How to deal with over-weight kids?

Children who are prone to being overweight have a higher risk of obesity in adulthood. Being fat and unfit brings with it a health hazards in the future. We as parents always want our kids to be happy. Deep fried finger chips and sweets do make them happy, but we should know where to draw the line. Have junk food once in a while is fine, but having it on a regular basis can become a killer.

As parents we always want our children to be well fed. As per the common Indian mentality we feel the chubbier the child more the credit the mother gets for taking good care of them. But we don’t realize what we are heading for. Parents often allow the kids to eat as much as he wants and then one fine day they realize what they have done to their kid. A child does not put on weight over-night, it happens over a long period of time. Preventing weight problems by giving good food habits early on time. When the child becomes overweight, it becomes difficult for the parents to recollect when actually the child started putting on weight.

Make your child nutritional conscious. This habit should be inculcated in the child from the time the baby starts eating the same food as the family. Parents should act as role model and eat healthy food. Once in a while a little change in the menu with home made French fries, burgers and cakes is fine. We need to admit that kids like varieties and we should also make food a little interesting rather than just sticking to the dal,chawal, roti and sabzee.  It is unrealistic to think that the kid is going to have the same food every day for every meal. Allow your child a few junk days in the month so that he does not feel deprived. Make your child conscious early in life that being fat is not a sign of good health. Fat kids are teased in school and it affects their confidence level as well.

The best habit that you can give your child is exercising every day. Try and find out physical activities that he enjoys. Cycling, skating are certain things that can be done on a regular basis. Swimming can be done during the summer months. Go and find out in the park if your child is actually playing or just sitting in the park.

It has been observed that kids who are overweight consume a lot of carbohydrates like rice, pasta and bread and very little protein and vegetables. Sometimes mothers need to give a thought before preparing a meal. Just making dal chawal for lunch and dinner will obviously make the child eat a lot of carbohydrates and then head for the packet of chips. This way child will be lazy, unfit and will have a low hemoglobin count also.

We should remember that kids have a very different taste bud. So a child should be given healthy food with a little twist and at the same time the look of the food should be interesting. If your child is over two years old then switch over from full fat milk to skimmed milk. Restrict your child’s intake of eating too much rice, bread and pasta. Encourage your child to drink plenty of water. Remember a child cannot be put on an adult diet just make small changes in his diet and that will do wonders for many more years to come.