How to put your child on a diet
What can I do if my child is overweight?
If your child is overweight, there's lots you can do to help them become a healthy weight as they grow.
As a parent, it can sometimes be difficult to tell if your child is overweight. A child may not look particularly heavy to be overweight.
And because more children are becoming overweight, we have become used to seeing bigger children.
Research shows children who achieve a healthy weight tend to be fitter, healthier, better able to learn, and more self-confident.
They're also less likely to have low self-esteem or be bullied. And they're much less likely to have health problems in later life.
As a parent, there's lots you can do to help your child become a healthier weight. Getting them to be more active and eat well is important.
Here's lots of practical advice to help you.
If your child has a medical condition, the advice in this article may not be relevant and you should check with a GP or hospital doctor first.
Steps for success
Here are 5 key ways you can help your child maintain a healthy weight:
- be a good role model
- encourage 60 minutes, and up to several hours, of physical activity each day
- keep to child-size portions
- serve healthy meals, drinks and snacks
- less screen time and more sleep
Be a good role model
One way to instil good habits in your child is for you to be a good role model. Children learn by example.
You can encourage your child to be active and eat well by doing so yourself.
Set a good example by going for a walk or bike ride instead of watching TV or surfing the internet.
Playing in the park or swimming with your children shows them being active is fun, and it's a great way for you all to spend time together.
Any changes you make to your child's diet and lifestyle are much more likely to be accepted if the changes are small and involve the whole family.
Physical activity also may be more appealing to your child if you do something as a family.
Find sports and activities to do
Easy ways to eat well and move move
Get active
All children should be doing physical activity every day for good health, but it doesn't need to be all at once.
Several short 10-minute, or even 5-minute, bursts of activity throughout the day can be just as good as an hour-long stretch.
For younger children, it can take the form of active play, such as ball games, chasing games like "it" and "tag", riding a scooter, and using playground swings, climbing frames and see-saws.
For older children it could include riding a bike, skateboarding, walking to school, skipping, swimming, dancing and martial arts.
Walking or cycling short distances instead of using the car or bus is a great way to be active together as a family. And you'll save money, too.
Find out the amount and types of physical activity recommended for under-5s
Find out the amount and types of physical activity recommended for children and young people aged 5 to 18
Join Better Health to get free regular emails with healthy eating tips, easy recipes, fun activities and more.
Child-size portions
Try to avoid feeding your child oversized portions. There's very little official guidance on precisely how much food children require, so you'll need to use your own judgement.
A good rule of thumb is to start meals with small servings and let your child ask for more if they're still hungry.
Try not to make your child finish everything on the plate or eat more than they want to.
And avoid using adult-size plates for younger children as it encourages them to eat oversized portions.
It may also help if you encourage your child to eat slowly and have set mealtimes. You can use mealtimes as an opportunity to catch up on what's happened during the day.
Explain to your child how to get the balance of their diet right using The Eatwell Guide. It shows how much they should eat from each food group. Knowing the calorie content of foods can also be useful.
Read more about eating a balanced diet.
Find out more about understanding calories
Get ideas for healthy packed lunches
Eat healthy meals
Children, just like adults, should aim to eat 5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables every day.
They're a great source of fibre and vitamins and minerals.
Getting 5 A Day shouldn't be too difficult. Almost all fruit and vegetables count towards your child's 5 A Day, including fresh, tinned, frozen and dried.
Juices, smoothies, beans and pulses also count.
Be aware that unsweetened 100% fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies can only ever count as a maximum of 1 portion of their 5 A Day.
For example, if they have 2 glasses of fruit juice and a smoothie in 1 day, that still only counts as 1 portion.
Their combined total of drinks from fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies shouldn't be more than 150ml a day, which is a small glass.
For example, if they have 150ml of orange juice and a 150ml smoothie in 1 day, they'll have exceeded the recommendation by 150ml.
When fruit is blended or juiced, it releases the sugars, which increases the risk of tooth decay.
So it's best to drink fruit juice or smoothies at mealtimes.
Discourage your child from having sugary or high-fat foods like sweets, cakes, biscuits, sugary cereals, and sugar-sweetened soft and fizzy drinks. These foods and drinks tend to be high in calories and low in nutrients.
Aim for your child to get most of their calories from healthier foods like fruits and vegetables, and starchy, carbohydrate foods like bread, potatoes, pasta and rice (preferably wholemeal). And switch sweetened soft drinks for water.
