Weight Loss Management-Resources To Assist.

Weight And Appetite In Children

Overweight Children

The nutritional requirements of a child have to be considered carefully. Growing children require a high amount of energy intake to help them to grow, but, just as with adults, if energy intake exceeds energy usage, the child will put on weight.

Naturally, children should, and must, gain weight through the natural process of growth, but many children go beyond that and put on excess fatty tissue; i.e. they become obese .Obesity is rapidly becoming a serious problem with today’s children, partially through the wrong nutrition and eating too much of the wrong foods, and partially through ignorance on behalf of the parents who have a misconception that ‘puppy fat’ is a healthy and normal thing.

To a certain extent this is true, but excess ’puppy fat’ is as dangerous to a child as excess fat is to an adult. It is estimated that more than 15% of UK children are overweight or obese, and this figure is rising rapidly. The Journal of the American Medical Association reported on the 4th April that the level of overweight American children was 33.6%. Obese children grow into obese adults. They do not lose this so called ‘puppy fat’ unless positive steps are taken. They have a significantly higher risk of developing serious health problems , both now and as an adult, including potentially life threatening conditions such as bowel cancer, diabetes, strokes, heart conditions and high blood pressure. The more overweight the child, the greater the risk.

Digg this Delicious Facebook Reddit Stumble It

Calculator below. Use the table provided to see which category you fit into.

Body mass index chart BMI Score Catergory BMI Less Than 18.5 Under Weight BMI 18.5 - 25 Ideal BMI 25 - 30 Over Weight BMI 30 - 40 Obese - Need To Lose Weight BMI Over 40 Very Obese - Need To Lose Weight Now

BMI calculator - click here!