What can cause obesity in a 5 year old child?

Tips for success

What to do if children are overweight

The best weight control strategies are those that you can maintain for life. It's a long time coming, so we'll try to keep these suggestions as simple as possible!

Make it a family affair

Ask mom or dad for help and support. The goal is to make diet or lifestyle changes that benefit the entire family. Teenagers who have family support tend to have better outcomes.

Watch your drinks

It's amazing how many calories are in sodas, juices and other drinks you drink every day. Simply by giving up a can of soda or one sports drink, you can save 150 or more calories every day. Drink water or other sugar-free drinks to quench your thirst and stay away from sugary juices and sodas. It's also a good idea to choose skim or low-fat milk.

Start small

Small changes are much easier to stick to than drastic ones. For example, give up regular soda or reduce the portion sizes you eat. You can make other changes, such as introducing healthier foods and exercise into your life.

Stop eating when you're full

Be mindful when you eat and stop when you are full enough. Eating more slowly can help because it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to realize you're full. Sometimes pausing for a few seconds can prevent you from eating another serving.

Try not to eat when you're upset or bored—find something else to do instead (a walk around the block or going to the gym are good alternatives). Many people find it helpful to keep a journal of what they eat, when they eat, and how they feel. When you have to write it down, you might think twice about eating a cookie. Reviewing the diary afterwards can also help them identify the emotions they feel when they overeat.

Schedule regular meals and snacks

You can better manage your hunger if you have a predictable eating schedule. Skipping a meal can lead to overeating at the next meal. Add 1 or 2 healthy snacks for three hours to curb hunger.

Fruit 5 times a day

Get rid of junk food and eat fruits and vegetables! Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables isn't just a good idea to help you lose weight—it will help you feel full and keep your heart and the rest of your body healthy. Other tips for eating well:

• choose whole grain bread and other whole grains, such as brown rice and oatmeal
• eat a healthy breakfast
• keep portions under control

What to do if your child is overweight:

1. For your child, prepare small sandwiches with boiled chicken breast or turkey meat.
2. Add a slice of cucumber or tomato. Be sure to have greens or lettuce.
3. You can make sandwiches from berries and fruits.
4. Eliminate mayonnaise from your diet. Dress salads with kefir or natural yogurt sauce. Chop the dill into it and add lemon juice.
5. If you use oil, then only natural oil.
6. Parents, please note - most often, obesity in children is the result of illness.
7. First take it for an examination, find out exactly what the reason is before you constantly stop it - don’t eat, you can’t, put it down.

An example of a teenage girl losing weight on her own:

1. She stopped eating after 6 pm. This is done so that what you eat can be spent before going to bed.
2. She has eliminated “junk food” - fast food, chips, and does not drink sugary water. Eats little and often. The diet includes vegetables, fruits, proteins, cereals from unprocessed cereals.
3. He goes in for physical education and loves fitness. Group training 4 times a week.
4. Doctors' recommendation is to exercise for at least an hour a day.
5. Simply moving throughout the day does not replace physical activity. You need a certain heart rate for a long time, then a decrease in heart rate - only sports can provide this.

Tips for parents:

• Don’t forbid children from having treats, you just need to explain to them in a clear way what will happen to them if they eat a lot of them.
• Let you have days when you can eat candy without screaming, but no more than one. So the children will quickly get used to it and this will be the norm for them. These are your heirs, don't let them get sick.
• Do not bring junk food into the house and do not reward or console them with it.
• Better kiss, hug and tell him how smart he is.
• Explain to children, taking into account their age, in clear language, the dangers of sweet and fatty foods.
• Lead by example yourself. In the family and at the table, the child learns everything from his parents.

How can a child lose excess weight, once again harmful foods for children:

• All sweets.
• Buns and bread made from white flour.
• Sugar.
• Pasta.
• Sweet carbonated and non-carbonated drinks.
• Lots of grapes and other sweet fruits and juice from them.
• Excess fat.
• Sweet yoghurts and all sweet dairy products.
• Semi-finished products.
• Fast food and hamburgers.
• Chips, salty snacks.
• Physical activity is a must. Let them run, jump, make noise - this is how nature intended.

Raise your children, talk to them, love them, feed them properly and the question of overweight children in your family will never arise. Health to your children and you, parents! Ertli S.V. With respect to you.

