deal with obesity in children, so as not to resort to surgical intervention, which is used only in special difficult cases, or to drug treatment? The advice of many experts is simple to the point of disgrace - it is necessary to adjust the diet of your son or daughter.

First, you will have to carefully review the diet of the whole family. And be prepared that you will definitely need to give up carbohydrates, which do not allow the diet for obese children to be as effective as possible. Remember that such “innovations” can cause stress and bad mood your dear child, but you shouldn’t back down because of this.

So, obesity in children: what to do and how to start adjusting the menu of your beloved baby:

• And we start by simply reducing single portions of food.
• Then we gradually get rid of sweet carbonated waters and fill the refrigerator with non-carbonated mineral water or bottles of filtered water.
• Next, you confidently and categorically, rejecting all the child’s protests, introduce fruit and berry variety into his diet: give apples, bananas, raspberries, oranges, watermelons, etc.
• The next step is a little more drastic. You will have to exclude pork from your child’s diet, replacing it with chicken. And if you can switch to fish low-fat dishes, then this will be the most ideal solution.
• Vegetables, which doctors recommend to include in the menu, will help cope with hunger and eliminate the possibility of constipation.
• Be strict: for violating the diet, the child will have to sit down or do push-ups several dozen times. You can get a special hoop for such educational moments. The main thing is not to raise your voice at the baby and do not scold him.

An effective diet for children with obesity

An effective diet for children with obesity was developed by the famous Soviet nutritionist M. Pevzner, which had a numerical indicator of No. 8. This diet is considered one of the most successfully formulated and is successfully used in many sanatoriums. This diet for childhood obesity is based on the principle of alternating dishes that help balance the process of the child’s body consuming essential substances.

It looks like this:

• You can eat no more than 170 g per day bread products with bran;
• volume daily use low fat fermented milk products should be no more than 200 g;
• You are allowed to eat no more than 180 g of low-fat meat or fish dishes daily;
• all soups that contain almost no potatoes are consumed in the amount of 220 g (one serving);
• You can only eat buckwheat, barley and millet porridges in the amount of 200 g (serving);
• vegetables - in any quantity;
• but fruits must be unsweetened and cannot exceed more than 400 g daily;
• all drinks must be sugar-free.

Nutrition menu for obese children

You should also take note that any menu for an obese child almost completely excludes the use of salt and oil. It is no secret that such harsh measures do not inspire the child. To improve your baby’s emotional state, just try to prepare dishes with imagination: let them smile at your little ones with different funny faces or resemble fairy-tale characters.

Remember that feeding children with obesity does not imply hunger strikes or other pestilences! It is necessary to ensure that the baby’s body weight decreases by about 700 g per week. And only in exceptional cases Doctors prescribe diets that help you lose up to one and a half kilograms in seven days. If your daughter or son goes hungry, this will catastrophically harm their health. Moreover, the weight returns very quickly after such “abstinence”.

It has been proven that fasting affects the slowdown of metabolism, so excess weight will not disappear anywhere, but will simply remain in place. Such measures are also fraught with the fact that they lead to symptoms such as general weakness muscles, disruption of the gastrointestinal tract and sagging skin.

Nutrition for obese children is slightly different if the cause of excess weight is pituitary gland disease. Such situations are characterized by the fact that the child often has a strong feeling of hunger at night, and stretch marks form on the body. In this case, treatment should include the following important points:

1. Fractional meals, which involve six meals a day.
2. Using low-calorie diets.
3. Regular massages.
4. Physiotherapy.
5. Contrasting souls.
6. Fasting days.
7. Therapeutic gymnastics.

Doctors quite often prescribe overweight children to stay in sanatoriums. This is due to the fact that the proximity of the sea helps to normalize metabolic processes.

Sometimes they resort to the treatment of childhood obesity and the use of certain medications - laxatives, thyroid or anorexigenic drugs.

Effective prevention of childhood obesity

However, those parents who care about their babies try to spend effective prevention obesity in children. From infancy, such mothers and fathers accustom their little ones to a healthy diet and do everything to ensure that the baby spends more time in the fresh air and moves a lot. If the school where the little one is studying has some kind of sports section, they will definitely enroll him there.

Preventing childhood obesity also means that adults themselves lead correct image life, thereby setting an example for sons and daughters. Because you can’t demand from a child what you don’t do yourself.

