Admitting Your Child Is Fat - Is Summer Weight Loss Camp the Answer?
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Experts on childhood obesity warn parents: Don't put your overweight child on a diet designed for grown-ups. Here's why:
1. Diets don't work.
The first person known to diet was William the Conqueror, who went on a liquid diet in 1087 because he was too fat to ride his horse. Today we have thousands of diet plans and books. If they really worked, there would be only one - because you wouldn't need more than one.
Diets may actually be helping to make us overweight. A major study of 6,000 Australians linked being overweight to using starvation diets, laxatives, and self-induced vomiting. In other words, the more you use weight control methods, the more likely you are to be fat and gain more weight. Dr. Phillipa Hay, author of the study, believes that diets and being overweight drive each other as she put it, "within a reverberating cycle of weight disorder."
2. A child's body is still growing and needs special nutrients. Adult diets can harm a child's health.
Adults can easily determine their ideal weights by looking at a chart. However, children are growing and normally gain weight every year. Reducing diets designed for adults can be hazardous to children's growth by restricting calories and nutrients. For example, most diet plans severely limit whole categories of food such as starches, red meats, or dairy products. However, children need minerals and vitamins found in a variety of foods, including meat, whole grains, milk, and fruit. They also need a certain level of fat to process fat-soluble vitamins. If a child's calorie level is too restricted, she will lack the energy to participate in activities and exercise - one of the keys to keeping slim.
3. Research suggests it may be better for parents to ignore a child's weight issues than to try to manage them.
A 12-year study at Stanford University found that parents who are overly controlling about food put too much pressure on their children to be thin. In fact, too much emphasis on weight control puts them at increased risk for bulimia and other eating disorders as teens. One study from the University of Minnesota linked being overweight in teen girls with reading too many articles about dieting and having a mother preoccupied with dieting herself. Another study found that children of parents who encouraged them to diet were more likely to be overweight five years later than children of parents who ignored the issue.
4. If parents are overly strict about food, their children are more likely to have weight problems and eating disorders.
A study from Oklahoma State University found that parents who were too strict (or too permissive) were more likely to have children with weight problems.
If it's not a good idea to put your overweight child on a diet, how can you help them lose weight? Here are a few general principles:
Become a good role model. Eat in a healthy, moderate way and get plenty of exercise. Your child will follow your example.
Eat together regularly as a family. One study after another proves the value of family meals as a way of keeping the entire family's weight under control.
Plan an active summer. Children gain weight if they are inactive for months on end. Consider summer camps and other programs that keep children moving and physically engaged.
Limit "screen time." Restrict use of TV, video games, movies, and computers to a few hours a day.
Substitute healthy foods for high-calorie junk. For example, substituting raw carrots for French fries saves 200 calories, and substituting yogurt for sour cream saves 100 calories. Remember weight loss can be very subtle - eating only 10 less calories a day means you lose one extra pound a year.
Get professional help if your child has an eating disorder or is obese. A medical professional can help you find an appropriate program for your child. One option is a state-of-the-art teen weight loss camp that does not emphasize how many pounds campers lose, but rather how many permanent lifestyle changes they can make. At these modern weight loss camps, obese teens and children often exercise for the first time without embarrassment and within activities appropriate for their size and physical condition. The weight loss camp should have a follow-up program that involves the child's family.
Most importantly, make your child feel loved and special right now, no matter how much she weighs. A child who feels good about herself is far less likely to turn to food for emotional support.