Causes and consequences of obesity at an early age

The development of obesity in children is determined by two fundamental factors. The first is of a nutritional nature and is associated with issues of nutrition and a “sedentary” lifestyle. The second (endocrine) is the result of pathology of the thyroid gland, malfunction of the ovaries, and diseases of the adrenal glands.

Identifying the causes of obesity is the responsibility of an endocrinologist, who puts forward one of the following factors that often affect body weight:

1. Binge eating. Consumption of foods high in calories, a tradition of “poly-eating” in the child’s family.
2. "Passive lifestyle. Spending a lot of time in a static position (watching TV, playing on the computer).
3. Hypothyroidism. Hormonal deficiency of the thyroid gland, causing late development of children.
4. Pathologies of the adrenal glands. For example, with Itsenko-Cushing's disease, adipose tissue is intensively deposited in the upper half of the body, while the legs and arms remain thin.
5. Polycystic ovary syndrome. With this condition, girls experience menstrual irregularities, strong hair growth on the arms and face, and excessive fat deposition.

There are other common causes - tumors, disruption of the pituitary gland, genetic diseases. You can’t make a diagnosis yourself, just like you can’t “write out” prescriptions. If you detect the first signs of obesity, immediately contact your nearest clinic!

Obesity in children: timely diagnosis and effective treatment methods

For several decades now, scientists have observed an increase in the number of children who are overweight. Doctors and nutritionists pay particular attention to this serious problem, since obesity leads to serious consequences. And in almost all cases, this is a struggle with excess weight throughout adult life.

When does it appear?

Obesity is a chronic disease that is caused by metabolic imbalance and is accompanied by the accumulation of excess fat in the body.

Adipose tissue in the human body is not always formed intensively. The first build-up occurs from the day the baby is born until 9 months. Up to 5 years, fat growth stabilizes. The next growth period is 5-7 years. The final stage is at the age of puberty of the body and its complete restructuring - from 12 to 17 years.

Therefore, doctors distinguish three critical periods of the disease:

1. up to 3 years – early childhood;
2. 5-7 years – junior school age;
3. 12-17 years – adolescence.
4. Nutritional (problems are caused by unbalanced nutrition and low mobility).
5. Endocrine (problems are caused by disrupted activity of the endocrine system).

Causes of obesity at an early age

Only an endocrinologist can correctly identify the causes of the disease. There are two main factors that influence the development of pathology in children:

The prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents is due to metabolic disorders and low activity. Energy imbalance is associated with uncontrolled consumption of high-calorie foods and excessively low energy expenditure.

Without realizing all the harm, children eat unlimited amounts of baked goods, sweets, and fast food, washed down with carbonated drinks.

It is important! Physical inactivity is one of the reasons for the increase in the number of children suffering from excess weight. Modern children prefer sitting in front of the computer, TV and gadgets to playing outdoor games.

“Family syndrome” as a cause of the disease is no less common. Obesity in both parents gives an 80% guarantee that the same disease will appear in the child. There is a high likelihood of developing obesity in newborn babies weighing over 4 kg, as well as in babies who quickly gain weight in the first two years of life. Early introduction of complementary foods (before 6 months) and cessation of breastfeeding are also possible causes of the disease.

There are a number of reasons for excessive weight gain in children associated with developmental pathologies:

• congenital hypothyroidism (lack of thyroid hormones);
• pathology of the adrenal glands (Itsenko-Cushing syndrome);
• Down syndrome;
• inflammatory diseases of the brain, traumatic brain injuries, tumors that lead to disruption of the pituitary gland;
• adipose-genital dystrophy.

Psycho-emotional reasons often contribute to metabolic disorders. This could be a constant hostile atmosphere at school, severe stress caused by the loss of loved ones, or the shock of the child witnessing a crime.

Possible consequences and complications

Obesity in childhood always provokes the frequent development of many concomitant diseases. This increases the risk of disability and premature death.

What does obesity lead to in childhood and adolescence?

