Helping an overweight child may require a family lifestyle change
By Sue Shackles
South Florida Parenting
There's no more Entemann's at the Gadala-Maria home in Pinecrest. Cookies and nachos have been replaced with fresh cut fruit and veggies.
And son Jorge, 12, who is overweight - like one in five American children - has lost 11 pounds this year.
"He's happy [to be losing the weight]. He's 12, you know? He's starting to get a little self-conscious," says Patricia Gadala-Maria, Jorge's mom. For Jorge, the help came from a team at the Mailman Center for Child Development at the University of Miami.
Through a program called BEACH - Better Eating and Activity for Children's Health - Jorge has learned what to eat and how much to eat. He understands that he must exercise daily to lose the weight he has gained in childhood. He needs to lose another 16 pounds - even as he's growing taller - to be a normal weight for his height.
It's been a slow process, but no one is pushing. "If he can lose another 10 pounds, even 5 pounds, by the end of this summer, I'll be happy," Gadala-Maria says.
She's right to be concerned about her son's weight. Obesity - whether in childhood or adulthood - can have serious health consequences. For example, many more children are at risk for type II diabetes (also known as adult-onset diabetes) than in the past because of the increases in numbers of overweight kids.
Overweight children have a greater risk for some scary, adult-sounding conditions: high blood pressure, high cholesterol and lipids, cardiovascular disease, bone fractures and joint damage from the excess weight, sleep disorders and sleep apnea, pancreatitis, cardiomyopathy, abnormal glucose metabolism.
Better eating habits
A healthier lifestyle could save an overweight child from serious disease. Losing weight and becoming more active can reverse - and even eliminate - every dangerous complication associated with obesity. It can also do wonders for the child's self-esteem.
Parents of overweight children should start by taking the focus off the child, and instead concentrate on changing the lifestyle of the whole family, dietitians and doctors say. Not only will this make it much easier for the child to lose weight, but it will provide the child with tools to maintain a healthy weight through adulthood.
"We try to make small steps toward improving their eating habits. We don't like to think of it as a 'diet,' " says Susan Malca, assistant director of Nutrition Services at Miami Children's Hospital and a registered dietician.
Simple solutions include changing what the children drink and eat for snacks. "Especially in an area like South Florida where it's warm, children need to drink a lot. When you're constantly drinking not just sodas, but even the healthy drinks like orange juice and Gatorade, you're adding hundreds of calories per day. Drinking plain water can knock five pounds off [almost] any child," Malca says.
For snacks, she says, "Have more fruit and cut-up vegetables and low-fat yogurt in the fridge. More low-fat snacks like low-fat popcorn or pretzels in place of potato chips and cookies."
It's not just the type of food, but how much food kids eat. "Some kids are eating a pretty healthy diet. It's just that they have lost a sense of what is an appropriate portion," Malca says.
That was the first thing Jorge learned in the Mailman Center's BEACH program. "He can have three-fourths of a cup of cereal, not the bowl heaping on top," his mom says.
Learning appropriate portion size may be the most critical thing for parents and kids to understand to get weight under control.
Get up and move
A change in diet is only the first step. The family also needs to get up and get moving. TV fitness expert and mother of two Denise Austin believes the answer to unsafe streets is for the entire family to get out and exercise together. Not only is this healthier than watching TV, it brings the family closer together and it helps you recognize and get to know your neighbors.
"We go as a family to walk our dog after dinner. I get the bikes out and we go for bike rides. Find out what activities your children would like to try and do it with them. That way, the children don't feel like they're exercising, they just think they're having fun," Austin says.
It's worth it
The positive consequences of a change in the family's lifestyle are many, but perhaps the best for parents will be the change in the child's self-esteem as the pounds fall away.
"Remember, we have a young body here, and with the right treatment and exercise they lose weight rapidly," Dr. Roldan says. "One child in my study on adolescent obesity lost 70 pounds in one year. This child, who came into my program as a C-D student who was highly depressed, by the end of the year was an A-B student with an incredible increase in self-esteem. It's achievable as long as you always seek out the help of a medical professional or a dietitian and educate yourself. Make gradual changes, baby steps, use moderation and not deprivation."
"You are your kids' role models," Austin says. "Get out there with them and have fun as a family. You can burn calories, they can burn calories, and you'll all feel more energetic and more confident. Remember, food is not the enemy here. Sitting still is what's making our kids sick. So make a commitment to a healthy lifestyle and relearn how to play. Family fitness is really all about playing."
