Childhood obesity: keys to prevent it

We continue with our Infant Feeding Special for Babies and more, this time focusing on one of the problems that is increasing in our environment, affecting smaller and smaller children: obesity. Specifically, we will analyze what are the keys to prevent childhood obesity.

In this matter, two necessary and complementary aspects are combined, since they are not understood without each other: child nutrition and physical activity. Both are the basis of healthy living habits that will keep at bay, not only childhood obesity, but many other health problems in children.

A healthy diet

Long before children start eating solids, we have one of the keys to prevent obesity: breastfeeding. Feeding the baby with the mother's milk brings multiple proven benefits, including obesity prevention.

After the recommended six months of exclusive breastfeedingWe can also keep babies eating healthy, with milk as the main food until 12 months and introducing complementary feeding little by little, without salt and in adequate amounts for the small stomachs of babies.

Later, it is important to avoid all those foods that are located at the top of the nutritional pyramid as the least advisable, and therefore of sporadic consumption: sweets, sweets, soft drinks, milkshakes, industrial juices, fatty sausages, precooked food or garbage ...

If we continue to look at the food pyramid, which gives us the key to healthy eating, we observe that fruits and vegetables are at the base: the intake of five servings of vegetables per day is recommended. Some of them will be taken along with other foods rich in protein, meat and fish, legumes ...

The cereals that are eaten should preferably be whole grains (not all breakfast cereals are so healthy, and many have an excess of sugars and saturated fats) and, in general, it is convenient to use adequate hydrates, those of slow absorption (whole grains, vegetables and fruits), and not refined white flour and sugar.

Fat is essential in nutrition, but we must avoid its excess and prioritize monounsaturated fat, such as olive oil or fish fats, milk ... We will suppress as much as possible the fat from pastries, sausages and industrial ice cream.

But not only the type of food influences how the body receives and assimilates them. The way to cook It is also important, and in this sense it is preferable to use low-fat culinary techniques such as roast or cooked, avoiding fried foods, restricting salt and always using olive oil when we want to add a fat.

One of the ways to ensure that meals do not contain excess fats and salt is to prepare them ourselves and avoid industrial preparations, choose natural ingredients and prepare desserts, biscuits, yogurts, breads, hamburgers, pizzas ... We may not have too much time, but the balance for the health of the whole family is very positive and the practice will not cost us too much work.

The drink also matters

We do not forget an element that is also located at the base of the food pyramid, but to which we often do not attach sufficient importance: Water. Drinking water is a simple prevention of obesity, and this has to become the main drink throughout the day.

It is important to reduce the consumption of sweet drinks, juices and packaged soft drinks ..., as it is proven to promote obesity. Instead you have to choose healthier drinks, water but also other water-rich liquids such as smoothies or natural juices, made at home with milk and fruits ...

Anyway, all these keys to a healthy diet, both in regard to food and drink, would be useless if the child does not perform adequate physical activity, which is discussed below.

Adequate physical activity

Not doing enough exercise, not walking, not playing sports, spending a lot of time in front of the game console, computer or television ... are factors that lead to obesity. People do not consume energy and fats accumulate in the body.

It is known that physical exercise is better than diets for childhood obesity, so do not neglect this aspect. Some tips for the physical activity to be integrated into our lives are to share it with the children, let them know different activities and encourage group activities, increase the effort little by little, give them a choice between different games ...

If a child eats too much, you should try to change your eating habits so that you do not weigh too much, but you also have to encourage more if another child can do physical activity, which will help you burn the calories you have taken in excess. In future entries we will deepen the issue of obesity and physical exercise.

In any case, prevent childhood obesity It is a task that begins in the family, but as we do not live in isolation, it is complemented by prevention from other areas, such as school, community, health ... With more information, education and awareness, obesity figures would be less alarming

Preventing obesity since childhood We also prevent various diseases associated with excess weight, our children will grow healthier and we with them, accompanying them in healthy living habits.

Photos | subewl and magnusfranklin on Flickr In Babies and more | Tips for healthy infant feeding, Interactive map of childhood obesity in the world, 10% of children aged 3 to 12 are obese, Frequent errors in infant feeding

Video: Preventing Childhood Obesity Eating Better, Moving More (March 2024).