The treatment for children who are obese lies in changing habits and learned behaviors.

Of course, the sooner in life that these changes are made, the faster the results happen.  Some of these steps towards a healthier life are immediate, while others are a lifetime commitment. You, as a parent, may not be able to go it alone.

Let’s look at what you can do for your child and what other support you may need on this road to recovery.

What Steps Should I Take To Help My Child?

With any program to get your body healthy, there are things that you, and the people around you, need to do to make the program a success. Here is a short list of the steps you need to take to help your child:

Give love and support.

First, tell your child that you love him or her. A support system is the one thing that will get them through this painful process. They will be dealing with lots of feelings about being overweight. It’s not as easy as “oh, gee, I’m overweight.” A child’s feelings about being obese go much deeper, affecting how they feel about themselves as a person. They need you to reaffirm that they have worth, at any weight

Get your child under medical supervision.

Involving your child’s doctor is a very important step. Medical support will provide some some amount in protecting your child’s dignity.  Some parents shy away from the doctor because they fear a long harsh speech about ruining their child’s life. Doctors take an oath to “do no harm” and that includes mental harm. Your child’s doctor will likely be relieved when they see you are ready to dig in and get some real help for your child. The blame game is not in their patient’s best interest.

Tell your doctor all of the concerns you have for your child. If you don’t know how to prepare healthy meals or if you don’t know how to help your child to live a healthier life, start with those simple questions.

The doctor will examine your child and determine a course of action. The doctor will order lab tests and these will alert you to any developing problems as a result of the obesity. The doctor will make suggestions on how to lower those risk factors. If there are immediate concerns, for example diabetes, your doctor will be able to address those problems quickly. In other words, do see your child’s doctor immediately as he or she is on your side.

Talk to a nutritionist.

You’ll want to start out with a list of healthy foods and suggestions on how to introduce these foods to your child. A child who has developed a love for sugary foods may find it difficult at first to get “unhooked.” A nutritionist knows the strategies for introducing foods that mimic sugary foods in the body without adding calories.

Their advice will help you when it comes time to stock your pantry with healthy food choices. A nutritionist is also trained to find quality, healthy food that fits every budget, no matter how limited. Even families on very low incomes can eat in a healthy way; it just may take a little extra planning.

Find a fitness program.

If you have the money, hire a personal trainer, even if only to get a program started. It may only take a few sessions with a professional fitness guide to help your child find an activity they like to do and to teach your child how to exercise properly.

You can also sign your child up for kid’s fitness classes at the local YMCA or community center. Along with others their own age and ability, they can jump, skip, hop and dance to gain better physical fitness.

When spending money is out of the question, create an exercise program at home that is fun for the whole family. Go outside and take a walk every day. Get out the bikes and dust them off. Dig out that jump rope, basketball, or anything that’s been sitting in the garage collecting dust.

If exercise indoors fits into your schedule better, there are many free Internet sites that show specific exercises to do, as well as numerous exercise programs on television. Another cheap alternative is to visit your local thrift shop. People get tired of their exercise videos and pack them up to ship off to thrift shops all the time. Your local library may also have exercise videos to borrow.

Medications may be indicated.

I put this last as usually medications are only prescribed to teenagers, and even then there has to be a good indication for it. Those reasons may include management of serious health problems as a result of obesity:

• high cholesterol
• high blood pressure
• pre-diabetes.

With a change in eating and exercise, your child may not have to take the medicines for long. However, these serious conditions may indicate your child needs help immediately, in addition to longterm health and fitness programs. The initial visit with your child’s doctor will answer many of these questions about medications.

Follow your doctor’s directions and go for followups often.

You are in charge of helping your child find his or her way back to a healthy weight, and life. Use these resources to make it happen. This may not be the easiest thing you’ve every done for your child, but it will be one of the most rewarding.

Family Plan to Combat Obesity in Children

It can hurt to be singled out in the family, especially if you are an obese child. To prevent this from happening, you need to find ways to fight obesity that involves the entire family.

Let your child know that they are not alone. You are in this together. The entire family will be working toward a healthier lifestyle which includes losing weight, eating right, and exercising daily. Every member of the family will pitch in and will make healthy living choices one day at a time. It’s more fun to work on a fitness program as a family, and which one of us can’t benefit from a more healthy lifestyle! Let’s look at the areas we need to change in our family’s quest for fitness:

Eating Habits

Don’t automatically believe what the advertising says on the front of the box of cereal or crackers. Read the nutrition label and the list of ingredients carefully. It will give you the true information on what’s inside that box. Don’t assume anything about a packaged food. There are often added sugars and salts even in the most healthy looking food.

Take the kids with you to the grocery store. Sure, it may be a struggle at first, but your family will learn about food labels and where all the really healthy food is – on the perimeter of the store. Introduce your kids to the concept of “shopping the outside aisles first.” This will have them in the fruits, vegetables, dairy, and protein sections and out of the interior aisles that are filled with snacks and sodas. Ask your children to choose items in those food groups and then have fun creating a new recipe with all their choices. Have fun with new foods that are healthy.

It is okay if you treat your kids to sweet or salty snacks every once in a while. Most diet experts agree that if you completely deny your child treats, it will backfire in the long rum, causing binges or, especially in teenagers, sneaking. Sneaking is a sure set-up for self-loathing, which leads to low self esteem, which leads to more sneaky snacking and more weight gain.

A little bag of chips eaten with your permission is a much better way to handle the snack attacks your child will inevitably have. Limit your child’s snacking to the portion size on the nutrition label. If your child eats only a single serving when indulging,  your child has maintained control of his or her diet. This, in turn will help your child feel good about themselves.

Exercise

Sixty minutes of activity can be anything – playing a pickup game of basketball, biking around the neighborhood, playing a game of kickball, running with the family dog, or even playing a game of tag. Kids are missing out on a whole world of exercise if they don’t play these good old-fashioned games. You don’t have to sign your child up for the gym to get exercise!

Many of us are concerned about outdoor safety for our kids, which makes this the perfect time for the family to do something together. When you are outside playing in a group, each person gets the benefit of the exercise AND you can keep an eye on your kids. Make playing outside a daily or weekly habit. Set aside time after dinner to have an hour of fun outside. Look at it this way: if you can spend an hour watching television together you can certainly spend an hour getting fit together.

Therapy

This may be necessary in some cases. If there is an underlying problem that has led to your child to be overweight, a therapist can get to the bottom of it. Your child’s doctor may recognize the symptoms before you do, so talk to him or her about what they think is contributing to your child’s obesity, including family dynamics.

We sometimes miss the obvious because we’re busy protecting our children and believing (hoping) everything will be alright. Having the whole family talk with a professional counselor is a very positive step. You are ensuring that, not only your overweight child is getting the best possible care, but that the entire family is supported as well. A family that’s working together to get healthy has already recognized the signs of their bad health – one or more obese people in the family. You are on the right track when you get professional help to guide you along the journey to healthy living.

The “problem child” is not the problem – the entire family’s lifestyle is the problem. Whether you have one child or an entire family of overweight or obese individuals, you know what you have to do now. Make that first step and commit to a long life of healthy choices – for the whole family!

To learn more about how to deal with childhood obesity, check out this excellent book by Susan Okie. To order the book, click on this image.

What are your thoughts?  Leave a comment or sound off about the epidemic.