Last week’s column began discussing the obesity epidemic that is affecting America’s children and adolescents. Food is a source of comfort during times of stress, loss, anxiety, anger, sadness, and loneliness for many children and adolescents. In addition to the physical consequences of obesity, poor self-esteem, anxiety, and depression are often psychological repercussions that affect overweight youth.
Obesity prevention and intervention strategies need to be age appropriate by taking into consideration the developmental stages of childhood and adolescence. It is important to recognize the many mitigating factors such as the biological, psychological, and social circumstances of an individual that influence losing weight and preventing obesity. The following are suggestions for healthy weight loss and obesity prevention for children and adolescents:
Consult a professional. Work with your child’s family doctor or pediatrician to set a well-balanced and healthy diet appropriate for the age, height, and developmental stage of your child.
Healthy eating. Encourage your child to eat a variety of high fiber foods, fresh vegetables, lean meats, and fruits. Consider working with a dietician to help you learn how to read food labels and prepare healthy alternatives to your child’s favorite meals.
Exercise. Encourage your child to begin engaging in active sports or games. In addition to physical education that your child may be receiving at school, encourage your child to engage in 20-30 minutes of moderate activity per day.
Set goals. Be certain to make goals that are attainable and healthy for your child. Setting overly high expectations might discourage and overwhelm your child during an already difficult process.
Self-monitoring. Have your child keep a food diary of everything he/she eats during the day. Review this journal and identify times when your child might be overeating. Increasingly become aware of problem areas in your child’s diet and evaluate the circumstance surrounding these times of overeating.
It has been demonstrated in research studies that high stress rates play a role in obesity. Many children are under a great deal of stress due to pressures to perform academically, unhappy family situations, worry and fear generated by school violence, the threat of terrorism, and, the very fact that he/she is overweight thus producing peer rejection, etc.
Helping the child develop a healthy lifestyle by having parents that model healthy behaviors is essential in reducing obesity.
Let’s give our children the chance for a happy, healthy adult life by making childhood obesity a target for change.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright © 2004
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