Coping with Obesity
Childhood obesity :What happens to your baby’s body(part 4)
When I write about children’s health issues my hubby (he is a Pediatrician and a pediatric nutritionist ) helps me with all the research.
This time while writing the #Daily chatter challenge he suggested I start writing about childhood obesity.
The last 10 days of festivities and good food made writing about healthy diet difficult.
But now when we are taking a break before Diwali it’s going to be easier to write healthy.
While eating during festivals if you don’t want to lose the results of all your hard work ,it’s important to practice moderation.
Now with Bijoya Dashami sweets ,Lakshmi pujo and Kali pujo/Diwali all coming up in line we need a game plan.
How to Practice healthy even while feasting.
- Enjoy the goodies but don’t go crazy.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Cucumbers throughout the day Lighter meals
- Avoid deep-fried .Opt for grilled ,pan-fried and tandoori items
- Go light on the added cream,cheese and frills that all fast food restaurant offer.
- It’s better to avoid buffets because you always over eat.
- Eat a healthy breakfast
- Catch up on exercises.
- Meditate
- While going for Bijoya carry a tiffin box .Shamelessly stuff it with all the extra sweets you would like to eat but is more than your daily limits.Take it home .Enjoy 1 treat each day.
If it was eat ,eat, eat and occasionally pray during the last few days.
Now before Diwali it should be
Sleep,Pray ,exercise, eat in moderation.
Why discuss childhood obesity with festival food?
Because children learn from us ,adults. When they see us eating without control,they think it’s okay.
But it’s never a good idea to have bad food habits.
What they learn in childhood ,will affect their health as children and adults.
The saddest part is children can have the same health problems that adults do with obesity.
It’s important we know what the children have to undergo .That way we can make better choices for us and them.
So what are the symptoms that indicate excessive weight to be a medical problem?
Problems with breathing and respiration
What doe the child complain?
*Snoring, gasping ,daytime sleepiness,morning headache
*Shortness of breath,night-time or exercise cough
Medical condition :Asthma,Obstructive sleep apnea
Gastrointestinal problems:
Complaints :Irregular bowel movements
Binge eating,night-time snacking
Gall bladder diseases
Fatty liver
Eating disorders
Hormonal or Endocrine problems:
Type 2 Diabetes
Menstrual irregularities,Polycystic ovarian syndrome
Others: joint pains involving knees ,feet ,skin changes
When children are overweight ,certain guidelines help detect whether their growth in height, will help control the problem.
System assessment is important for timely referral to specialists .
When I was a child the last thing in my mind, during Durga Pujo was controlled diet.
Nowadays everyone is more aware.
Teach your children healthy choices so,they can enjoy good food without feeling guilty .They are smart .They will understand.
As parents you have the power in your hand.
Did you make healthy choices while feasting?
Comment below to let me know .
I am taking part in the #ubc #blogboost .This is day 11 post
Ultimate blogging challenge with Blogchatter #DailyChatter
From the Childhood obesity series:
If baby is a picky eater blame yourself:Healthy eating habits in children (part 1)
Picky eater : When you need to worry(part 2)
Childhood obesity :The control is in your hand(part 3)
Read my Ultimate guide to feeding your preschooler
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Childhood obesity :The control is in your hand
When I was researching data about childhood obesity my hubby was doing an ecourse on pediatric nutrition. Sharing notes ,we realized childhood obesity like adult obesity ,doesn’t only depend on food.
Food choices are important
Amount of food is important.
But another thing which was staring us in the eye was lifestyle.
If you have read about the two hit theory regarding adult disease in my post
You will understand the second trigger most is often lifestyle.
Childhood obesity important to be addressed because it’s a health hazard . When we teach our children to embrace their bodies and stop obsession with their weight and how they look .It’s important to be clear about healthy body image.
Just like focusing on how they look doesn’t help Not giving attention to the cause of the issue has lifetime implication.Obesity is unfortunately not a physical disease.It’s a psychological problem.Parents need to have a long hard look at themselves
Causes of childhood obesity is multiple and multifactorial.
Broad classification is possible if you insist on it.
2 major divisions
Exogenous :Environment ;lifestyle and psychosocial .Definitely more common
Genetic susceptibility
Endogenous :Endocrine disorders like hypothyroidism ,Prader -Willi syndrome ,single gene diseases (congenital leptin deficiency :leptin is your satiety hormone.
This sounds good while writing a paper.Definitely not useful while treating the problem.
