“Children having fat bellies and thighs
usually look chubby and cute. However, it becomes parents’ concern when they
don’t know which diets they should choose for the kids”.
Children
having fat bellies and thighs usually look chubby and cute
Eloise – an 18-month-old baby – has a round
belly: she usually tucks up her pull-overs and rubs her belly whenever she asks
mother for food. And she looks excited when strangers praise that she looks so
chubby and cute. However, mother – Michel seems to be worried: “When she was 15
months old, she wore 2T-sized clothes and grew fat gradually. She sank into her
fatty body and belly, making many people make fun of her body”. While most
parents want their kids to eat as much as possible, Michel always thinks about
a regular diet for Eloise.
“Never let the toddlers have a diet” –
according to Corinne Eisler, a pediatric nutrition expert – “When you limit the
calories quantity that will be absorbed by kids, they will tend to suffer from
eating disorders and eat even more”. Instead, Eisler advised parents to let
kids take part in healthy and balanced eating regulations with lots of
vegetables, fruits, protein and dairy products. Let them eat new dishes with
familiar tastes and entice them at least 10 times before they agree to try
those new dishes. Eisler emphasized on importance of preventing kids from
eating fatty food. Therefore, don’t hesitate telling them that lollipop is not
an essential daily food and instruct them to eat healthier food.
Most parents are familiar with Growth Chart
– a system used in pediatrics to measure weight and height of a kid so that we
can keep track on kids’ physical development. However, Tom Warshawski, Director
of Pediatrics Department of Kelowna hospital aka Association of pediatric
obesity Manager, explained that the graphs in Growth chart are used to measure
development effectiveness, not revealing if the kid is too heavy or not. “Don’t
worry so much based on Growth Chart even if the kid lacks in weights.
A
kind of growth chart
Warshawski emphasized on a mutual rule
applied to both kids and adults: drinks containing sugar and noshes are not
good for both at all. If your kids have a regular diet, they will have suitable
weights. In addition, you need to supplement fresh vegetables and fruits to
make sure that they are full enough.
In case of overweight kids when they are
just 2 - 3 years old, don’t be so worried. Healthy food and exercises will help
to move ample lipid to muscles when they are 5. In addition, no proof is given
that overweight toddlers will become teenagers having obesity.
Besides setting up a healthy diet for the
whole family, mothers should pay attention to 2 potential factors that make
kids grow fat: they are juice and milk. Normal toddlers shouldn’t absorb in
more than 500 - 600ml (16 – 20 ounces) of milk within 24 hours. For juice, Warshawski
advised: “Instead of drinking juice, improve effectiveness by drinking water
first, then eating fruits”.