• to diseases of the cardiovascular system (hypertension, stroke, angina, cardiac ischemia);
• to diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (inflammation of the pancreas, duodenum, gastritis, liver failure, hemorrhoids, constipation);
• to diseases of the endocrine system (disorders of the pancreas, adrenal glands and thyroid gland);
• to diseases of the musculoskeletal system (deformation of bones and joints, the appearance of flat feet, varicose veins on the legs);
• to mental illnesses (night apnea syndrome, sleep disorders, psychosocial disorders);
• to a decrease in male reproductive function and female infertility in the future.

Symptoms

Only doctors can determine obesity in a child, but parents should be the first to notice the warning signs of the disease. To do this, it is important to observe the child’s lifestyle, his mobility and physical activity, and changes in his figure.

Symptoms of obesity in an infant:

• overweight;
• dysbacteriosis;
• frequent allergic reactions;
• constipation

Symptoms of obesity in a child of primary school age (5-7 years):

• overweight;
• excessive sweating;
• the appearance of shortness of breath when walking and exercising;
• deformation of the figure in the abdomen, hips, arms and shoulders (accumulation of adipose tissue);
• frequent increase in blood pressure.

Symptoms of obesity in adolescents 12-17 years old:

• more pronounced, all of the above, symptoms;
• fatigue;
• in girls - menstrual irregularities;
• dizziness and headaches;
• increased sweating;
• frequent swelling of the arms and legs, aching pain in the joints;
• depressive states.

How to diagnose the disease?

The reason to consult a doctor will be the observations of attentive parents, who can detect the first alarming symptoms of obesity in a child. The doctor begins the diagnosis by collecting information about the child (feeding methods up to one year, current nutritional habits, lifestyle, level of physical fitness, chronic diseases).

The next step in objective diagnosis is the collection of anthropometric data: waist circumference, hip circumference, body weight. Based on these indicators, the doctor calculates the child’s body mass index (BMI) and compares it using special centile tables developed by WHO.

Shall we count? BMI makes it easy to determine the degree of complexity of the disease and is calculated using the following formula: BMI = body weight (kg) / height (m²).

Based on the obtained index value, the degree of obesity can be determined. The following table will help with this.

To determine the causes of the disease, the pediatrician may prescribe the following tests:

• Blood chemistry. It allows you to determine the amount of glucose in the blood, cholesterol, and uric acid. The level of ALT and AST proteins (transaminases in the blood) will determine the condition of the liver.
• Analysis of the levels of various types of hormones in the blood and urine. Prescribed if the doctor suspects the development of obesity on a hormonal background. The level of insulin, cortisol, TSH, estradiol and other hormones is determined.

To clarify the diagnosis, they may also refer you for additional examinations:

• Ultrasound of the thyroid gland;
• CT, MRI and EEG of the brain (if pathology of the pituitary gland is suspected).

Treatment

Having determined the cause of obesity, the doctor prescribes comprehensive treatment, which necessarily includes the following:

1. Nutrition correction and individual diet.
2. Physiotherapy.
3. Drug therapy.
4. Surgical treatment (if necessary).

Nutrition correction

A pediatric nutritionist will help you adjust your diet correctly. Its goal will be to slow down the process of formation of subcutaneous fat and stimulate the removal of already accumulated reserves. The diet for an obese child should be as varied and balanced as possible. You also need to remember that diets are contraindicated for children under 3 years of age.

Nutrition for obese children involves split meals 6-7 times a day in small portions. It is better to take breaks between meals no longer than 3 hours. Basic high-calorie meals make up the diet in the first half of the day, during the period of greatest activity. For breakfast and lunch, meat and fish dishes must be prepared from low-fat varieties.

Among dairy products, fermented milk with a low fat content is preferable. Every day, calcium is included in the diet in the form of cottage cheese.

Since the main source of body fat is carbohydrates, it is recommended to exclude white bread, sugar, juices, carbonated drinks, pasta, jam and sweets from the diet.

Important! When preparing food, it is necessary to minimize the process of frying in oil. Products can be boiled, steamed, stewed and eaten fresh.

Effective dietary nutrition was developed by the Soviet nutritionist M. Pevzner. In order to treat obesity in children and adolescents, he created diet number 8, which is still successfully practiced by doctors today. The diet has been developed in several menu options, alternating which will completely balance the body’s intake of essential substances.

