My Child is Overweight

‘Being fat still carries a huge social stigma and the emotional trauma the child experiences can leave deep scars as well as a host of health implications’

So you think your child may be fat? Often, children themselves will know, being the butt of jokes and teasing at school – we always remembered the fat children in our class didn’t we? Thirty years ago they were exceptional but today up to 1 in 5 children in the UK would be deemed to be technically overweight. Your GP will help you to assess whether or not your child is overweight by giving you your child’s BMI (Body Mass Index) figure, which divides his weight in kilograms by his height in metres - squared. Most children (and there are always exceptions) should not have a BMI which exceeds 25.

Why are children getting fatter?

The two most common causes are poor eating habits and a lack of physical activity. Many children live on a diet of junk food, fizzy drinks and convenience meals all of which are high in fat and sugar. Studies have also shown that young children spend less time being active and more time watching TV, playing computer games and, ironically, reading and doing homework than they did 20 years ago.

It is a fact that fewer children, particularly girls, play team sports for their school or youth club than 20 years ago as other leisure activities favourably compete for their time. Being fat still carries a huge social stigma and the emotional trauma the child experiences can leave deep scars as well as a host of health implications in adulthood including increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, infertility and depression.

Improving your child’s diet

• Cut down on fats and sugar in their diet. A child’s diet should naturally comprise 10% fat but nearly 20% of UK schoolchildren have a regular diet which contains up to 40% fat.
• Substitute fizzy drinks for low-sugar versions and make crisps and biscuits a treat rather than a standard snack.
• Beware! Many so called “children’s meals” are high in fat eg chicken nuggets. It is often better to get children to eat smaller portions of adult meals at an early age. This way they can “acclimatise” and you will have greater control.
• Try very hard to get your children to eat fresh fruit and vegetables (ideally 5 portions a day). A dear friend of mine regularly pulps fresh vegetables into a disguised “mush” passing as soup in order to get them out of the way before her sons pile into the chips etc.
• Talk about healthy eating rather than “dieting” which may make your child feel deprived and therefore crave the “forbidden goodies”.
• Finally, don’t breed a mini couch potato. Get them outside doing things even if, in the early days, it means you donning some kit yourself. Sport, notably team sport, is a sure way of shedding the pounds. Playing sport is COOL (David Beckham isn’t fat) and once you can convince them of that fact then half your battle’s won.

If you succeed, not only will your child look and feel better but, more importantly, it will provide him with a great boost in confidence and self esteem. Good luck!

Submitted by Barbara Carr