Viruses ,gut microbes,excessive stress (second hit) are all under investigation.
Most promising results are with the reversible causes of obesity
They include :
- Circadian rhythm
- Sleep medications
- Stress
- Psychosocial
- Sedentary behaviour
- Lack of physical exercise
- Dietary behaviour
Currently these are the focus of treatment as well as hocus pocus.
When children are obese in childhood their fat cells become fat.Even when they lose weight or fat from theses cells.The size of the cell remains the same.
Makes these children prone to weight gain.
From one year of age ,there is a difference in the rate of adipocyte development in obese and non obese children.
Problems and complications:
- Snoring,daytime drowsiness
- headache
- Shortness of breathing
- Binge eating
- Limb or join pain
- polyuria
- menstrual irregularities .
When you gave birth ,you signed up for a lifelong battle.That to teach her /him to be healthy, wealthy and wise.
So if you are not at your best, weight wise,it’s important you take a look in th mirror.Make an action plan for yourself before you talk to your child.
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Picky eater : When you need to worry
When my baby girl Rai was 6 months old we started her on all sorts of mashed food.From 6 months to 1 year it was a constant battle of experimental baby food. From 1 year to 2 years some more experiments and finally we have a balance.
Once while travelling my daughter refused to have anything ,except plain white rice and milk.Then I realized ,children have a difficult time adjusting to new food.Because….its NEW!
Imagine giving a vegetarian, a nice stir fried octopus for dinner.
Not a good idea right.
Baby’s growing up on milk have essentially a bland diet.
Veggies lack taste and texture when given boiled.
Fish chicken eggs can be smelly.
Their tender taste buds can’t handle spices.
They are fighting a battle too.
The only way to win is to persevere.
They need to learn to stop being afraid of food .To enjoy their food.Make the right choices.Making positive food choices early in life,helps them cope even away from home .
When will you call a child picky eater?
Picky eaters have strong food preferences. They have a persistent unwillingness to try new food.
Can it cause problems with nutritional status?
Yes it will cause nutritional deficiencies
50% of 19 to 24 month old children are picky eaters.Because of this , they will be avoiding micronutrient rich foods like fruits and veggies This will affect the growth of your child.
2 main problems
1)Failure to thrive .With physical and mental.development not upto the mark according to age .
2)If children develop unhealthy eating habits .This may lead to adult eating problem and health issues.
When you need to worry?
*If your child is less than 1 year:Height weight and developmental milestones need to be checked monthly.Because your baby grows ,even while you watch.The first year of life is very important.You worry, if there’s no significant positive change in the monthly assessment.
*If your child is more than 1-year-old :
Height needs to be checked every 6 months.
If child is not growing in height then that’s a cause for concern.Its a sign of chronic protein energy malnutrition.
Weight needs to be checked every 3 months .
If your child doesn’t gain weight or gains too much.Both is cause for concern.
No weight gain is due to lack of adequate dietary protein energy .
Excessive weight gain, gives rise to malnutrition of obesity.Where there is excess calories in the diet.But it lack important macro and micronutrient .
When your child shows signs of micronutrient deficiencies:
- Paleness of body.
- Repeated skin infections.
- Has repeated cold and cough
- Suffer from mouth ulcers etc.
- Is cranky
- Has little energy to play
When you don’t need to worry?
- Baby is happy ,active with good growth.
- Both height for age and weight for age is within normal limit.
What’s Neophobia?
Neophobia is the tendency of children to initially reject new or novel food.
You will have to give new food 10 to 16 times before they accept them.
Tips for parents before starting new food
- Start new food 1 at a time.
- Give gaps of 3 to 5 days before starting another new food .
- New foods should be stopped in the event of diarrhea /vomiting /rashes.These may be due to food allergy.
- During complementary feeding your baby will like softer and smoother textured foods.Gradually replace with thicker food items
- Don’t give up.Just because your baby refuses something once don’t lose heart.Make it taste different. Make it look different .A variety of food tasting is important for babies to get a taste for it.
My baby girl started her animal protein journey with fish. She refused chicken for the longest time.But mutton she liked from a pretty young age( around one and a half years)
I didn’t touch chicken throughout my pregnancy. Did you know mothers diet in pregnancy determines a child’s food habit?
She loves her eggs too.Boiled fried or poached.
I have noticed for all animal proteins she likes crunchy which will then melt in the mouth (She loves a crunchy Ilish fry).Not chewy or oily.
Since she liked the crunchy texture and I burn stuff while cooking I went and bought an air fryer.I wrote about it here.