Find out about healthy drinks for babies and young children
Find out how to eat less saturated fat
Learn the facts about sugar
Less screen time and more sleep
Alongside the advice to get them moving more is the need to reduce the time children spend sitting or lying down in the day.
Help your children avoid sitting and lying around too much, as this makes them more likely to put on weight.
Limit the time they spend on inactive pastimes like watching TV, playing video games and playing on electronic devices.
And remove all screens (including mobile phones) from their bedroom at night.
It also helps children stay trim if they sleep well. It's been shown that children who don't have the recommended amount of sleep are more likely to be overweight.
The less children sleep, the greater the risk of them becoming obese. Lack of sleep can also affect their mood and behaviour.
Helping Your Child Who is Overweight
On this page:
- How can I tell if my child is overweight?
- Why should I be concerned?
- How can I help my child develop healthy habits?
- What can I do to improve my child’s eating habits?
- How can I help my child be more active?
- Where can I go for help?
- What should I look for in a weight-management program?
- How else can I help my child?
- What are clinical trials and what role do children play in research?
- What clinical trials are open?
As a parent or other caregiver, you can do a lot to help your child reach and maintain a healthy weight.
Staying active and consuming healthy foods and beverages are important for your child's well-being. You can take an active role in helping your child—and your whole family—learn habits that may improve health.
How can I tell if my child is overweight?
Being able to tell whether a child is overweight is not always easy. Children grow at different rates and at different times. Also, the amount of a child’s body fat changes with age and differs between girls and boys.
One way to tell if your child is overweight is to calculate his or her body mass index (BMI). BMI is a measure of body weight relative to height. The BMI calculator uses a formula that produces a score often used to tell whether a person is underweight, a normal weight, overweight, or obese. The BMI of children is age- and sex-specific and known as the “BMI-for-age.”
BMI-for-age uses growth charts created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Doctors use these charts to track a child’s growth.
The charts use a number called a percentile to show how your child's BMI compares with the BMI of other children. The main BMI categories for children and teens are
- healthy weight: 5th to 84th percentile
- overweight: 85th to 94th percentile
- obese: 95th percentile or higher
Why should I be concerned?
You should be concerned if your child has extra weight because weighing too much may increase the chances that your child will develop health problems now or later in life.
In the short run, for example, he or she may have breathing problems or joint pain, making it hard to keep up with friends. Some children may develop health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Some children also may experience teasing, bullying, depression, or low self-esteem.
Children who are overweight are at higher risk of entering adulthood with too much weight. The chances of developing health problems such as heart disease and certain types of cancer are higher among adults with too much weight.
BMI is a screening tool and does not directly measure body fat or an individual child’s risk of health problems. If you are concerned about your child's weight, talk with your child’s doctor or other health care professional. He or she can check your child's overall health and growth over time and tell you if weight management may be helpful. Many children who are still growing in length don’t need to lose weight; they may need to decrease the amount of weight they gain while they grow taller. Don't put your child on a weight-loss diet unless your child’s doctor tells you to.
How can I help my child develop healthy habits?
You can play an important role in helping your child build healthy eating, drinking, physical activity, and sleep habits. For instance, teach your child about balancing the amount of food and beverages he or she eats and drinks with his or her amount of daily physical activity. Take your child grocery shopping and let him or her choose healthy foods and drinks, and help plan and prepare healthy meals and snacks.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025 explain the types of foods and beverages to include in a healthy eating plan.
Here are some other ways to help your child develop healthy habits:
- Be a good role model. Consume healthy foods and drinks, and choose active pastimes. Children are good learners, and they often copy what they see.
- Talk with your child about what it means to be healthy and how to make healthy decisions.
- Discuss how physical activities and certain foods and drinks may help their bodies get strong and stay healthy.
- Children should get at least an hour of physical activity (PDF, 14.2 MB) daily and should limit their screen time (computers, television, and mobile devices) outside of school work to no more than 2 hours each day.
- Chat about how to make healthy choices about food, drinks, and activities at school, at friends’ houses, and at other places outside your home.
- Discuss how physical activities and certain foods and drinks may help their bodies get strong and stay healthy.
- Involve the whole family in building healthy eating, drinking, and physical activity habits. Everyone benefits, and your child who is overweight won’t feel singled out.