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In order to understand how pressing the problem of childhood obesity is today, just go outside, walk through playgrounds or parks. Surely you have noticed that almost half of children have one degree or another of obesity.

Pediatricians also note an increase in overweight children. But parents, unfortunately, do not always pay attention to this aspect of their child’s development. What is the reason for such negligence?

There are, as always, several reasons. These include chubby babies in advertising and films, and the eternal belief that if a child eats well, then he is healthy. We should not forget about such a phenomenon as natural childhood obesity. This condition is typical for children aged about 9 months. At this time, the fat layer begins to actively form.

However, this does not mean that you can ignore your child’s excess weight during this period. In addition, you should not mentally stretch out the period of natural childhood fullness. If, after the child begins to walk actively, the excess weight does not disappear, then it’s time to sound the alarm.

First, it’s worth understanding the causes of excess weight in children. As always, it’s impossible to single out just one thing. Each child has his own problems and his own solution.

Typically, in children, as in adults, obesity develops due to chronic overeating . The law of conservation of energy also applies here: if you eat more than you burn in a day, you will inevitably become overweight.

In second place, of course, low mobility . As a rule, both of these factors take place. Today, fatty foods, fast food, and various sweets have become extremely popular. All this can be purchased literally at every step. Even parents themselves sometimes, saving time, feed the child junk food. At the same time, modern children relax more and more in front of the TV or computer. Naturally, an imbalance occurs in the body, which immediately affects the child’s weight.

It can also be noted here social factor . Children copy their parents in everything, and if adults eat high-calorie foods, children are likely to prefer the same foods. Often a child is fervently fed, believing that he should eat exactly as much and not a crumb less. Usually grandmothers are prone to this behavior, especially if their childhood did not occur in the post-war years.

This feeding system violates one of the most important commandments of healthy eating - to eat exactly as much as you need to be full. It is better to leave part of the portion on the plate and finish it later than to choke and eat everything, just to leave nothing.

However, one cannot discount hereditary factors . If one of the child’s parents is obese, then in half the cases the child himself faces this problem. If both parents are obese, the risk increases even more. In the case of hereditary obesity, more attention needs to be paid to prevention, without waiting for the problem to arise.

Strange as it may sound to many, but also psychological aspects can affect excess weight in a child. Children, like their parents, can “eat up” some of their sorrows, experiences and stress.

In some cases, although quite rare, the cause of obesity is various diseases . Despite the fact that this is far from the most common reason for extra pounds, you should not forget about it.

What are the dangers of obesity in children?

It is important to understand that excess weight in children is much more dangerous than the same problem in an adult. After all, a child’s body grows, changes, and develops. Many systems in it are not yet functioning at full capacity, but are just learning to perform their tasks.

The first to suffer, as it is not difficult to understand, spine. It is he who is suddenly burdened with overtime workload. But in preschool age, the rapid formation of the skeleton is still underway, the bones are actively growing, and the child is growing. It is at this stage that posture is formed, and excess weight coupled with low mobility can disrupt it even at this stage, which is fraught with various diseases of the spine.

The load on the circulatory system also increases, in connection with this, children who are overweight from infancy develop such traditional symptoms by adolescence. age-related diseases, such as hypertension, heart failure, ischemia, increases the risk of heart attack.

The pancreas also cannot cope with excess nutrients, which results in impaired glucose metabolism, which can lead to the development of diabetes.

We must not lose sight of psychological problems. Overweight children are often teased by their peers, which is why they develop complexes and become unsure of themselves. And these complexes accompany such children for the rest of their lives, even if the child’s excess weight problems can be solved.

Is there any reason to worry?

However, after reading all this, you should not immediately put your child on a diet. Firstly, “adult” diets in the case of a child, especially an infant, are not only ineffective, but also dangerous to health. Secondly, child development is a very individual concept and before taking any measures, you need to make sure that the problem really exists.

If you think that your child is overweight, you should first try to determine whether this is true yourself. In particular, special tables of weight norms depending on age and height can help with this. Please note that you need to evaluate the situation according to all three parameters.

So, if a child weighs a lot for his age, do not forget to pay attention to his height. If the height is also higher than normal, then everything is in order. You are simply faced with a particular version of the norm.

