Childhood obesity: word to the expert

Here are the answers to our questions: everything that is important to know and remember about an increasingly widespread topic.

Doctor, how is obesity in children prevented?

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In the meantime, it is good to mention a recent figure from Istat and the Istituto Superiore della Sanità which shows that in the last year there has been a reduction in the phenomenon in Italy. This means that the many information and greater accuracy - perhaps also by pediatricians and nutritionists - have helped to make it clear that one must avoid making one's child obese.

The prevention of childhood obesity must however start from birth. As required by the WHO and our Ministry of Health, breastfeeding is certainly a first form of prevention. Then, of course, healthy eating habits, which must already begin during weaning, because it is at that moment that flavors and tastes are altered.

The child must understand that the moment in which he eats is a moment dedicated to feeding and all those habits of running after him to make him eat, or putting him in front of cartoons or games, do not contribute to making him acquire a correct style. food and a correct perception of food.

Another important element is the quantity of food which must never be excessive. Many children, for example, have too abundant mid-morning snacks, which then leads them to not consume lunch adequately and to recover in the afternoon with a series of snacks that are also unbalanced from a nutritional point of view.

It is also important not to force children to eat too much, they are able to regulate themselves. Forcing also alters their system and their concept of nutrition and leads them, over time, to require more frequent meals, which then causes weight gain.

How do you know when you are actually in front of an obese child?

In the meantime, it is clear that every parent has more or less constant checks with pediatricians in the first years of the child's life and these allow him to monitor the weight of the child.

Having said this, it is also obvious that if the child does not have an adequate and balanced diet and has a rather sedentary life, it will be easy for around 3-4 years - when medical checkups become more sparse - you will start to have a weight gain that it can lead to outright obesity.

Parents must always pay attention and, even if their eye is not the scientific eye of the scale, do not underestimate the important and noticeable weight gains.

What to do if you notice that your child is obese?

Never eliminate food, but reduce portions and rebalance the diet with meals ordered during the day, use of all foods in adequate quantities for the age group and, above all, change the lifestyle in general, increasing the sports activity and everything that can promote the consumption of ingested calories: walks, outdoor games, manual jobs. Last but not least, reduce the hours that children spend in front of the PC or TV.