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By HELEN W. SMITH
Extension Agent, Home Economics
If you’ve been tola your child is overweight, you’re not alone. A great number of American children carry around too much body weight as fat. Unfortunately, for many kids it means much more than not fitting into an ideal size. Experts feel that children who do not maintain an appropriate weight increase their risk for poor health, especially if their weight problem continues into adulthood.
How Did It Happen?
The ways in which children become overweight are as different as children themselves. For some, being overweight is genetically determined. That is, the likelihood to be heavy is passed down from preceding generations. Or perhaps being big is now the ‘In” look. Or it may be something else entirely.
What all of these children have in common, however, is they are taking in too may calories from the foods they eat and using up too few through exercise. The result is too much body fat.
Goals To Achieve
There are three goals for which you should strive to help your overweight child:
1. Help your children grow into his/her current body weight rather then encouraged weight loss. Weight loss in growing children is not healthy. The idea is to keep you child’s weight steady until he/she grows to the proper height for that weight. When that happens, you child’s weight can increase to keep " pace with normal growth.
2. Establish eating habits that will allow your child to grow and develop normally while keeping his/her body weight in line. Experts recommend that all healthy children over two years old eat a wide variety of lower-fat foods from all the major food groups. Limiting fat in the diet will help to keep calories and-tx)dy I fat at a minimum. Eating adequate I servings from a variety of foods 1 within each food group will ensure i that your child gets all the nutrients ; he/she needs for normal growth and i development. j 3. Make moderate exercise a reg- i ular and enjoyable part of your i child’s life. Many children fill up < their space time by watching TV or ( playing video games. Neither of t these activities gives children the exercise they need to tone their ^ muscles or bun the extra calories 1
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