A Guide To Child Obesity Treatment
Causes of obesity can be quite complex, ranging from biological, genetic, nutritional, behavioural or cultural factors. Obesity occurs when people eat mort than the amount that is burnt up by the body. Main causes of obesity are excess consumption of food and lack of exercise. And studies indicate that obesity among children is on the rise at alarming rates.
Defining Obesity
Obesity is excessive accumulation of fat in the body, and is prevalent when total body weight is more than 25% fat in boys and 32% in girls. Childhood obesity is usually defined as weight-for-height more than 120% of ideal, but skinfold measures are often more accurate determinants of fatness. If obesity is not treated on time, it can lead to clinically sever obesity or morbid obesity, which is defined as being 100 pounds more than ideal body weight, and is a serious chronic disease.
Problems of Obesity
Obese kids are at the increased risk of becoming obese adults, and are more prone to certain illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, low self esteem and more stress on weight-bearing joints.
Child Obesity Treatment
Goal of weight loss for children and adolescents is not weight loss, but the aim is to slow down the weight gain so that the child grows into normal body weight over a period of time. Child obesity treatment starts with early and appropriate intervention.
There is a need to adopt a formal exercise program, which can make child more active, burn more fat, increase energy expenditure and help maintain weight. Most of the studies have indicated that exercise alone cannot help in losing weight unless it is coupled with other interventions, such as behaviour modifications or nutrition education.
Another aspect of child obesity treatment is diet management. For children, extreme calorie restriction or fasting is not advisable as this approach can be psychologically quite stressful. It may adversely affect growth of the child, and may distort child’s perception of normal eating. It is necessary to help children take balanced and nutritious diet, along with moderate calorie restriction. Effective child obesity treatment is a combination of diet management and moderate exercise.
There are various behavioural strategies that are used for adults to treat obesity, and these can be used for children as well. These involve self-monitoring and making record of food intake along with physical activity, slowing down the rate of eating, using incentives and rewards for desirable behaviour, and limiting the place and time of eating.
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