Diets For Overweight Children, Help! My Child Might Be Overweight - Should You Be Looking For a Diet

Diets For Overweight Children, Help! My Child Might Be Overweight - Should You Be Looking For a Diet

Many people today are searching for diets for their overweight children. Unfortunately trends in overweight children have been to the upside for many years. In the early 70's roughly 5% of children ages 2-19 where considered overweight vs. the average weight of their peers. Today this number is closer to a staggering 20%. So are we looking for a diet or a new way of life for our children?

For Parents:
If you think that your child is overweight, please before you look for diets, schedule an appointment for them to see their pediatrician. It is a good idea to have this clinically diagnosed so that you know exactly how your child's weight looks vs. other children of the same age, height and gender.

I remember when I was 12 years old, I was a chubby kid and my mother tells me today that she was concerned. By the time I was 16, I was a rail because I got my major growth spurt between ages 14-16. This could very well be the case with your child so I think it makes sense to start with a clinical point of view and go from there.

I have no idea why people tend to think of children different than they do themselves in terms of eating and dieting. Children are just smaller versions of us but internally we all respond to the same things and all have the same health risks associated with being overweight except for asthma which is very common among overweight children.

Dieting should be a family affair:

Remember that our kids tend to follow our patterns so setting a good example is very important. Children should be eating naturally as should we. A diet should be a way of life not a one time event just to lose a few LBS.

I know that it is easy to stop off at the fast food place on the way home, I know I have children, but don't. This is a big problem in America and recently the rest of the developed world and I strongly believe that this is the heart of the problem, CONVENIENCE!

Diets for overweight children as well as adults should consist of quality foods containing all of the major food groups in the correct proportions and should be spread out to 4 or 5 meals a day. The thing here is scheduling, with kids and work you probably don't have tons of free time to prepare all kinds of healthy meals everyday.

It starts with a plan; if you set your weeks up in advance you can accomplish allot of the prep work over the weekend for the coming week in terms of meals and healthy snacks. Like any thing worth while this won't be easy, it will require some shifts but in the end isn't it worth it for the sake of us and our children?