Tips for Preventing Obesity in kids & Adolescents

Parents are able to help prevent overweight/obesity in the children of theirs by setting a great example and making healthy choices for themselves. Here are a few very helpful tips for parents, guardians, and caregivers about preventing obesity in adolescents and kids.

1. Schedule regular wellness exams, also called physicals or checkups, for the kid of yours, as recommended by his or perhaps the physician of her. At these doctor visits, the pediatrician of yours is going to perform a comprehensive physical examination, answer questions and address concerns about your child's development and health, administer immunizations, and monitor your child's growth - height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) - to be sure it's within a healthy range.
2. Make sure your kid gets enough sleep. Scientific studies indicate that kids who frequently get fewer than the suggested number of hours of sleep are actually at greater risk for being obese or overweight, and also for other health conditions. School-aged kids generally will need aproximatelly ten hours of sleep every night - younger kids need aproximatelly twelve hours and adolescents need aproximatelly nine hours.
3. Help your kid develop healthy eating habits. Adequate nutrition provided by a healthy diet is crucial to help kids grow and develop properly. Encourage the kid of yours to eat a number of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean sources of protein, and nonfat or low-fat dairy products. Limit foods that are actually loaded with fat, calories, and sugar. Portion control also is essential to help prevent obesity/overweight.
4. Encourage the kid of yours to be physically active for at least an hour each day. Select activities that the entire family is able to participate in together - including bicycling, hiking, and gardening - or perhaps just play outside. Enlist your child's help in chores that are age appropriate like washing the automobile, sweeping, vacuuming, or perhaps raking the lawn. When he or perhaps she's old enough, enroll the child of yours in an activity - like dance class, martial arts, or perhaps tumbling class - or even encourage your kid to join a youth or perhaps school team (e.g., basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis) in the community of yours.
5. Limit your child's "screen" time - time spent in front of the television, computer, and video game system - to fewer than two hours each day. Most experts agree that kids under 2 years of age shouldn't watch television.
6. Grocery shop together and teach your kid about making healthy decisions and food choices. Involve the child of yours in planning and preparing your family's meals - even very small kids are able to help wash veggies and fruits, stir ingredients, or perhaps set the table. Look together for ways to help make your child's favorite meals healthier. Eat meals together at the table as frequently as you can and stay away from eating in front of the television.
7. Do not use foods to encourage the kid of yours or perhaps as a reward, and stay away from withholding food as punishment. Teach the kid of yours that most meals are able to have a place in a healthy diet, but processed foods which are loaded with fat and/or sugar and low in nutritional value should be eaten sparingly or perhaps as an unexpected treat.
8. Ask the pediatrician of yours or perhaps a licensed dietician or perhaps nutritionist if the kid of yours must have a dietary supplement, like an over-the-counter multivitamin. Make certain that older kids and teens recognize the dangers of fasting, using laxatives, and purging to lose weight. Teach pre teens and adolescents that diet pills along with other substances that claim to aid in losing weight - even those labeled "natural" - may be dangerous and must never be used without the recommendation and supervision of a qualified health care provider.
9. Stay away from teasing, ridiculing, or perhaps belittling your kid about his or perhaps the weight of her. Focus on good, good lifestyle changes and make sure your kid doesn't relate his or perhaps her self worth, or perhaps the importance of other folks, to body size.

Source: healthcommunities.com