Obesity is a chronic disease in which excess fat accumulates in the body. WHO regards obesity as an epidemic: in economically developed countries, about 15% of children and adolescents suffer from obesity. According to pediatricians, obesity in children is most often the result of a modern lifestyle. When the intake of energy in the body exceeds its consumption, surpluses accumulate in the form of extra kilograms.
Classification of obesity in children
- primary obesity arises from malnutrition (alimentary) or from heredity (constitutional).
- secondary obesity occurs due to various chronic diseases and against the background of the incorrect work of the endocrine glands.
Degrees of obesity in children
Diagnosis of obesity in children and adolescents is reduced to the calculation of the body mass index, which is determined by a special formula: BMI (body mass index) = child weight: the square of the height in meters.
For example, a child of 7 years. The height of 1.20 m, weight 40 kg. BMI = 40: (1.2x1.2) = 27.7
There are 4 levels of obesity:
- 1-degree: BMI exceeds the norm by 15-25%;
- 2-degree: BMI exceeds the norm by 26-50%;
- 3-degree: BMI exceeds the norm by 51-100%;
- 4-degree: BMI exceeds the norm by more than 100%.
Table of average body weight and height for boys and girls
The weight norm in children up to a year is determined by means of the average weight gain: by the half-year the baby usually doubles his weight, and by the day he trebles. The beginning of obesity in children up to a year can be considered excess of body weight more than 15%.
Causes of obesity in children
- The most common cause of obesity is malnutrition and a sedentary lifestyle.
- Obesity in infants is the result of improper introduction of complementary foods and overfeeding with milk formulas.
- Obesity can occur due to an inborn deficiency of thyroid hormones.
- The cause of obesity in children and adolescents is iodine deficiency in the body.
- If both parents suffer from obesity, the risk of developing this disease in a child is 80%, if obesity is present only in the mother, the possibility of overweight - 50%, with the excess weight of the father, the probability of obesity in the child is 38%.
Treatment of obesity in children
Depending on the degree of obesity and its origin, treatment includes exercise and diet. The effective treatment of this disease depends on the correct selection of methods that parents and children have to follow in good faith for a long time.
Diet for a child with obesity
A diet for obese children should be individually selected. Usually, low-calorie mixed meals are prescribed. Here it is worth considering that a large lack of calories has a negative effect on the metabolism, so the diet should contain only 250-600 kilocalories below the daily rate.
Rational nutrition for children with 1 and 2 degrees of obesity includes reduced caloric content of foods due to animal fats and refined carbohydrates. A strict diet with an accurate calculation of the daily diet is recommended for children and adolescents with 3-4 degrees of obesity. All kinds of confectionery, flour, pasta, sweet drinks (including carbonated), sweet fruits and berries (grapes, bananas, raisins) are completely excluded from the diet and vegetables are restricted
Physical activity for obese children.
Physical activity includes physical education, mobile sports, outdoor games. In order for a child to show an interest in an active way of life, parents should be interested in children by their own example, for it is not for nothing that folk wisdom says that a child learns what he sees in his home.
As a fight, as well as the prevention of obesity in children, you can include daily exercise on your daily routine, which will improve your health, and help reduce the risk of complications of excessive weight.