Parameters vary especially greatly among infants. First of all, because they have different starts and a large initial difference in height and weight, compared to their total weight. Some children weigh less than 3 kg, others more than 4. During this period, what is much more important is not the weight itself, but the weight gain per month. This information can also be seen in the table:

It is important to keep in mind that formula-fed babies almost always gain weight faster than their peers who are fed breast milk. When assessing your child’s weight, this point must also be taken into account.

Another way to determine whether a child is overweight is to calculate the body mass index. Please note that this calculation only makes sense after two years of age. This is done quite simply: BMI is equal to body weight in kg divided by cm squared. The resulting value must be compared with the table. It shows the values ​​for overweight and obesity.

If the resulting number is less than BMI for overweight, then everything is fine in your case, if it is equal or more, then there is a problem. If the BMI value has reached the obesity level, then the child has a very serious problem.

Regardless of which method you used, if you suspect that your child is overweight, you don’t need to immediately rush to solve the problem, limit your child’s food intake and send him to classes. First you need to contact your pediatrician. He will confirm or refute your fears, and also determine the cause of excess weight.

Only after this will it be possible to select an adequate solution to the problem. So, if the cause of excess weight in children is one or another disease, food restrictions and any physical activity may be ineffective, and in some cases even dangerous. In this case, it is necessary to first identify and treat the disease - the cause.

If everything is more prosaic, and the reason lies in overeating, then you can start the fight against excess weight.

How to deal with excess weight in infants?

Overweight infant on natural feeding- an extremely rare phenomenon. When a baby feeds on mother's milk, he himself, together with the parent's body, regulates the amount of milk he drinks. Thanks to this, overeating is almost impossible.

But with artificial feeding, everything is somewhat more complicated. It is still difficult to determine when a child is full at this age. It is necessary to draw up a clear feeding schedule and strictly follow the recommendations for the amount of mixture and volume of water.

Sometimes you can hear the opinion that it is better for artificial babies to introduce complementary foods as early as possible. In fact, this is not necessary at all. But if you decide to introduce complementary foods to a bottle-fed baby, then keep in mind that you need to start with vegetable purees. They are the least caloric and will not contribute to weight gain.

Vegetable purees are often made using potato purees. Please note that potatoes should make up no more than 50% of the serving. Ideally, make puree at home yourself, so you can be sure of the purity of the products and their ratio.

The next item in complementary feeding will be porridge with skim milk. Give preference to buckwheat or oatmeal, but it is better to avoid semolina. In addition, porridge can be given only once a day, preferably in the morning. If there is a need to sweeten the porridge, it is better to do this with berries and fruits without adding sugar.

How to deal with excess weight in a preschooler?

With older children the situation is somewhat more complicated. When a child moves to a common table with his parents, it becomes more difficult to control his diet. The child sees what his parents eat and tries to eat the same.

Another aspect that often interferes with the weight loss process is nutrition in the kindergarten. There, parents cannot control the child's menu. First of all, you need to talk to the staff and find out what they feed the children. Next, ask the teachers to cut down portions, if necessary, not to give supplements, to remove particularly high-calorie foods, of course, if possible.

However, the main difficulties still await you at home. The fact is that the whole family will have to rebuild their diet and get used to healthy eating. It is impossible to explain to a child why everyone will eat dumplings with sour cream or a sweet cake, and he will eat steamed vegetables. He will perceive this as punishment, as a manifestation of some kind of injustice.

Therefore, everyone will have to come to terms with changes to the menu. However, this is not bad at all, because such a diet is healthy and suitable for people of any age. Your family's diet should be balanced, the right proportions Proteins, fats and carbohydrates must be present. As a rule, this ratio is called: 1:1:4, where the last number refers to carbohydrates - the main source of energy and fiber. The main thing is to remember that these should be complex carbohydrates, and not sweets and flour.

Abundance on your menu vegetables and cereals It is also necessary because fiber helps restore disturbed metabolism, and also, like a real brush, cleanses the intestines and helps remove toxins accumulated in it. All this normalizes the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, relieves various problems digestion, including constipation, which is not uncommon in overweight children.

However, meat fish, dairy products and fats should also be present. Children's body proteins are needed in mandatory, since it is constantly growing and needs building material for cells.

However, it is better to give preference dietary meat, not fat. It can be poultry, veal, lean beef. As for cooking methods, it is better to avoid frying and smoking completely, and stick to boiled and steamed meat.

