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Is your kid overweight? Yes! You are not alone in the loop. Overweight is one of the growing concerns worldwide. But, as a parent, care should be taken not to increase the bodyweight as the child becomes heavier at the younger age may increase the risk of dozens of health issues like childhood diabetes, cholesterol, fatty liver, heart ailments, asthma, osteoporosis etc. Obese kids due to their body image, they may suffer long-term effects like bullying, depression, insecurities, anxiety, and teasing.
Here, in this article, let’s understand a few reasons for overweight and some tips to reduce body weight in kids. So, read on!
Reasons for weight gain in kids:
Before you start the weight loss journey for kids, try to understand the reasons behind the weight gain as this helps to reduce the weight healthily. But, if the weight gain, is due to some underlying medical condition then speak to the doctor before you start the weight loss journey. Now, here are a few reasons for increased waistline in kids:
- Increased portion size
- Watching TV while eating food
- Munching too much processed food
- Having too many sugary drinks, fast foods, sodas, and other junk foods
- Spending too much time on the gadgets
- Eating too much outside food
- The resistance of the leptin hormone
- Unhealthy gut microbes may destroy the good bacteria and causes an overgrowth of the bad bacteria
Here are a few red flags that may play a role in childhood obesity:
- Depression- It may lead to mild weight gain in children. Depression can lead the kid to eat excessive foods and lacks the desire to participate in physical activities as well.
- Asthma and allergies- The medications like antihistamines and oral steroids used to fight asthma and allergies can contribute to weight gain.
- Gestational diabetes- Parents who had gestational diabetes increases the risk of high birth weight, which even carries over to childhood.
- Cushing’s syndrome- It slows down the child’s growth and encourages retention of fat around the belly and the waistline.
- Hypothyroidism- May show up mild weight gain in children
If your kid has any of the above-listed symptoms and is on medications, then never skip the dosages. Yes! It can lead to complications and serious side-effects. Do you have only a few pills left in the bottle? Yes! Then refill the medicine bottle with your prescription now! For all your medical and healthcare needs, order medicines online and avail amazing discount with on-time doorstep delivery.
Simple and effective weight loss plan for kids:
The weight gain is an alarming trend! Parents should consider speaking to the child’s doctor or the nutritionist before framing an effective weight loss plan. Here are a few tips:
- Be a role model: The best thing the parent should consider is being a good role model for their kids. Store the kitchen snack cabin and fridge with healthy foods like fruits, nuts, healthy snacks, sprouts, salads, low-cheese foods etc. Your kid can have them when they feel hungry.
- Instil positive character: Cultivate a positive character in kids and be positive with them. Rather asking the kids to go for exercise, take them out to the park, and start exercising with your kid. This way you can motivate them.
- Maintain a daily calorie limit: Frame calorie chart based on the age, BMI, height, and weight as excess reduction of calories may hinder his or her growth. So, speak to the dietician and structure out the food chart accordingly.
- Include low-glycaemic foods: Add low-glycemic foods in your kid’s diet like apples, peanut butter, yoghurt, carrots, sweet potatoes, banana, milk, high-fiber cereal, brown rice, beans, etc.
- Prevent dehydration: Make your kids drink enough water and never encourage your kids any carbonated beverages, packed fruit juices and soft drinks.
- Get enough sleep: A good night’s sleep is the most required thing for proper growth, development, and maintaining body weight. So, ideally, the kids should get 9 to 11 hours of sleep every day. If your kid is unable to get good sleep, consult the pediatrician immediately. Your kid’s doctor will identify the underlying cause for the sleep disorder and treat accordingly rather than symptomatically. So, medications like antihistamines may be prescribed for children’s sleep problems. Order the prescription medicines from the best online medicine website at the best price with free home delivery.
- Limit junk foods: Minimize the intake of sweets, candies, packed fruit juices, sodas, pizzas, flavoured drinks, fried foods, snacks, etc.
- Increase protein intake: Serve more of protein-rich foods as high intake of protein can breakdown excess fat into energy. So, provide them with fish, eggs, beans, pulses (red gram, black gram, dals), lean meat like chicken, legumes (channa, rajma), yoghurt, butter, cheese etc.
- Encourage physical activity: Getting your kids to maintain a good physical routine is a must. If your kid doesn’t exercise regularly, start with at least 15 to 20 minutes a day and increase the duration gradually. A few good exercises to lose weight include cycling, swimming, gymming, running, aerobics, roller-skating etc.
- Understand about fats: Yes! Not all types of fats should be eliminated from the diet completely as it can harm the kid’s immune system, nervous system, and overall health. Include more of unsaturated oil containing foods like almonds, anchovies, salmon, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds in the kid’s diet.