Table number 8 consists of the following basic products:

• bread with bran or wholemeal – 100-170 g per day;
• low-fat fermented milk products – 180-200 g per day;
• lean meat, poultry, lean fish – 150-180 g per day;
• soups with a small amount of potatoes - up to 220 g serving;
• from cereals only millet, buckwheat and barley - up to 200 g of porridge per day;
• all vegetables in unlimited quantities in different ways of preparation;
• fruits, preferably unsweetened – up to 400 g per day.
• tea, uzvar and juices without sugar.

Here is one of the menu options for diet No. 8, designed to help a child with obesity:

• 1st breakfast – 8.00

Buckwheat porridge cooked in water, tea without sugar, apple.

• 2nd breakfast – 11.00

Apple and fresh cabbage salad, boiled egg, rosehip infusion.

• Lunch – 13.00

Vegetable soup or cabbage soup, stewed cabbage with boiled meat or fish, dried fruit compote.

• Afternoon snack – 16.00

Cottage cheese with kefir.

• Dinner – 19.00

Boiled fish, vegetable salad with vegetable oil. Before bed - a glass of low-fat kefir.

All recipes for preparing dishes for obese children take into account the almost complete absence of salt, sweets and oil, so children find it too strict, bland and tasteless.

To improve the child’s psychological mood when eating, parents are advised to use all their imagination and creatively transform the served dishes. These can be cartoon figures, patterns and other details from the products. Bright and juicy vegetables will always come to the rescue.

Physiotherapy

Physical exercise is an essential part of the comprehensive treatment of obesity in childhood. The attending physician will prescribe the necessary complex of exercise therapy, which will promote weight loss. In addition, the recommendations for obese children include sports clubs, walking in any weather in the fresh air, swimming, cycling, massage. Sports should be regular. Resourceful parents even come up with punishments in the form of exercises (10 push-ups, 30 squats, etc.) so that the load is daily.

Interesting! Drawing with chalk on asphalt is a simple, but very useful activity. After all, when drawing, a child squats and moves on his haunches.

Drug therapy

Doctors, as a rule, prescribe drug treatment only for 3rd degree obesity. This is due to the fact that all drugs that suppress appetite and reduce weight are contraindicated in children under 15 years of age.

Modern methods of treating obesity in children are based on non-drug therapy. Often, homeopathic medicines that are less dangerous for the child’s body are included in the treatment complex.

Surgery

There are particularly severe cases of the disease when there is a need for surgical intervention (extreme obesity or life-threatening conditions caused by its complications). Then doctors can use surgery.

Treatment of obesity with the help of surgery (bariatrics) is still being improved, but doctors are already practicing more than 40 types of bariatric surgeries that help eliminate the consequences of obesity in children.

Obesity prevention

The problem of obesity in children can make itself felt even during pregnancy, so experts recommend starting prevention even before birth. The expectant mother should take care of a nutritious, balanced diet and remember the dangers of overeating.

The main preventive measures to prevent obesity in children and adolescents come down to the following steps.

• Proper diet

It includes a balanced diet, adherence to an hourly diet and the exclusion of harmful foods and drinks from the menu.

• Active lifestyle

Includes maintaining a healthy lifestyle, physical education, sports and outdoor games, and limiting sitting in front of a computer or TV.

• Psycho-emotional background

When a child is obese, the psychological situation among his loved ones is very important. An overweight teenager may often become depressed, which will only worsen the course of the disease. Therefore, all possible support and positive attitude of parents is important. Not just advice on what to do and how, but motivation through personal examples.

Childhood obesity is a very serious problem. This is a disease that will definitely make itself felt at a young and mature age. Parents must be very attentive to the child and are obliged to teach him to lead a correct lifestyle. Well, this will be the key to his safety and good health.

The information was prepared by instructor-valeologist O.V. Batyukova

Prevention

Parents should know how to prevent childhood obesity:

• full awareness of proper nutrition;
• breastfeeding up to 6 months;
• physical activity;
• playing sports;
• constant monitoring of BMI, timely identification of children with this indicator more than 10 at the age of 2-9 years;
• instilling healthy eating habits;
• walks in the open air.

If this is implemented from a very early age, children and adolescents will never be diagnosed with obesity.

How we ruin the lives of our children and make them sick: overweight and obesity

This article will be very useful for both parents and those who are just planning to become parents, especially expectant mothers.