By the way, the same applies to vegetable dishes. There is also no need to soak them in oil during frying; this significantly increases the calorie content of the dishes, and harmful substances in heated oil, apparently, not visible.

Concerning dairy products, then you should give preference to skim milk, kefir and sour cream. Also, do not get carried away with various yoghurts with additives. Better to use natural products, no preservatives. Kefir and yogurt can be made at home using a special starter. Buying it today is not a problem. You shouldn’t give up cheese, but it should be served in limited quantities.

Fats should be predominantly plant-based, and the child will receive a sufficient amount of animals from milk. Sunflower or olive oil You can season vegetable salads.

Another little tip: buy one for your child. separate dishes, smaller than yours. In a small plate, even a truncated portion will seem quite sufficient, and with a small spoon you will have to scoop food from the plate more often. A large number of movements will help deceive the body, and the feeling of fullness will come earlier.

To do this, it is necessary to organize a calm atmosphere for the child during meals. It is better to turn off the TV and radio; you should not keep your baby busy with conversations. And at this time it’s better to keep silent yourself. This will allow him to fully focus on food and his feelings.

An integral part of the weight loss process should be physical exercise. You can send your child to a sports section, start walking with him in the evenings, or sign up for a swimming pool. But here you also need to take into account that if you continue to spend time sitting, your child is unlikely to be inflamed with the desire to make any effort.

What can't you do?

When parents are faced with the problem of obesity in a child, there is a great temptation to start blaming someone, organize terror, or concentrate all their efforts on achieving results. However, it is very important to understand what you can and cannot do. So, in itself, searching for those to blame will lead nowhere. There is no need to blame the kindergarten with its unbalanced diet, the grandmother with her pies, the child with his excessive appetite, or yourself. The most important thing in this situation is to recognize the problem and the cause and deal with them without unnecessary reproaches.

As mentioned above, simply prohibiting a child from eating certain foods will not work. In preschool age, such measures are perceived very painfully. You should not make goodies a desired prize received for some achievements. In this case, the child can make a kind of cult out of food, and this is unlikely to have a positive effect on the process.

A separate discussion is physical activity. Force won't solve anything here either. It's better to try to do morning exercises fun game, and study together with your baby. This will not only help instill in him good habit, but will also give you the opportunity to communicate more and better with your child.

As for the choice of sections... Again, there is a great temptation to choose those where they go heaviest loads, but you need to give the child a choice. Classes should not take place under pressure. Even if it is a calmer and less energy-consuming sport, the child will like it, and, as a result, he will give his best in classes.

As is known, specific goal in front of your eyes is the best motivation. However, the goal must be achievable. There is no need to demand everything from your child at once. Start small. First, accustom him to daily exercises, only then proceed to selecting a section. Follow the same principle when it comes to food.

And one more thing: you don’t need to concentrate on the problem yourself and focus the child’s attention on it. He should not feel inferior; this has a detrimental effect on both the process and the child’s psyche. Let it be a game, fun and relaxed.

Preventing childhood obesity

Of course, prevention is always better than a hasty solution to a problem that has already arisen. Actually, for the purpose of prevention, you can and should do almost everything that is required for losing weight. That is, morning exercises, sports, mobility, proper nutrition.

Of course, if you are not yet overweight, the prohibitions and restrictions may be much less strict. In any case, the child will not have to be strictly controlled, for example, festive table. One piece of cake or a serving of salad with mayonnaise is unlikely to harm him.

The advantage of prevention is not only that it avoids the problem of excess weight in children, but also that the child will get used to a healthy lifestyle from childhood, which means he will avoid many other problems.

Overweight child. School of Doctor Komarovsky (video)

Nutrition for an overweight child (video)

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– chronic disorder metabolism, accompanied by excessive deposition of adipose tissue in the body. Obesity in children is manifested by increased body weight and predisposes to the development of constipation, cholecystitis, arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, gonadal dysfunction, arthrosis, flat feet, sleep apnea, bulimia, anorexia, etc. Diagnosis of childhood and teenage obesity is based on measurements of height, body weight, BMI and the excess of actual indicators over expected values ​​(according to centile tables). Treatment of obesity in children includes diet therapy, rational physical activity, and psychotherapy.

Sometimes children’s medical histories show a connection between obesity and external emotional factors: entering school, an accident, the death of relatives, etc.

