Children Healthy Care

If your child is overweight, further weight gain can be prevented. Parents can help their children keep their weight in the healthy range.

* In infancy, breastfeeding and delaying introduction of solid foods may help prevent obesity.

* In early childhood, children should be given healthful, low-fat snacks and take part in vigorous physical activity every day. Their television viewing should be limited to no more than seven hours per week (which includes video games and the Internet).

(more…)

Obesity means having too much body fat. It is different from being overweight, which means weighing too much. Both terms mean that a person’s weight is greater than what is considered healthy for his or her height. Children grow at different rates, so it isn’t always easy to know when a child is obese or overweight. Ask your doctor to measure your child’s height and weight to determine if he or she is in a healthy range.

If a weight loss program is necessary, involve the whole family in healthy habits so your child doesn’t feel singled out. (more…)

Healthy Eating:
“Less fried foods, more veggies, and gentleness with restraint”

1. “Like father, like son,” Children watch and do what they see adults do, beware of “Preaching morality in his underpants”
2. Breastfeeding in infancy, and skim milk after age 2
3. Drink plenty of water (instead of juices and juice drinks)
4. Breakfast daily
5. Bake, broil, boil, or steam or microwave instead of frying
6. Cooking recipes by changing the nutrient content increasing
7. Eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily
8. Eat low-fat, and less meat, cream, cheese, and sweet
9. Reducing soft drinks, sweets and sugary cereals
10. Healthier food choices when eating fast food and machinery
11. Serve portions by age and size of the child
12. Provide young children 5 or 6 small meals at fixed times
13. Avoid using food as a reward or as punishment for children
14. Avoid forcing children to eat everything served to them
15. Consult pediatrician or nutritionist if family history of obesity

Causes:

• Biological predisposition (genetic, hormonal), psychological (depressed mood, anxiety, bulimia), environmental (examples, lifestyles, food and elements that surround the child in the home and school) and socioeconomic (low-income families tend to more junk food consumption given the high cost of healthier foods.)
• Excessive consumption of foods high in fat and sugars (junk food).
• Sedentary lifestyle (too much time with TV, computer, video games).

Prevention:

• Understand and respond to biological predispositions, psychological, environmental and socioeconomic.
• Reduce consumption of foods high in fat and sugars (junk food) and replace them with nutritious food.
• Replace sedentary lifestyle (time with TV, computer, video games) for a more active.

Intervention:

Physical Activity

1. Physical activity to the point of sweating for at least 1 hour a day
2. Changes daily-walk and use stairs instead of elevator car and
3. Taking dance classes or martial arts
4. Join a sports team or commit to exercising with friends
5. Reduce TV time, computer and video games

The word derives from the Latin obesus obesity which means “too much fat.” Obesity is defined as excessive accumulation of body fat weight reflected in a 20% higher than recommended by age, height, and sex of the person. That is , although of course a baby 25 pounds, and obese if he weighs 30, a child who should weigh 50 pounds, it would be obese if it exceeds 60, and a teenager whose ideal weight is 100 pounds is considered obese if he weighs 120.

Obesity is the disease that is growing faster and more threatening in the U.S.. All children in America are the most obese in the world, and 24% are Latino children. In California, almost 30% of children and adolescents are obese. These figures have more than doubled in the last ten years. Latino children are more likely to develop obesity than Anglo children, even as early as kindergarten. Half of obese adults were obese before age two, and most of the other half starts to show obesity in puberty and adolescence. 70% of overweight adolescents will be obese adults, and the figure rises to 80% if your mother or father are obese.

Consequences:

* Physical Consequences: fatigue easily, probably cardiovascular disease, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, type 2 diabetes, liver disease, bone and joint problems, arthritis, sleep apnea, early sexual maturity, increased risks of cancer.
* Psychological Consequences: insecurity, low self-esteem, school discrimination, social exclusion, depression, eating disorders (bulimia, binge eating).