- Make sure you child gets enough sleep. While research about the relationship between sleep and weight is ongoing, some studies link excess weight to not enough sleep in children and adults.1 How much sleep your child needs (PDF, 222 KB) depends on his or her age.
What can I do to improve my child’s eating habits?
Besides consuming fewer foods, drinks, and snacks that are high in calories, fat, sugar, and salt, you may get your child to eat healthier by offering these options more often:
- fruits, vegetables, and whole grains such as brown rice
- lean meats, poultry, seafood, beans and peas, soy products, and eggs, instead of meat high in fat
- fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products or milk substitutes, such as soy beverages with added calcium and vitamin D, instead of whole milk or cream
- fruit and vegetable smoothies made with fat-free or low-fat yogurt, instead of milk shakes or ice cream
- water, fat-free, or low-fat milk, instead of soda and other drinks with added sugars
You also may help your child eat better by trying to
- Avoid serving large portions, or the amount of food or drinks your child chooses for a meal or snack. Start with smaller amounts of food and let your child ask for more if he or she is still hungry. If your child chooses food or drinks from a package, container, or can, read the Nutrition Facts Label (PDF, 753 KB) to see what amount is equal to one serving. Match your child’s portion to the serving size listed on the label to avoid extra calories, fat, and sugar.
- Put healthy foods and drinks where they are easy to see and keep high-calorie foods and drinks out of sight—or don’t buy them at all.
- Eat fast food less often. If you do visit a fast-food restaurant, encourage your child to choose healthier options, such as sliced fruit instead of fries. Also, introduce your child to different foods, such as hummus with veggies.
- Try to sit down to family meals as often as possible, and have fewer meals “on the run.
” - Discourage eating in front of the television, computer, or other electronic device.
To help your child develop a healthy attitude toward food and eating:
- Don’t make your child clean his or her plate.
- Offer rewards other than food or drinks when encouraging your child to practice healthy habits. Promising dessert for eating vegetables sends a message that vegetables are less valuable than dessert.
Healthy snack ideas
To help your child eat less candy, cookies, and other unhealthy snacks, try these healthier snack options instead:
- air-popped popcorn without butter
- fresh, frozen, or fruit canned in natural juices, plain or with fat-free or low-fat yogurt
- fresh vegetables, such as baby carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, or cherry tomatoes
- low-sugar, whole-grain cereal with fat-free or low-fat milk, or a milk substitute with added calcium and vitamin D
How can I help my child be more active?
Try to make physical activity fun for your child.
Children need about 60 minutes of physical activity a day, although the activity doesn't have to be all at once. Several short 10- or even 5-minute spurts of activity throughout the day are just as good. If your child is not used to being active, encourage him or her to start out slowly and build up to 60 minutes a day.
To encourage daily physical activity:
- Let your child choose a favorite activity to do regularly, such as climbing a jungle gym at the playground or joining a sports team or dance class.
- Help your child find simple, fun activities to do at home or on his or her own, such as playing tag, jumping rope, playing catch, shooting baskets, or riding a bike (wear a helmet).
- Limit time with the computer, television, cell phone, and other devices to 2 hours a day.
- Let your child and other family members plan active outings, such as a walk or hike to a favorite spot.
Where can I go for help?
If you have tried to change your family's eating, drinking, physical activity, and sleep habits and your child has not reached a healthy weight, ask your child’s health care professional about other options. He or she may be able to recommend a plan for healthy eating and physical activity, or refer you to a weight-management specialist, registered dietitian, or program. Your local hospital, a community health clinic, or health department also may offer weight-management programs for children and teens or information about where you can enroll in one.
What should I look for in a weight-management program?
When choosing a weight-management program for your child, look for a program that
- includes a variety of health care providers on staff, such as doctors, psychologists and registered dietitians.
- evaluates your child's weight, growth, and health before enrollment and throughout the program.
- adapts to your child’s specific age and abilities.
Programs for elementary school-aged children should be different from those for teens. - helps your family keep healthy eating, drinking, and physical activity habits after the program ends.
How else can I help my child?
You can help your child by being positive and supportive throughout any process or program you choose to help him or her achieve a healthy weight. Help your child set specific goals and track progress. Reward successes with praise and hugs.
Tell your child that he or she is loved, special, and important. Children's feelings about themselves are often based on how they think their parents and other caregivers feel about them.