Classification of obesity in children

Thus, taking into account the causes of occurrence, two forms of obesity in children are distinguished: primary and secondary. In turn, primary obesity in children is divided into exogenous-constitutional (associated with hereditary predisposition) and nutritional (associated with dietary errors). In children with constitutional obesity, it is not the excess weight itself that is inherited, but the characteristics of its progression. metabolic processes in organism. Nutritional obesity most often occurs in children in critical periods development: early childhood (up to 3 years), preschool age (5-7 years) and puberty (from 12 to 16 years).

Secondary obesity in children is a consequence of various congenital and acquired diseases. The most common type of secondary obesity is endocrine obesity, accompanying diseases of the ovaries in girls, thyroid gland, adrenal glands in children.

The criteria for determining obesity in children are still the subject of debate. Gaivoronskaya A.A. Based on the child’s body weight exceeding normal values ​​for a given age and growth, he distinguishes 4 degrees of obesity in children:

• Obesity I degree– the child’s body weight exceeds the norm by 15-24%
• Obesity II degree– the child’s body weight exceeds the norm by 25–49%
• Obesity III degree - the child’s body weight exceeds the norm by 50–99%
• Obesity IV degree– body weight exceeds the permissible age norm by more than 100%.

Primary obesity of I–II degree is detected in 80% of children.

Symptoms of obesity in children

The main sign of obesity in children is an increase in the layer of subcutaneous fat. In young children, signs of primary obesity may include inactivity, delayed development of motor skills, a tendency to constipation, allergic reactions, and infectious diseases.

With nutritional obesity, children have excess fat deposits in the abdomen, pelvis, hips, chest, back, face, upper limbs. At school age, such children experience shortness of breath, decreased tolerance to physical activity, and increased blood pressure. By puberty, a quarter of children are diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, characterized by obesity, hypertension, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. Against the background of obesity, children often develop uric acid metabolism disorders and dysmetabolic nephropathy.

Secondary obesity in children occurs against the background of a leading disease and is combined with typical symptoms the last one. Yes, when congenital hypothyroidism children begin to hold their head up, sit and walk late; their teething dates are delayed. Acquired hypothyroidism often develops during puberty due to iodine deficiency. In this case, in addition to obesity, children experience fatigue, weakness, drowsiness, decreased performance at school, dry skin, and menstrual irregularities in girls.

Characteristic signs of Cushingoid obesity (with Itsenko-Cushing syndrome in children) are fat deposits in the abdomen, face and neck; while the limbs remain thin. For girls in puberty amenorrhea and hirsutism are observed.

The combination of obesity in children with enlarged mammary glands (gynecomastia), galactorrhea, headaches, and dysmenorrhea in girls may indicate the presence of prolactinoma.

If, in addition to being overweight, a girl is worried about oily skin, acne, overgrowth hair, irregular menstruation, then with a high degree of probability it can be assumed that she has polycystic ovary syndrome. Boys with adiposogenital dystrophy have obesity, cryptorchidism, gynecomastia, underdevelopment of the penis and secondary sexual characteristics; in girls - absence of menstruation.

Complications of obesity in children

Obesity in children is a risk factor early development a number of diseases - atherosclerosis, hypertension, angina pectoris, type 2 diabetes mellitus. From the digestive system, the formation of chronic cholecystitis and cholelithiasis, pancreatitis, constipation, hemorrhoids, fatty hepatosis, and later liver cirrhosis may be observed. Overweight and obese children are more likely to have eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia) and sleep disorders (snoring and sleep apnea).

The increased load on the musculoskeletal system causes the development of postural disorders, scoliosis, arthralgia, arthrosis, hallux valgus, and flat feet in obese children. Obesity in adolescents often causes depression, ridicule from peers, social isolation, and deviant behavior. Women and men who have been obese since childhood have increased risk development of infertility.

Diagnosis of obesity in children

Clinical assessment of obesity and its severity in children includes collecting anamnesis, clarifying the method of feeding in infancy and the child’s current nutritional habits, and clarifying the level of physical activity. During an objective examination, the pediatrician performs anthropometry: records height, body weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, and body mass index. The obtained data are compared with special centile tables, on the basis of which overweight or obesity in children is diagnosed. In some cases, for example, during mass examinations, a technique is used to measure the thickness of the skin fold and determine the relative mass of adipose tissue using the bioelectrical resistance method.

