Is your baby a "little fat mound"? The baby is very cute, but is the fat really healthy? Some parents will definitely say: "My baby is strong, not fat!" "Note that there is a clear difference between being fit and being fat. Robust children are energetic, athletic, agile, coordinated, and responsive. Obese children generally lack vitality, poor exercise ability, slow movements, poor physical coordination, and lack of self-confidence. So how do you define childhood obesity? What are the dangers of childhood obesity?
How can you tell if a child is obese?
1. Body mass index (BMI) method
Body mass index (BMI) is the preferred indicator recommended by the international community to evaluate overweight and obesity in children (≥ 2 years old), BMI = body weight (kg) ÷ height squared (m2). The BMI of children at each age is different: the BMI value is the highest at the age of 1, then begins to decline, and begins to rebound during the fat reunion period of 6~7 years old, and then gradually rises to the level close to that of adults. Children aged 2-5 years refer to the BMI screening threshold of overweight and obesity in children aged 2-5 years in the "Growth Curve of Body mass Index of Children and Adolescents aged 0-18 years in China", and children aged 6 and above refer to the boundary value point of "Overweight and Obesity Screening for School-age Children and Adolescents" (WS/T 586-2018) of the Chinese industry standard.
2. Weight assessment method for length
Weight assessment of overweight and obesity in infants aged < 2 years can be evaluated by length. Referring to the Chinese health industry standard "Growth Standards for Children Under 7 Years of Age" t=""">+1"), more than 2 standard deviations are obesity (Z-score>+2).
3. Waist circumference evaluation method
Waist circumference is a simple indicator of fat accumulation in the abdomen. The waist circumference cut-off value of children and adolescents aged 7 years and above can refer to the Chinese health industry standard "Screening cut-off value of high waist circumference for children and adolescents aged 7-18 years" (WS/T611-2018), and the waist circumference of children ≥ P90 of the waist circumference of children of the same age and sex is used as the screening cut-off value for high waist circumference, indicating that children may have centripetal obesity.
What are the dangers of childhood obesity?
1. Affect the growth and height
Changes in bone age are closely related to estrogen, and obesity may carry the risk of excessive estrogen production, which can lead to accelerated bone age, which may eventually affect adult height.
2. Early puberty
At present, the incidence of precocious puberty in children is very high, especially in girls, which is closely related to obesity.
3. Increase the risk of disease
Moderate to severe obesity can cause children to have "adult chronic diseases" such as high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, high uric acid, fatty liver and so on.
4. Psychological problems
Obesity causing psychological problems is common in children. Obese children show lack of confidence in dressing, have an inferiority complex, do not like interpersonal communication and outdoor sports, are afraid of being teased, and are too worried about their image. At the same time, there will be problems such as abnormal behavior, personality defects, and communication difficulties, which will be aggravated with the degree and duration of obesity.
How should childhood obesity be prevented?
Once obesity develops, intervention is extremely difficult. Childhood obesity interventions focus on early prevention, developing healthy eating and exercise habits in infancy and early childhood, and carrying out relevant health education and physical activities in kindergartens and schools, starting with the establishment of healthy lifestyles.
1. Prevention begins early in life
It is recommended that mothers pay attention to reasonable diet and scientific nutrition from the beginning of pregnancy to prevent excess nutrition during pregnancy. The nutrient ratio of breast milk is more reasonable, and breastfeeding itself can also regulate the intake of infant breast milk, so as to achieve energy balance, which is conducive to controlling the occurrence of long-term obesity.
2. Develop good eating habits
The purpose of diet control is not dieting, but to reduce weight by cultivating good eating habits, the right way to eat. Family meals recommend low energy, low fat, moderate amounts of high-quality protein, and whole grains. Increase the proportion of fresh vegetables and fruits in the diet. Children should also try to avoid sugary drinks and excessive snacks and snacks.
3. Enhance physical activity
Develop a reasonable and sustainable exercise plan to cultivate children's sports-loving habits. The Chinese Group Physical Activity Guidelines (2021) and the World Health Organization Guidelines on Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Sleep recommend:
(1) Children under 6 years of age should do at least 180 minutes of physical activity every day, encourage more outdoor activities (such as outdoor walking, playing, running, jumping, etc., distributed throughout the day, more is better), each static behavior time (such as operating mobile phones, computers, tablets, reading books, newspapers, TV, drawing, playing toys, playing instrumental music, etc.) or limited time (such as in strollers/strollers, high chairs, tied to the back of caregivers) does not exceed 1 hour.
(2) Children and adolescents aged 6 and above accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate and high-intensity physical activity (such as brisk walking, cycling, running, playing ball, skipping rope, swimming, dancing, etc., which can make children fever and shortness of breath) every day, arrange activities to enhance muscle strength and strengthen bone health at least 3 days a week, each static behavior lasts no more than 1 hour, and the cumulative daily video time is less than 2 hours.
4. Pay attention to the monitoring of children's physical growth
Routine health check-ups for children are generally at least 4 times in infancy (at 3, 6, 8, and 12 months of age), at least once every six months for children aged 1-2 years, and at least once a year for children aged 3 and above. Parents can appropriately increase the frequency of health examinations according to the health status of the child and the family situation. It is recommended that parents learn BMI calculation methods, and can use growth monitoring charts (tables) to monitor the growth trend of children's height, weight and BMI, especially for children with rapid weight growth and overweight and obesity, they can be combined with home monitoring and institutional monitoring, and monitor weight and length (height) every 1~3 months.
From: Health Communication Center, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Source: Jilin 12320