Parameters for the Treatment of Child Obesity

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June 8th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

In order to establish an effective course of child obesity treatment there are several factors that need to be looked at first. Unless we actually know how we are defining obesity it is impossible to have the best child obesity treatment and if you are actually treating the correct thing. What seems to be an appropriate child obesity treatment might actually be more harmful than beneficial without this kind of information.

In general obesity occurs when people eat more than the amount that is burnt up by the body. Specifically the influences of genetics, biology, nutrition or even behavior can be factors in the very complex causes of obesity.

First, a Defininition of Obesity

Obesity is often defined as the excessive accumulation of fat in the body, and is prevalent when total body weight is more than 25% fat in boys and 32% in girls. Childhood obesity is frequently defined as 120% of the normal weight-for-height ratio. Obviously if obesity is not treated in time, it can lead to clinically sever obesity or morbid obesity, which is usually defined as being 100 pounds or more than the ideal body weight and will often lead to serious chronic disease.

Kids who are obese need child obesity treatment because they are at a higher risk of maturing into an obese adult with the likely hood to be prone to certain illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease and low self esteem.

Basic Child Obesity Treatment

First, child obesity treatment starts with early and appropriate intervention into weight control. The goal of weight loss for children and adolescents is not weight loss, but the aim is to slow down the weight gain so that the child grows into normal body weight over a period of time.

Second, child obesity treatment should adopt a formal exercise program, which can make the youngster more active thus burning more fat, increasing energy expenditure and helping to maintain weight. It is important to be aware that most of the studies have revealed that unless done with some other changes such as change in diet or nutrition education, exercise alone cannot help in weight loss.

Third, another important aspect of child obesity treatment is diet management. For children, fasting or a large decrease in calories can be quite harmful psychologically and is not advisable. The growth of the child may be negatively affected and the youngster’s idea of normal eating habits could be distorted. It is necessary to help a child have a balanced and nutritious diet, along with moderate calorie restriction.

Fourthare behavioral strategies that can be used for child obesity treatment. There are a number of behavioral modifications used by adults to treat obesity that can be used for youngsters as well. These involve as well as physical activity some self-monitoring and record keeping of food intake. Slowing down the rate of eating, using incentives and rewards for desirable behavior, and limiting the place and time of eating are effective as well

Beneficial child obesity treatment is a combination of diet management, moderate exercise and behavior modification all of which affect the lifestyle of the child. To greatly affect a childs health and well being both in the short term and for life, this type of child obesity treatment should be used to develop appropriate life choices.

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