To find out the causes of obesity in children with overweight bodies should be consulted by a pediatric endocrinologist, pediatric neurologist, pediatric gastroenterologist, and geneticist. It is advisable to additionally study a biochemical blood test (glucose, glucose tolerance test, cholesterol, lipoproteins, triglycerides, uric acid, protein, liver tests), hormonal profile (insulin, prolactin, TSH, T4 free, blood and urine cortisol, estradiol). According to indications, an ultrasound of the thyroid gland, REG, EEG, and MRI of the pituitary gland are performed for the child.

Treatment of obesity in children

The scope of medical care for children suffering from obesity includes weight loss, treatment of concomitant diseases, maintaining the achieved result and preventing excess weight gain.

First of all, an individual diet is selected for an obese child, which involves reducing daily caloric intake due to animal fats and refined carbohydrates. A 5-meal (sometimes 6-7-meal) diet is recommended, and parents are trained to calculate the daily kilocalorie norm. Simultaneously with nutritional correction, a rational motor regimen is organized: for children younger age walks and outdoor games are recommended, and starting from preschool age– sports activities (swimming, cycling, etc.). Diet therapy is carried out under the guidance of a pediatrician or nutritionist; nutrition control and motor activity Obese children are the responsibility of the parents.

For obese children, acupuncture, exercise therapy, hydrotherapy, and psychotherapy can be performed. If there are concomitant diseases, the child needs help pediatric endocrinologist, pediatric gastroenterologist, pediatric gynecologist, pediatric cardiologist, pediatric orthopedist, neurosurgeon, child psychologist.

Prevention of obesity in children

Preventing the obesity epidemic among children is a task that requires the integration of the efforts of parents, representatives of the medical community and the education sector. The first step on this path should be for parents to understand the importance rational nutrition in childhood, education of correct food habits in children, organization of the child’s daily routine with the obligatory inclusion of walks in the fresh air.

To others important point preventing obesity in children is to instill interest in physical culture, availability of sports at school and at home. It is important for parents to set an example healthy image life, and not authoritarianly demanded its observance from the child. It is necessary to develop screening programs to identify obesity and its complications among children and adolescents.

You may have noticed that on television, on forums, and in magazines they are increasingly talking about childhood excess weight. Unfortunately, the number of obese adolescents and children has continued to rise over the past twenty years. You may be wondering: Why are scientists and doctors concerned about this trend? And as parents or just concerned people, you may also be asking: What steps can we take to prevent obesity in our children? Let's look at these questions in more detail.

Why is childhood obesity a serious health problem?

• Heart disease caused by high blood cholesterol and/or high blood pressure.
• Sleep apnea (snoring).
• Social discrimination.

Psychosocial risks


Some consequences of excess weight during adolescence and childhood are psychosocial in nature. Such children are often targets of early and systematic social discrimination. Psychological stress causes such social stigma low self-esteem, which, moreover, can interfere with the acquisition of knowledge and normal healthy development personality of the child, and persists into adulthood.

High risk of cardiovascular disease

It has been established that in adolescents and children with unhealthy excess weight, the prerequisites for the occurrence of vascular and heart diseases are widespread. These include high blood cholesterol, impaired glucose metabolism (prediabetes), and high blood pressure. Having studied several thousand adolescents and children aged 5 to 17 years, doctors found that almost 60% of overweight children had at least one risk factor for vascular and heart diseases, and 25% of overweight children had two or more such dangerous preconditions.

Additional health risks

Less common health conditions associated with increased weight include asthma, hepatic steatosis, sleep apnea and type 2 diabetes.

• Asthma is a lung disease in which the airways become narrowed or even blocked, making breathing very difficult. Medical research found a strong link between excess weight and childhood asthma
• Liver steatosis is fatty degeneration liver, caused by high concentrations of liver enzymes. Losing weight normalizes the production of liver enzymes.
• Sleep apnea is a less common complication of excess weight in adolescents and children. Apnea is a sleep breathing disorder, namely the cessation of breathing during sleep that lasts for 10 seconds or more. Sleep apnea characterized by loud snoring and difficulty breathing. During apnea, oxygen levels in the blood can drop sharply. The study found that sleep apnea occurs in about 7% of overweight children.
• Diabetes Type 2 is more often found among adolescents and children who are overweight. Although diabetes and impaired glucose metabolism (a precursor to diabetes) are more common among obese adults, in recent years these diseases have also become common among overweight children. The onset of diabetes in them can cause the development dangerous complications, such as kidney failure and cardiovascular diseases.