Listen to your child's concerns about his or her weight. He or she needs support, understanding, and encouragement from caring adults.
References
What are clinical trials and what role do children play in research?
Clinical trials are research studies involving people of all ages. Clinical trials look at safe and effective new ways to prevent, detect, or treat disease.
Researchers also use clinical trials to look at other aspects of care, such as improving quality of life. Research involving children helps scientists
- identify care that is best for a child
- find the best dose of medicines
- find treatments for conditions that only affect children
- treat conditions that behave differently in children
- understand how treatment affects a growing child’s body
Find out more about clinical trials and children.
What clinical trials are open?
Clinical trials that are currently open and are recruiting can be viewed at www.ClinicalTrials.gov.
How to put a child on a diet? Expert advice
According to WHO, more than 380 million children worldwide are overweight and obese. At the same time, experts are sounding the alarm: many schoolchildren have problems associated with diets - breakdowns and, as a result, even more weight gain.
In addition, parents sometimes judge their children's appearance too strictly, especially for girls.
The range of normal healthy weight is quite large, and if your child seems not slim enough to you, this does not mean that he is overweight.
3 quick weight loss recipes from ballerinas
You should be ashamed
What if the problem is real and the doctors say: "The child needs to lose weight"? To begin with, remember what exactly does not need to do .
■ To shame a child for being overweight, to reproach him for eating too much, to call him fat. All this will not help him lose weight in any way, but it will worsen your relationship and cause him to dislike himself.
s Judge other people for their weight, including yourself. It is important not to keep in the child's head the connection of the concepts "full" - it means "bad, unworthy, weak-willed"; "thin" - "good, beautiful, worthy of imitation."
■ Introduce severe food restrictions. It is unlikely that you will be able to constantly control what the child eats, and the forbidden fruit seems especially sweet.
Even in adults, severe diets often lead to the fact that a person falls off the diet, especially at a party or on vacation, and overeats. Talk to a dietitian about how to choose the right diet.
Changing the way of life
It is important to choose the words to explain to the child the need to lose weight. And the emphasis here should be placed not on the fact that this way others will like him more, but on health. If a child hopes to gain popularity along with harmony, he will be disappointed.
Support with the whole family. If the doctor has chosen a diet for the child, then the household should not tempt him by eating forbidden foods. If an active lifestyle is recommended for a daughter or son, it is important that relatives share it. Spend time together in the park or on the ice rink!
Form the right habits. The child should not eat unless he is hungry. It is important to teach him to listen to himself and understand whether he is really hungry, or is trying in this way to distract himself from unpleasant activities or sad thoughts.
See a child psychologist. Overeating is often the result of overeating, and overeating is an attempt to console yourself and “eat” problems.
Set yourself up and your child that you will not be able to get the result quickly. If losing weight was that easy, there wouldn't be so many overweight people around.
A word to a nutritionist
Nutritionist Natalia Fadeeva Natalia Fadeeva, author of the book Is the child overweight? If everyone in the family is slender and only the child is full, you should consult a doctor. In the presence of excess weight, sometimes it is enough to add regular physical activity. After all physical inactivity is the main cause of childhood obesity. It is not necessary to play sports. It can be walking, skating, active outdoor games, dog walking. It is also important that the child eats at least 4 times a day. Gradually remove all sweet waters and canned drinks from the diet, reduce the amount of sugary and overly fatty foods.
In no case do not come up with diets for a child, especially do not make him starve! The child's diet must include:
- vegetables and fruits: in children 4-8 years old - 5 servings per day, 9-13 years old - 6 servings, 14-18 years old - 7-8 servings; medium serving - 125 ml;
- cereals (bread, cereals, side dishes): 4, 6 or 7 servings depending on age; the average portion of porridge - 125 ml, bread - 40 g;
- dairy products: - 2 to 4 servings per day; medium serving - 1 glass of milk or yogurt;
- meat and fish: from 1 serving at 4-8 years old to 2-3 servings at 14-18 years old; the average portion is 60-75 g, eggs - 2 pcs.
Organic baby food: choosing the right one
Photo: unsplash.com
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How to help a child lose weight correctly and without harm to health?
January 3, 2020
May 27, 2021
5 minutes
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ProWellness
Table of Contents
- Causes of excess weight in a child
- Why is excess weight harmful in childhood?
- How to lose weight in childhood?