We also strongly advise you to give it to read, or at least explain its contents in your own words, to grandparents, who, unfortunately, often try to feed the child to their fullest and do not particularly take into account the parents’ opinions on this matter.

We want to let you feel the horror of the situation: today 1/4-1/5 of the world's population suffers from obesity, and among preschool and school-age children it affects 10 to 20%!

But the worst thing is that the number of newborns and infants with excess body weight has increased to 15-20%! At the same time, almost 50% of teenagers have tried to follow a diet in their lives to lose excess weight.

The essence of the article is not only that you need to pay special attention to what your child eats, but also why, from a physiological point of view, this is of critical importance. We really hope that this knowledge will help more than one family avoid problems and illnesses and raise a child with healthy ideas about nutrition and his body.

Please note: the article consists of 2 parts!

How to determine - table of stages by age

In the second part of this article, Childhood Weight: How We Make Our Children Sick, we described how to diagnose signs of obesity in children and adolescents, how to treat it, principles of nutrition, diet and exercise therapy for those who are overweight.

WHO classification with photo

There are primary, secondary, mixed and rare forms of obesity, in which various disturbances occur: the functioning of the fat cell itself or its regulatory system:

Forms

1. A. Primary exogenous constitutional:
   • uncomplicated

   transitional

2. complicated
3. Nutritional

   B. Secondary:

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   • cerebral,

   hypothalamic.

B. Mixed

D. Rare forms

Degree of excess body weight in %

• 1 = 15-25%,
• 2 = 26-50%,
• 3 = 51-100%,
• 4 = above 100%.

Flow

• Fast
• Slowly progressive
• Stable
• Regressive

Complications

• Dysfunction of the musculoskeletal system
• Skin changes
• Cardiovascular diseases
• Metabolic (exchange) syndromes
• Diseases of the liver, renal excretory organs, gastrointestinal tract
• Disturbance of endocrine functions and functions of the gonads
• Secondary hypothalamic syndrome.

The initial stages of obesity (1 and 2) are practically asymptomatic: they are characterized by an even distribution of fat throughout the body, minor rare autonomic disorders (sweating, thirst, nausea, fatigue, dizziness, functional disorders of the cardiovascular system). Excess weight looks like mild excess baby swelling.

Stages 3 and 4 are characterized by already noticeable excess fat deposits on the abdomen (in the form of hanging folds), hips (breeches), back, breasts that are too developed for their age, skin problems (folliculitis, marbling, a network of small vessels, stretch marks), decreased the body's defenses and even metabolic disorders with a sharp increase in insulin secretion up to diabetes, loss of menstruation, and high blood pressure.

In the following pictures/photos you can see children suffering from a certain degree of obesity:

1st stage 2nd degree 3rd type 4th form of development

Consequences

What are the dangers of being overweight?

Causes

Are the parents to blame? The question is, of course, tough and offensive, but let's call a spade a spade. So, let's look at the scientifically proven facts.

In infants

A newborn (if, of course, he is born without any congenital pathologies) is an almost ideal biochemically balanced organism. That is, all infants have optimal metabolism and a small number of fat cells.

This does not depend on the weight of the parents, unless this weight is accompanied by the presence of diabetes. Obstetricians know that patients with diabetes almost always give birth to a very large fetus.

We have already discussed this issue in the article “Broad bone: myth or reality?” and let us repeat once again: there is no such thing as hereditary completeness .

Scientists are still studying the obesity gene FTO, but a study conducted on almost 10,000 people has proven one very interesting fact. It showed that people who are confident in the presence of this gene are more likely to gain excess weight than those who are unaware.

Moreover, this turned out to be true for those who actually do not have a “predisposition” to gain weight . Of course, we are not considering isolated cases of congenital pathology.

So it doesn't matter at all whether you have this gene or not. The main thing is how you eat. Genes are generally a very convenient topic. They can justify and explain anything.

If you are always late, you can, for example, justify yourself by heredity - supposedly, this is the problem of all your ancestors right up to the 7th generation, even your great-great-grandfather was a groom and he dared to be late to his master, that’s why you are like that. And there’s nothing to be done: it’s pointless to reprimand genes. But it's all a joke, of course

Source: https://kost-shirokaya.ru/zdorovie/deti-i-zhir/