What can I do for my child to prevent unhealthy excess weight and obesity?

Be sure to remember that main goal Your fight against obesity and excess weight in a child is NOT reducing his weight! The goal is to reduce the rate of weight gain, while creating conditions for proper development and growth. Weight loss diets should not be used on children and adolescents, except in special cases when there are serious medical indications for this.

How to help your child develop healthy habits in nutrition?

One of the first steps in harmonizing calories is choosing foods that will provide enough nutrients and the right amount of calories. You can help your child become more aware of what he eats by developing healthy eating habits, finding ways to make favorite foods healthier, and reducing cravings for high-calorie treats.

Encourage healthy eating habits. There's no big secret to eating healthy. To help your children and your family develop healthy eating habits:

• Provide adequate amounts of vegetables, grains and fruits.
• Include low-fat or low-fat dairy products in your diet.
• To ensure adequate protein intake, choose lean meats, fish, poultry and legumes.
• Make portions of reasonable size.
• Encourage the whole family to drink plenty clean water.
• Limit the amount of sugary and sweetened drinks.
• Minimize your intake of sugar and saturated fat.

General recommendations: Protein-rich foods are best included in breakfast and lunch. Porridge and vegetables are good to eat at dinner. At the same time, overeating and unlimited consumption of food by the child are strictly excluded. All dishes only need to be baked, stewed, steamed or stewed. Fried foods are not recommended. And if you decide to add butter in porridge, there should be a minimal amount.

Eliminate cravings for high-calorie treats. Almost everything delicious can be enjoyed in moderation. Reduce foods high in sweeteners, sugar, fat, calories, and salty snacks in your child's diet. Instead of allowing your child to occasionally eat food that is harmful to his health - this can easily turn into his weakness for such food - replace it with healthy and delicious products. All of this will help your child establish healthy eating habits. Here are examples of easy-to-make, low-fat, low-sugar treats that are 100 calories or less:

• Medium sized apple.
• Medium sized banana.
• 1 bowl of berries.
• 1 bowl of grapes.
• 1 bowl of grated carrots, cucumber or bell pepper.

How to balance calories: Help your child stay active.

• Normalization blood pressure.
• Strengthening bones, muscles, immune system.
• Reducing stress and anxiety.
• Increased self-esteem.
• Help in managing your weight.

• Fast walk.
• Playing tag.
• Jumping rope.
• Football game.
• Swimming.
• Dancing.

Reduce sedentary time.

According to the charitable organization Kaiser Family Foundation, today's teenagers and children from 8 to 18 years old spend an average of 7.5 hours in front of a television or computer monitor every day! Over the course of a year, this time reaches about 114 full days sitting in front of a screen for entertainment. This number of hours does not even include the time they spend on the computer at school during lessons or at home doing homework.
Let's look at the time a child or teenager spends watching TV and find ways to add more physical activity into their life.

Age 8-11 years.

• play with the ball
• walk the dog
• dance to your favorite songs,
• jump rope,
• ride a bike.

1. Provide your child with 1 hour of physical activity daily.
2. Limit total time spent by your child in front of a TV or computer screen, up to 1-2 hours a day.
3. Find and develop other forms of entertainment that include physical and social activities. For example, joining a sports team or club.

• play football or basketball with friends,
• swim in the pool at the sports complex,
• walk the dog
• practice modern or ballroom dancing,
• ride a bike or skateboard.

1. Provide your child with 1-2 hours of physical activity daily.
2. Limit total time spent by the child watching TV shows or at the computer, up to 1-2 hours daily.
3. Remove the TV from the children's bedroom.
4. Find and develop other forms of entertainment that include physical and social activities. For example, joining a sports section or fitness club.

• go for a short run
• go to a fitness club or Gym with friends,
• organize competitions in football, volleyball, basketball,
• learn new roller skating tricks,
• wash the car or help parents around the house.

