Obesity in children is a problem that affects the Hispanic community especially. But although it's a health issue which must be addressed as soon as possible, obesity in children cannot be treated in the same way as adult obesity since children are growing.

Special precautions with diets.

Obesity in children is something that is developed through time. When overweight children start school and are subjected to teasing by their school mates, that’s when many families decide to address the problem.

The worried parents´ first reaction is to make the child go on a diet or to restrict the amount of food he has access to. This method brings about other problems for several reasons. On the one hand children are growing and to continue their development they need to have a series of essential nutrients which certain foods provide. On the other hand, restricting your child’s food intake or having him eat different meals from those the rest of the family eats isn't usually very effective, because it causes anxiety in the child and it emphasizes the problem.

If you think that your child is overweight, the best thing to do is to see the doctor and have him evaluate your child's health and check whether he has started to develop any illness related to being overweight. If the pediatrician cannot offer detailed nutritional advice, as for example how to create a food plan to improve your child's nutrition, ask him to refer you to a nutritionist who can work with you directly to be able to meet your child's needs for better results.

Obesity in children is a family issue

It's difficult to change nutritional habits once they have been established for years, and it's even more difficult to change them for the child alone. This is why if you want the changes in your child's nutrition to be effective, this must be considered a family issue. After all, improving your child's diet will also benefit the whole family.

Ideally, the way to address obesity in children is not to have your child go on a diet, but to maintain his weight with a healthy diet hoping that in his next growth spurt his weight and height will balance out.

To effectively start your family out on a healthier diet, do it gradually. Eliminate problem foods first, such as sweets, sugared sodas, sugar-laden cereals and slowly substitute them for healthier foods. Start cooking foods differently, like steaming or grilling to eliminate fats, and introduce more fruits and vegetables little by little.

You will find this approach more effective than to suddenly eat differently altogether because this could make everyone reject the change. It's much more effective to introduce one healthy change a month, which once and for all becomes accepted and adopted as an eating habit, than to start with a dramatic "new way of eating" only to go back to the old eating habits in a month.

Make your child participate actively in the process of adjustment.

If your child is made part of the decision-making so that his meals and way of life are healthier, it will be easier for him to accept them because he will not feel pressured.

Take him with you to the supermarket, cook together, set the table together, and talk about the foods and the benefits of healthy eating. Don't refer to foods as fattening or non-fattening because this might trigger an eating disorder. Talk to him about healthy foods and healthy habits, or not so healthy ones.

Also work together with your child to introduce exercise in his life, to do on his own or as a family. The results you achieve from these changes will encourage you to keep going, since teaching your child to live a healthy lifestyle is one of the best things you can do for him.