- Children under 3
- Preschoolers, Primary School Ages
- Teens
- Ground Rules
- Featured Products
Disclaimer
Please note that all information posted on the site Prowellness is provided for informational purposes only and is not a personal program, a direct recommendation for action, or medical advice.
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How to help a child lose weight correctly and without harm to health?
Adults and children are often overweight. The child grows, develops, so you can not put him on a strict diet and use fasting. When reducing weight, it is important not to stop development, not to harm a growing, fragile organism.
Causes of excess weight in a child
First you need to find the cause of the problem. There are several factors that affect the appearance of overweight in children:
- Wrong attitude towards food.
Often, mothers feed their children themselves, believing that a good appetite is a sign of health. Eat well - here's a supplement for you. Infant fatness at a certain age is a problem. - Sedentary lifestyle. Modern children, instead of outdoor games, sit near the computer, play gadgets, parents encourage this. Lack of movement leads to weight gain.
- Heredity. Full parents from the first days should take care of the baby's weight, paying special attention to this. For example, you should reduce the consumption of sugar-containing foods: sweet carbonated drinks, ice cream, chocolate, sweets, lollipops. You should also reduce the proportion of foods with hidden sugar: fat-free yogurt and regular yogurt, cottage cheese mass or cheese curds, tomato sauces or ketchups, mayonnaise, instant cereals, sausages and sausages, cereals, muesli, granola, muesli bars and protein bars. Eating habits are laid down in early childhood, up to 5 years, so it is important to monitor the child's diet.
Attention! Are several causes of excess weight combined at once? The child is at risk of obesity.
Why is excess weight harmful in childhood?
If the child is overweight, the following problems threaten:
- Deformation of a fragile spine.
- Early heart problems - just can't handle the load.
- Metabolic disorders - the pancreas cannot cope with its work, there is a risk of diabetes mellitus, which can manifest itself not only in childhood, but also many years later in adulthood.
- Complexes. Psychologically, the teenager will be uncomfortable, because in the team they often laugh at the overweight, which can lead to bullying of the child, the so-called school bullying. An inferiority complex develops, which can remain in adulthood.
Introducing a tasty treat that will become an additional source of vitamins for your child - Ditops Fruit Chewable Tablets with Vitamins A, C and D.
Three main vitamins for every day in a convenient form will be good helpers for strengthening the immune system and the growth of the child.
Attention! You can determine excess weight by appearance, body index, or simply by showing the child to the doctor.
How to lose weight in childhood?
Different weight loss methods have been developed for children of different ages. It is important for parents to follow the recommendations in order not to start the problem.
Children under three years old
It is necessary to consult a pediatrician. More often the reason lies in an endocrine disorder or overeating. It is enough to balance the diet, check the functioning of the endocrine system.
Preschool children, primary school age
It is difficult to control nutrition here, since the child eats more often outside the home.
At home, more and more often, an “independent” baby begins to pull food from the parent’s table into his mouth. Either the whole family will have to switch to a healthy diet or control the child.
Teenagers
Some see the problem themselves, try to go on a diet. Sometimes they go to extremes, up to a hunger strike. This negatively affects health.
Attention! Excess weight can occur due to hormonal failure that occurs during adolescence.
Basic Rules
In order for a child to lose weight, it is important to follow a few rules:
- Eliminate all fast carbohydrates and fats from your daily diet.
- Limit the consumption of high-calorie foods.
- Increase in the menu dairy products, vegetables, fruits, fish.
- You can take dietary supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, calcium, iodine. If they are not enough in the usual food of the child, then this can lead to an increased need for food, as the body tries to make up for their deficiency.
- Meals should be frequent and in small portions.
- Exclude fast food completely.
- Relieve your child from the habit of constantly snacking on something. Computer lovers are especially affected by this.
- Increase activity and exercise. Send the child to the sports section.
To normalize the functioning of the digestive system, we recommend using herbal tea from wild herbs No. 5 (Comfortable digestion) - Baikal Tea Collection with chamomile, Kuril tea, plantain and volushka. This herbal drink helps to find comfort and ease in the stomach.
As a substitute for fast food, you can use Natural gummies (orange) - Yoo Go without sugar. In each marmalade - the maximum benefit of turmeric and orange. Curcumin helps to gain harmony, normalize appetite and provide antioxidant protection. Isomalt and orange soy provide natural sweetness, and isomalt is also a prebiotic and helps nourish the intestinal microflora.
