Interventions for the Prevention and Treatment of Pediatric Overweight and Obesity

Interventions for the Prevention and Treatment of Pediatric Overweight and Obesity

It is much easier to prevent a disease than to treat it. This idea applies to many diseases, including obesity. Indeed, considering the fact that insufficient physical activity and overeating play a major role in the development of obesity, it is necessary to have a reasonable combination of work and exercise with rational moderate nutrition to prevent the development of this condition. Today, losing weight is considered one of the main problems of healthcare. Many people suffer from various diseases associated with excess weight. Moreover, obesity is a time bomb that imperceptibly and slowly destroys the human body. Consequently, it is highly important to study preventative and treatment measures of obesity and overweight, especially in pediatrics.

What is Obesity?

Obesity is a chronic disease that is characterized by an abnormally high accumulation of body fat. Pediatricians assess the excess weight of a child on the centile table, based on their height and weight. Therefore, parents should focus on the indicators adopted in pediatrics. Thus, the weight of a newborn is doubled by six months. By one year, it is increased by three times, reaching 10-15 kilograms. Normally, a child should add two kilograms per year up to the age of five, after five years – three kilograms, and an increase in body weight may be 5-8 kilograms during puberty. It is obvious that that in the connection with developmental features, children gain weight unevenly. However, there is no reason to talk about obesity if the child has gained four kilograms instead of two during a year. In this case, there may be some overweight. According to pediatricians, overweight is the excess of established weight standards in relation to growth. Nonetheless, there is still no fat deposition characteristic, typical for obesity. However, doctors urge parents to take measures if they notice that their child is overweight as it can lead to obesity in the future.

Prevention of Obesity

Frequently, parents apply for medical care for their children when the weight of the latter is already significantly higher than normal. The earlier the problem and its causes are diagnosed, the easier it will be to cope with excessive weight in children. Thus, prevention of obesity can be primary and secondary. Primary is aimed at preventing obesity in children with a normal body weight. However, for certain reasons, they are inclined to the appearance of an exchange disturbance of this type. Secondary prevention includes a complex of measures for the people with existing excess of body weight. The main task of primary and secondary types is to prevent the progression of obesity in the future.

Above all, it is important to establish a culture of nutrition in every family. Thus, high-calorie and fast foods be completely excluded. Moreover, parents should serve as an example of proper nutrition for their child. It is also necessary to teach children to lead an active lifestyle as there is no shortage of various sporting activities, suitable for them, for example riding a bicycle, swimming, or simply going to a gym. Therefore, they have something to choose from. Parents should teach children to spend free time outdoors rather than playing video games or watching TV. At the same time, obesity among teenagers is often caused by their passive lifestyle. To prevent this condition, children should be involved in sports from an early age. However, in the absence of such obvious reasons as a sedentary lifestyle and malnutrition, a child needs to undergo a doctor examination to exclude genetic and hormonal diseases and receive appropriate treatment if necessary. Typically, obesity therapy in adolescents and children includes physiotherapy, medications for weight loss, psychotherapy, and reflexology. However, these are measures to prevent obesity among children.

Diet and Physical Activity

The culture of nutrition should be taught from an early age. Therefore, the diet of parents has a great influence on all gustatory predilections of children in the future. It is dishonest to blame the child for not loving vegetables if parents constantly eat unhealthy food. However, a strict diet in childhood is contraindicated, and it only aggravates the situation. Only a pediatrician or a dietician should develop a diet to reduce weight, and diet therapy is conducted under their supervision. The main purpose of a diet is to reduce the amount of digestible carbohydrates and fats. In such a way, the consumption of jam, sugar, and flour as well as wheat bread and semolina should be restricted or excluded. A child should eat more vegetables and fruit and drink freshly squeezed juices. It is necessary to habituate a child to such a diet from early childhood.

In addition to proper nutrition, physical activity also plays a highly important role in obesity and overweight prevention. It is necessary to support the activity of the child in every possible way. Nonetheless, encouraging children to lead an active lifestyle if their parents do not show an appropriate example is extremely difficult. Therefore, parent should teach their children to be active in life. It is important to support the child’s desire to lose weight. Parents should encourage any rejection of harmful food with attention and praise.

Treatment of Obesity and Overweight

The volume of medical care for obese children includes weight loss, treatment of co-morbidities, maintenance of the achieved result, and the prevention of excess weight gain. First, a doctor prescribes an individual diet chosen for a child with obesity, suggesting a decrease of refined carbohydrates and animal fats in the daily calorie consumption. It is recommended to eat five times a day, and parents should calculate the norm of daily calories. At the same time, diet therapy is conducted under the guidance of a nutritionist and a pediatrician. Obese children can undergo psychotherapy, exercise therapy, acupuncture, and hydrotherapy. In the presence of concomitant diseases, a child needs the help of a gastroenterologist, endocrinologist, cardiologist, orthopedist, and psychologist. Therefore, it is easier to prevent a disease than to treat it. As Voigt, Nicholls, and Williams argue, “this is especially true in the case of obesity where there are no clear cures and every putative remedy carries substantial costs and risks”. Thus, it is parents’ job to prevent this disease.

Conclusion

Children with obesity face a great number of different problems. Overweight undermines their health, creates difficulties in communication with peers and adaptation in society. What is more, it has long-term negative consequences. After all, a child with obesity risks entering adulthood with numerous chronic diseases. Therefore, to avoid this, parents should begin the prevention of obesity as early as possible. Considering that the basis of any form of obesity is an alimentary factor, parents should pay attention to the quantity and quality of food consumed by their children. Otherwise, there can be no question of any struggle with excess weight. In addition, the entire family should lead a healthy and active lifestyle to serve as an example for children. There are various methods of obesity treatment, but they are applied in extreme cases of the disease.

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