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Is My Child Overweight?
By Julie Pearce 

Parents are usually very quick to notice when a child is sick or has a medical condition, yet when it comes to childhood obesity, parents often ignore the warning signs. This is probably because they don’t view being overweight as a medical condition. However, childhood obesity can give rise to problems in later life, so how to parents answer the question, is my child overweight?

Childhood obesity is on the rise, with some 16 percent of American kids ages 6-11 considered “obese,” with many more falling in the “overweight” category. (It’s no surprise: About one-third of adults in the U.S. are obese, too.) As a parent, how can you tell if your child is too heavy? And what can you do about it?

The first warning sign is a simple, obvious one, yet many parents miss it: Does your child look “fat”? As cute as he or she may be and regardless of how well they may carry the extra weight, look at him or her objectively. Is he or she bigger around the face and belly than other children? Do other kids tease them about their weight? Has your child said anything to indicate he or she is unhappy with his or her appearance?

If you suspect there may be a problem, find out your child’s BMI, or body-mass index. This is a formula used for children and adults to determine a healthy weight according to a height, and the extremes either side. There are online calculators that can figure out BMI, or you can do it yourself.

The mathematical formula is: weight (in kilograms) divided by height (in meters) squared -- wt / ht(2). If you’re more comfortable with pounds and inches than kilograms and meters, multiply your weight in pounds by 704.5, then divide that by your height in inches. Then divide THAT figure by your height in inches again. Your final answer is your BMI.

BMI results s of 25-30 are considered “overweight,” while 30 or higher is “obese.” The BMI system is not perfect, though. Some people truly are “big-boned” or carry more muscle rather than fat -- it’s not just an excuse. People who are particularly muscular may technically be deemed “overweight” even though they have very little body fat. The BMI goes simply by weight, after all, not by what kind of weight it is.

Continue reading sign up for the free childhood obesity newsletter crammed full of tips for parents wanting to help their children lose excess weight.

But if your child scores in the 30 range on the BMI calculator, you should probably look into a diet and exercise program. Take your child to a pediatrician to look for possible problems. There may be a medical reason for the weight gain beyond a simple “needing to eat less and get more exercise.” Remember that carrying around too much extra weight can lead to many health problems down the road, some of them serious including diabetes, heart failure, and high blood pressure. If you’re mulling over the question of is my child overweight, help them make a healthy start in life by monitoring his or her weight now.

Sign up for Julie Pearce's free Childhood Obesity newsletter - Overflowing with lots of great information to help you discover more about Is My Child Overweight?.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julie_Pearce

Helping Your Overweight Child
By Kim Beardsmore

With the rise of obesity and the increasing incidence of type 2 diabetes occurring in children, many parents are now faced with helping an overweight child. This may not be a daunting as first seems and here are some simple, but effective steps to take to help your child develop eating habits and active lifestyle that will assist improve their health.

Be supportive

· Tell your child that he or she is loved, is special, and is important. Children's feelings about themselves often are based on their parents' feelings about them.

· Accept your child at any weight. Children will be more likely to accept and feel good about themselves when their parents accept them.

· Listen to your child's concerns about his or her weight. Overweight children probably know better than anyone else that they have a weight problem. They need support, understanding, and encouragement from parents.

Encourage healthy eating habits

· Buy and serve more fruits and vegetables (fresh, frozen, or canned). Let your child choose them at the store.

· Buy fewer soft drinks and high fat/high calorie snack foods like chips, cookies, and candy. These snacks are OK once in a while, but keep healthy snack foods on hand too and offer them to your child more often.

· Eat breakfast every day. Skipping breakfast can leave your child hungry, tired, and looking for less healthy foods later in the day.

· Plan healthy meals and eat together as a family. Eating together at meal times helps children learn to enjoy a variety of foods.

· Eat fast food less often. When you visit a fast food restaurant, try the healthful options offered.

· Offer your child water or low-fat milk more often than fruit juice. Fruit juice is a healthy choice but is high in calories.

· Do not get discouraged if your child will not eat a new food the first time it is served. Some kids will need to have a new food served to them 10 times or more before they will eat it.

· Try not to use food as a reward when encouraging kids to eat. Promising dessert to a child for eating vegetables, for example, sends the message that vegetables are less valuable than dessert. Kids learn to dislike foods they think are less valuable.

