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Overweight Children - Is Your
Child Obese?
Written by Joanne Wilson
With children spending more time
plugged into television and computers, and less time outdoors,
it's not surprising that studies show a pattern of children's
weight increasing and their activity level decreasing. Still,
while it's important that parents provide their children with
good nutrition and opportunities to stay fit, obsession about
a child's weight can lead to other problems.
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Dr. Miriam Kaufman, pediatrician
and co-author of "All Shapes and Sizes" provides criteria
for when your child's few extra pounds are a health concern and
when they are not. "If your child can do everything that
they want to do and everything that you think they should be
able to do like running for a bus, if they seem happy with themselves
and how they look, if they're not being teased, then I think
that there may be a possibility that the parent is putting their
own weight preoccupation onto the child and they want their child
to look like the models in the magazines, or the kids on the
TV, or whatever. |
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It's very important to pull back
in that situation and ask, "Who am I doing this for?"
Am I doing it for my child, or for me?"
Dr. Kaufman adds that instead
of focusing on a child's size "parents should let their
kids know what things about them they think are really terrific.
There's a lot more to us than how we look. And in many societies
of course, many North Americans would look outrageously thin
and unattractive because of that. But there's much more to most
children. And a lot of these kids feel so bad about themselves,
that they're not doing anything. So it's very important that
parents help get those kids involved in things they can do well."
Dr. Lance Levy agrees that too much emphasis can be placed on
the size of a child rather than what's going on inside a child.
However, he does feel that weight problems, particularly obesity,
should be taken seriously to ensure that there is neither a physical
or emotional problem behind it. "I think what you want to
do, is to get behind the obvious which is "yes this child
is obese", that information is immaterial. You want to get
behind it, and find out what's going on in their heart, what's
going on in their head. Are they physically uncomfortable? Is
there something physically going wrong? You want to look at the
interpersonal relationships, family dynamics, peer group interactions.
That's the treatment of obesity, not diets."
If you feel that your child's weight could effect his health,
either physically or emotionally, then have him seen by doctor.
Otherwise, it's best to take a relaxed attitude and accept and
love your child for the unique individual he or she is.
© Copyright 2002 WM Communications.
All Rights Reserved. |
Beauty Secrets of the World
