According to Indian Pediatrics, India is currently experiencing a rise in individuals suffering coronary heart disease (CHD) and Type-II Diabetes as a result of being overweight. Our country has the greatest number of diabetic patients compared to any other country. And, obesity among children poses both immediate and future risks.
Therefore, parents, teachers and guardians should help children maintain a healthy weight to ensure they enjoy a better quality of life. And, if your child is overweight, you can help them reduce it and keep it off in the future as well. However, children should NOT be put on a weight reduction diet without consulting a health care provider.
So, what is the right way to do it? Let’s find out!
Tips to Help Children Lose Weight in a Healthy Manner
As a parent, here are some ways to help your child get healthy and reduce the risk of suffering through various health issues over time.
Encourage Exercise
Exercising regularly is an important component in helping anyone in their weight-loss journey and the same is applicable for children as well. When a child is physically active, whether it’s through playing sports like football or cricket among others or any other form, they can burn more calories, become stronger and have more energy too. This is why it’s important to encourage them to include some kind of exercise into their daily routine. And, when they join a leading sports school in Kolkata, they will be able to perform in a non-judgmental environment while getting a chance to make new friends.
Help Them Develop Healthy Eating Habits
It’s important for parents to speak to their children about developing healthy eating habits and how they can make healthy choices when it comes to food and drinks. A great way to do this is by involving the entire family in this and ensuring your child doesn’t feel like they are singled out while watching everyone benefits.
So, you should make sure that you provide plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole-grain products that will offer a range of nutrients to them. Also, add non-fat or low-fat milk along with other dairy products into the diet such as yogurt and cheese. Plus, you should choose lean meats such as fish, poultry and include beans and lentils as one of the primary sources of protein. Limit the consumption of saturated fat, processed sugar and sugary drinks and your entire family will begin noticing a difference in their weight and how they feel too.
Watch Portion Sizes
While it’s important to take up healthy eating habits, it’s just as important to keep a watch on the servings they eat. As a parent, you should learn what portion sizes look like to keep calorie intake in check. A good way to do this is to read food labels for information about how many calories each serving has and what one serving of a specific food looks like. When consuming packaged foods, you will be surprised at how small the recommended portion sizes are and how calorie-rich a food truly is. Another great way to control portion size is to use smaller bowls and dishes as it will make the portions appear bigger than they are while ensuring the family doesn’t eat too much. Additionally, when eating out, it’s a good idea to share an entrée or instead, order an appetizer.
So, there you have it. The tips mentioned in this blog are some tried and tested methods to ensure your child maintains a healthy weight and avoids various health issues for as long as possible. Over time, they will be able to see that losing weight comes with its own set of benefits and they will enjoy putting in the effort that is required to do so too. And, while you should congratulate and praise them as they cross different milestones and make progress, remember not to make weight loss the center of their world s this will more likely do more harm than good.
