Is childhood obesity enough to promote good eating habits?
World Obesity Day is celebrated in March and figures in Chile are increasingly encouraging the picture, especially in childhood. In this way, in a short period of time, the great pain will have a greater prevalence than the normal nutritional status of the country’s children.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), since 1975, pain has tripled worldwide, affecting almost two billion people over 18 years of age. The general situation is particularly complex, but much more so in the group of children and adolescents, estimating that almost 40% of people between the ages of 5 and 19 are overweight or obese, which turns into a critical problem for all healthcare systems globally.
Until then, there is nothing. Last year, in the latest edition of the Nutrition Board, a report prepared by the School Aid and Scholarship Board (Junaeb), childhood pain was estimated to be high in three students. Of these, 27% are elderly and nearly 11% have severe obesity, exceeding the previous estimate of 7.6%. In this context, can it effectively prevent and reverse these numbers?
“Fathers or guardians of the family – the key to helping children maintain a healthy weight, through daily habits that involve not only eating,” says Magdalena Galarce, clinical services and pharmacist doctor at Farmacia Ahumada. That is why it is important to know some recommendations given by experts.
WHO emphasizes that children should be given a balanced diet in portions according to their age and energy needs. “For example, meals include fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and moderate intake of carbohydrates and fat. Also, portions are key, because we cannot serve the same amount of food to a child and an adult”, the doctor points out.
Galarce also adds that promoting physical activity and limiting the time in front of the eyes of the environment are fundamental elements that will fight against a sedentary lifestyle. “Taking a pet walk, helping with cleaning, participating in the school gym or the neighborhood soccer club will be a great help to stay active. Ideally, you should choose some aerobic activity to help reduce body fat and strengthen bones and muscles.
Finally, we cannot forget that sleep habits are fundamental. “Insufficient sleep can generate anxiety and make them eat more, be less physically active. For a child sleeping means that his body rests and regenerates, which is the key to his development. Parents or guardians must generate and observe sleep schedules, even during the week or on holidays”, he emphasizes.
the attitude above
But pain in general “goes much further than the problem of bad eating habits or habits. First of all, we must consider what it is, a disease in itself, and one of the main risk factors for the development of other chronic conditions and pathologies, such as insulin resistance, diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, alterations; muscular and skeletal apparatus, among others”, adds the professional.
In this sense, the bill sleeps in Congress, which declares a chronic disease, which also establishes a National Policy for Eating and Health Prevention, with resources for prevention, treatment and research. “Intelligence is a multifactorial disease, with changes in demographic, social, economic, genetic load and eating habits, so it must be met in an interdisciplinary way,” Galarce points out.
Developments to high numbers of obesity in youth are not only due to poor quality nutrition, together with a decrease in physical activity, due to a sedentary lifestyle. It is also necessary to consider family factors (including not only genetics, but also the acquisition of bad habits), psychological (such as stress or the few tools that a child or adult can deal with complex situations or frustrations), economic and financial (such as stress or the few tools that can be dealt with they can be with complex situations or vanities), economic. limitations in access to healthier foods or the possibility of physical activity), together with certain diseases whose treatments can affect the metabolism, increasing the risk of obesity.
For this reason, the most recent evidence shows that the fields of action include not only family work, in terms of creating healthy habits, but also supporting policies that go through education and health prevention.
“It is not easy, because it involves the planning and support of many actors in society, but it has to start somewhere. We cannot allow these figures to grow not only for the sake of the children’s health, but also because in a few years we will have sick adults with reduced life expectancy. To understand pain is a great problem to start generating changes in everything”, concludes the doctor.