· Start with small servings and let your child ask for more if he or she is still hungry. It is up to you to provide your child with healthy meals and snacks, but your child should be allowed to choose how much food he or she will eat.

Healthy snack foods for your child to try:

o Fresh fruit

o Fruit canned in juice or light syrup

o Small amounts of dried fruits such as raisins, apple rings, or apricots

o Fresh vegetables such as baby carrots, cucumber, zucchini, or tomatoes

o Reduced fat cheese or a small amount of peanut butter on whole-wheat crackers

o Low-fat yogurt with fruit

Foods that are small, round, sticky, or hard to chew, such as raisins, whole grapes, hard vegetables, hard chunks of cheese, nuts, seeds, and popcorn can cause choking in children under age 4. You can still prepare some of these foods for young children, for example, by cutting grapes into small pieces and cooking and cutting up vegetables. Always watch your toddler during meals and snacks.

Encourage daily physical activity

Like adults, kids need daily physical activity. Here are some ways to help your child move every day:

· Set a good example. If your children see that you are physically active and have fun, they are more likely to be active and stay active throughout their lives.

· Encourage your child to join a sports team or class, such as soccer, dance, basketball, or gymnastics at school or at your local community or recreation center.

· Be sensitive to your child's needs. If your child feels uncomfortable participating in activities like sports, help him or her find physical activities that are fun and not embarrassing.

· Be active together as a family. Assign active chores such as making the beds, washing the car, or vacuuming. Plan active outings such as a trip to the zoo or a walk through a local park.

· Because his or her body is not ready yet, do not encourage your pre-adolescent child to participate in adult-style physical activity such as long jogs, using an exercise bike or treadmill, or lifting heavy weights. FUN physical activities are best for kids.

· Kids need a total of about 60 minutes of physical activity a day, but this does not have to be all at one time. Short 10- or even 5-minute bouts of activity throughout the day are just as good. If your children are not used to being active, encourage them to start with what they can do and build up to 60 minutes a day.

Kim Beardsmore is a weight loss consultant. Tons of recipes, articles, free ezine, meal plans and resources to help you lose weight through excellence in nutrition. Estimate your healthy weight, free newsletter and more at http://www.weight-loss-health.com.au

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_Beardsmore

 

America's Kids are NOT at Fault for Being Overweight!
By Merilee Kern

It’s a downward spiral. Childhood obesity is fast becoming a nationwide epidemic, and the physical and psychological effects of being overweight can last a lifetime. While the issue of weight problems in children has become a “hot-button” topic throughout the news media, far too many families don’t have adequate information or resources when it comes to teaching their kids healthy eating and fitness habits.

It’s certainly not easy being a kid in today’s complex culture where children have it tougher than their parents did, health-wise. Not only do they have to negotiate any number of social landmines at school, but overweight and obese children also have challenges, social and otherwise, far beyond those for typical adolescents. Today’s overweight kids, of which there are many, more frequently have to deal with the discrimination of their peers and scrutiny from adults.

What we all must understand is that placing - and displacing - blame doesn’t lessen a child’s suffering, nor does it make a child any healthier. And, we must not simply resign ourselves to believing that genetics are accountable for a child’s weight problem and, therefore, do nothing. Rather, we must teach America’s kids to navigate through society’s overabundance of and easy access to junk foods and fast foods, and to make sound choices regarding their nutrition and fitness. Parents lobbying for more physical education courses at school is a good start, but is simply not enough.

As with adults, there is no quick, easy weight loss fix for children. In order to solve a child’s weight problem, parents need to help the child help him or her self, by modifying and managing dietary intake, physical activity and lifestyle behaviors. They must also seek out resources that can help their child start making small lifestyle changes RIGHT NOW that, combined, will lead to big results. Solutions do not need to be the result of clinical trials or doctorate level dissertations. There are many new products on the marketplace today that have come about at the grassroots level by Americans who are not only concerned about the state of kids’ health throughout America, but have decided to take action:

Child health advocate, weight-loss industry veteran and former bodybuilding champion Merilee A. Kern is co-founder and CEO of Healthy Kids' Catalog ® - an online resource offering Solutions That Foster Healthy ChildrenT. She is also author of the fictional children's book, "It's Not Your Fault That You're Overweight - A Story of Enlightenment, Empowerment and Accomplishment for Overweight and Obese Kids". She can be reached through her Web sites at http://www.HealthyKidsCatalog.com and http://www.NotFault.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Merilee_Kern