1. Provide your teenager with 1-2 hours of physical activity daily.
2. Limit the total time a teenager spends at the computer or in front of the TV to 1-2 hours daily.
3. Remove the TV from a teenager's bedroom.
4. Find and develop other forms of entertainment that include physical and social activities. For example, joining a team for team sports or a group for yoga, Pilates, etc.

5 or more meals of fruits and vegetables.

What is one meal of fruits and vegetables? For adults - a whole fruit about the size of a tennis ball, half a bowl of chopped fruits or vegetables, a bowl of raw or leafy vegetables, a quarter bowl of dried fruit. For children - a portion the size of their palm.

Buy seasonal vegetables and fruits - they are especially rich in vitamins and microelements. Also don't forget that frozen fruits and vegetables are almost always available in stores and are a healthier choice than fast food, for example.

Don't underestimate the importance of family meals. Take at least 10-15 minutes to eat with your children. By choosing the right food and eating it with your child, you help him retain the beneficial eating habits on a subconscious level. Involve children in planning lunches, breakfasts and dinners.

2 hours or less spent in front of the TV or computer.

The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that by age 70, children and teenagers will have spent an average of 7-10 years watching TV or playing computer games. In addition, this kind of pastime often includes snacking on junk food instead of eating a full, healthy and timely meal. Thus, excess unhealthy weight and obesity are becoming more common. It has been scientifically proven that such a passion for television and computer games leads to difficulties with reading, problems with concentration and mental retardation.

Safe time for watching TV or being at the computer: no TV or computer for up to 2 years. No TV or computer in the room where the child sleeps. 1 hour educational programs on TV or on the computer for children 2-5 years old. For children over 5 years old, TV or computer no more than 2 hours daily.

1 hour or more of physical activity daily. Regular physical activity plays an irrefutable role in maintaining a healthy weight and preventing chronic diseases: osteoporosis, heart and vascular disease, diabetes and colon cancer. And even if most children of primary school age are quite active, physical activity declines sharply during adolescence. In many ways, the level of physical activity of a child depends on the lifestyle of his family.

For example, 1 hour moderate physical activity means: activity that requires intense breathing. This could be dancing, brisk walking. 20 minutes energetic physical activity means: engaging in activities where you sweat. This includes running, aerobics, basketball and the like.

Physical activity: makes your child feel good, helps him maintain a healthy weight, keeps his heart healthy, makes him stronger, and makes him more flexible and resilient.

0 drinks with sugar, more water and low-fat dairy products.

High consumption of sugary drinks and fatty dairy products (for example, all kinds of sweet curds) among children causes unwanted excess weight and even obesity. Children from 1 to 6 years old are strongly recommended to consume no more than 100-200 ml of juice per day, and adolescents 7-18 years old - no more than 250-350 ml. Whole milk is the largest source of saturated fat in children's diets. Switching to lower-fat or low-fat (1%) dairy products significantly reduces your total fat and calorie intake.

Sugary carbonated drinks have no nutritional value, but they contain a lot of sugar. Just 250 ml of soda contains 110-150 empty calories. Many carbonated drinks also contain caffeine, which is harmful to children. Energetic drinks These are NOT sports drinks and should never replace water during athletic training.

Water is fuel for a child's body. This is one of the most important elements in nutrition for active children. A child's body is 70-80% water, but when he is physically active, he sweats and loses this water and beneficial mineral salts. Therefore, it is very important to constantly replenish this supply of water. Water is the No. 1 choice when children feel thirsty.
Various flavored drinks typically contain stimulants such as caffeine and other ingredients, as well as sugar, added vitamins, minerals and even protein. But we don't need these nutrients from drinks, we get them from our diet! These drinks are strongly not recommended for children and adolescents. They lead to increased heart rate, anxiety, increased blood pressure, sleep problems, difficulty concentrating, stomach upset, and even caffeine poisoning.

conclusions

• Your baby is gaining weight at a slower rate
• maintaining current weight and eliminating it rapid growth

Pay attention to whether your child is a victim of some kind of “magic” diet or a harmful fad among teenagers for rapid weight loss. Children often perceive normal age-related changes of their body as imperfections and problems that they need to struggle with. Your task is to tell your child how and why his body is changing. And also, clearly explain to him what the benefits of the above recommendations are. Any person, including children, is ready to change something in their life if they understand why they need it and what exactly they will benefit from it.

Remember that even small, daily changes can lead to a recipe for lifelong success!