Childhood obesity is a growing and worrying problem for a few years. However, far from being solved, pediatricians are watching how the problem is getting bigger over time.
In a series of posts we are commenting on the main aspects of this table, in order to bring to any father and mother (or person interested in this topic) all the necessary information that allows him to face (better prevent) this situation.
In this post we finally reached the conclusion of the series, commenting on the main aspects related to the control and treatment of this table, in order to offer a series of principles that help focus the control of this table, so important in the Small children.
In the following lines we comment on the usefulness of diets in childhood, the pillars of obesity treatment, the role of surgery, drugs.
Are diets useful in childhood obesity?
The use of restrictive diets (that is, those that restrict calorie intake) can be dangerous since children need an adequate energy and nutritional contribution for their development ...
The biggest problem with diets is exactly the same as in adults, the weight recovers if life habits are not changed, and there is a risk that they are deficient.
Diets are usually reserved only for severe cases where complications already exist and the child must lose weight with some speed, to reduce the risk of such complications. In these cases and more intensely, it should be the pediatrician who controls the entire process.
How to control childhood obesity
The child must follow a normal, complete and varied diet but according to his age, along with the performance of moderate exercise. Ideally, change habits (eat foods with more nutritional value and more fiber and promote gentle exercise, especially based on the practice of team games or with groups of children).
Children have the advantage that when they are growing, so their body mass index (BMI) tends to normalize with the simple fact of maintaining weight or even increasing it very slowly. That is, in many cases it is enough for the child to play more with friends, so as to maintain an adequate level of activity.
Weight loss should always be slow (0.5Kg per week maximum) and loss targets of around 10% of the initial weight are recommended. With that loss the child sees a clear improvement and you can try to keep some time until you propose a new loss.
It is very important that the child understands that he should eat an amount appropriate to his age and size, with nutrient-rich foods (fruits, vegetables, meats and assorted fish and run away from prepared foods and pastries) and exercise according to his age (The ideal is team sports, where the child has fun playing with his teammates).
Those are the two pillars of obesity treatment. Without this approach any diet or approach is doomed to fail.
Medications and surgery for childhood obesity
Surgery and anti-obesity medications should not be used in general in the pediatric age. In extreme cases and in adolescents, pharmacological treatments with sibutramine or orlistat can be considered, drugs with a high number of dangerous adverse effects and which, in the case of sibutramine, are also not recommended before 16 years of age. Other drug treatments are also risky, and should never be considered in young children.
Bariatric surgery can only arise in adolescents and its risks are very high and unknown in the long term, so it is never an option in young children.
In cases where the origin of obesity is a background process such as a syndrome, the treatment will be somewhat more specific, although nutritional recommendations generally apply equally.
