For many children this may mean limited or no weight gain while they grow taller. Recommendations for maintaining weight include regular physical exercise and carefully watching ones diet to avoid too many extra calories. "Factors predicting success are:
including parents in the dietary treatment program strong social support of dietary intervention from others involved in preparing food regular physical activity prescription including social support" (Overweight in Children, n.d).
There is a great importance in continuing lifestyle changes in order to continue any weight loss success. The best way to change weight is to do it gradually (Overweight in Children, n.d).
When the goal is to help a child reach and maintain a healthy weight, parents should be the ones to take the lead. Healthcare providers and nutrition advisors are there to help, but parents exercise the most control over a child's activities and habits and thus are in the best position to help a child make and maintain changes. The most important thing that a parent can do for an obese child is to be supportive. A child's feelings about himself or herself are at least partly determined by their parent's feelings. Parents should let their child know that they love and accept them no matter what their weight is. Parents should encourage their children without criticizing them, while being sensitive to the child's concerns about appearance and social relationships (Obesity in Children, n.d).
Loosing weight should not necessarily be a goal for obese children, but rather the goal should be to stop or slow any further weight gain. The idea is to allow the child to grow into his or her body weight gradually as they get older. This may take a few years...
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