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Managing obesity and overweight in children
Encourage your child to observe healthful behaviors, develop healthy eating habits, and be physically active.
Key Points
If your child is overweight, he/she may feel self-conscious about his/her appearance and be teased by classmates, which damages self-esteem. Being overweight also can have serious physical consequences. Compared with normal-weight children, those who are overweight are far more likely to develop diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, and orthopedic problems, among other health concerns.
Modifications in three areas can help control weight: diet, exercise, and eating-related behavior patterns. But even a child who is highly motivated to make these modifications is unlikely to succeed unless his/her family is committed to making healthful lifestyle changes as well (see subsequent tables).
Nothing is more important than being a good role model for your child, by being physically active, and eating a healthy diet. Reward your child (but not with food) when he/she succeeds in following a healthy new behavior, such as eating only one dessert a week, but don't give rewards for losing weight.
Encourage your child to develop healthy eating habits
Encourage your child to be physically active
Adapted from Guide for Parents, Contemp Pediatr 2006;23(3):108
Increased servings of 100% fruit juice per day associated with BMI gain in children
January 19th 2024Though the association of BMI gain and 100% fruit juice in children was “small,” authors concluded their findings support public health guidance to limit consumption of the beverage to prevent overweight and obesity.
USPSTF draft statement recommends children with obesity begin behavioral interventions at age 6
December 13th 2023The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is planning to recommend that comprehensive, intensive behavioral interventions be the primary effective intervention for weight loss in children and adolescents with high body mass indexes (BMI).
High BMI associated with increased risk of type 1 diabetes
November 8th 2023In a systematic and meta-analysis review of cohort studies that featured nearly 1.7 million individuals, study authors concluded that there is an association between high body mass index (BMI) and an increased risk of incident type 1 diabetes (T1D).
