Author: Chen Xiaojuan, Deputy Chief Physician, Department of Pediatric Internal Medicine, Shanxi Children's Hospital.
Winter is coming, and the cold weather blocks the pace of children's sports, but nutrition is a homework that parents and friends can't delay. Excessive nutrition has led to an increasing incidence of obesity, which seriously affects the growth and development of children. So, is there a standard for a child's weight?What are the dangers of obesity?What exercises can help us manage our weight and grow taller?
1. Is there a standard for the child's weight?
World Obesity Day is celebrated on 11 May every year. At present, there are 200 million overweight Chinese people, and more than 90 million obese people, of which 12 million are severely obese, ranking first in the world. At present, there are about 7%-10% of the obese population in China. Adolescent obesity is on the rise. Among adolescents, especially school-age children, the incidence of obesity in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai is already comparable to that of Western countries, and in the next two to three decades, when these adolescents grow up, there will be more obese people. We can see that the situation is not optimistic.
So, what is obesity?Obesity refers to the amount of fat stored in the body more than 20% of the ideal body weight, which is a chronic metabolic disease caused by the interaction of genetic factors, environmental factors and other reasons. Obesity has become the largest chronic disease worldwide. We can use a formula to help us calculate the degree of obesity, body mass index is equal to weight divided by height squared, according to the body mass index can be divided into normal, overweight and obese, and the body mass index is different according to different standards of age.
Why should we care about obesity?Some parents will say that chubby is not very cuteObesity is harmful, nearly 8 percent of childhood and adolescent obesity will develop into obesity, and obesity is easy to cause some chronic diseases. For example, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hyperlipidemia, systemic inflammation, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Childhood obesity can lead to fatty liver, respiratory diseases, hyperinsulinemia, precocious puberty, digestive diseases, hyperlipidemia, and low immune function, and some obesity may also be related to IQ.
2. What exercises can help us control our weight and grow taller?
There are many ways to exercise, and parents and friends still have to choose the sports that their children can complete and can adhere to. It is generally recommended to complete 30-60 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every day. What is medium intensity?It means that the child has reached the point where he can speak but not sing. There are also many ways to exercise, and you can choose according to your own situation, such as jogging, swimming, stretching exercises, jumping training, pull-ups to the next level of ball sports, and so on. Exercises to help you grow taller include bouncing exercises, such as total jumps, double-leg jumps, and skipping ropeAerobic exercise includes ball games, swimming, and joggingStretching exercises include stretching gymnastics, pull-ups, and more. We recommend more skipping ropes, which are easy to adhere to, and the age range is relatively large.
Finally, let's talk about scientific height management.
First, let's take a look at some of the questions that parents often ask in clinical practice. Does eating too much mean that you will grow taller?Height is affected by genetics, nutrition, environment, exercise, endocrine diseases, etc., so how much you eat is not a determinant of height. If you eat too much, you will have an overnutrition, which will affect the normal intake of nutrients and cause the child to be too fat and damage the growth potential. On the contrary, when hungry, it will encourage the pituitary gland to secrete more growth hormone to stimulate the growth of children's bones. For fat children, the dietary principle is to eat less and move more.
At the same time, in the scientific management of height, it is very important to measure height correctly. We recommend regular monthly monitoring of your height.