The airfryer keeps the taste intact and the food doesn’t lose its colour ,with a fraction of the calories.
Want Super tips to deal with fussy eaters?
Read my Ultimate guide to feeding your preschooler
If baby is a picky eater blame yourself:Healthy eating habits in children (part 1)
Childhood obesity :The control is in your hand(part 3)
Childhood obesity : Healthy eating habits & You (part 5)
I am taking part in the #ubc #blogboost Ultimate blogging challenge with Blogchatter #DailyChatter
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If baby is a picky eater blame yourself:Healthy eating habits in children (part 1)
You can’t make your child eat healthy!Your child likes only junk food.
You are worried about childhood obesity.What your child eats will not only help in developing their physical and mental health ,but also influence their health as adults.This is a problem which is more complex than just tempting him/ her with new recipes.
Did you know it’s not just what your child eats now, that’s to blame.It’s also your diet, during pregnancy,breastfeeding
and afterwards.
In this case, moms have all the power, to change the baby’s food choices.
When I was pregnant I wouldn’t eat chicken for the entire 9 months. I had nausea throughout my pregnancy and hated cooking.The smell of jeera ,garam masala made me want to puke.
But I still enjoyed fish ,eggs and mutton .As long as I didn’t cook them.
Veggies and fruits were always a large part of my diet .So was milk.
When I ate to keep healthy, I always remembered that these nutrients were building my baby one cell at a time.
Most of the child’s health and Immunity depends on food.But there was one more important reason to eat healthy.
What exactly does the mother’s diet do?
It does 3 important things
#Builds the flesh and blood baby
#Builds the immunity of the baby
#Builds the baby’s food choices.
Most attention is paid to the first two.Because they are unquestionably important .
What’s not discussed is the 3rd one.
Mommy’s complain of baby’s being picky eaters.But you have to recap ,what you loved having ,when you were pregnant.That’s how you can handle the picky eater baby now!
Sounds weird right?
How can a mother build a baby’s healthy taste in food ?
You have 2 full-proof tools, in your mommy tool box.Both are free .
#1 Choose healthy eating options during pregnancy
Your child develops her palate or food preferences in the womb.
Food odours are due to certain chemical components.
These compounds specially those with strong distinctive smell and taste ,are detected in the amniotic fluid.Garlic, cumin,other spices have distinctive chemicals which brand the amniotic fluids.
The developing baby swallows amniotic fluids in the womb.
Sense of taste and smell is functional during fetal life
Helps develop the food preferences after birth.
The mother’s diet is an interesting way of, building up food tastes in the unborn baby.
It’s one of the most important way to prepare the infant’s solid food choices later in life.
#2 Your breast milk and your food choices
After birth of baby ,what you eat as a mommy ,flavours the breast milk.
If you want your baby to have healthy eating habits,you must eat healthy .Include a variety of nutritious food in your diet.It is the best way to make your baby learn healthy eating ,even when breastfeeding
Prenatal and early postnatal flavor exposure helps baby develop his/her food preferences.
The child enjoys the different flavors in solid food more enthusiastically ,when complementary feed is started.
So mommy eat well.Before during and after pregnancy.
What did you eat most often when you were pregnant?
Did you eat junk food ?
Feeding your preschooler:Ultimate guide
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Healthier mothers and babies:Mommy stay with me
Healthier mothers and babies is what everyone wants
When me and my sister where babies ,we grew up in daycare .Both of our parents worked and there was nobody to take care at home.
Back then government didn’t give mother’s childcare leave.
Looking back ,my memories say growing up days were fun. No really horrible memories.Back then we missed our mom, but there was nothing she could do.We needed the money.
Fast forward to today.I am luckier.I didn’t have a full time job when my baby was born.And now my work has flexible timing and a better government policy of childcare, supporting it.
But even then I worry .When I have to take leave suddenly due to baby issues.It always sounds like an excuse.But all moms know, the most difficult thing in this world is to walk away from teary eyed little ones.
But the question is no longer just the babies immediate health.Your decision will change a little person’s life.
Baby’s health and mothers health are important parameters of health standards and improvement.
Government has expensive projects in place to make healthier mothers and babies.
But still we are haunted by the increasing number of mental and physical lifestyle diseases.
A few things are different for different socio economic classes.
India’s uncontrolled population explosion ,lack of strict birth control makes good healthcare facilities ,adequate nutrition, difficult for the large majority below the poverty level.Their problem has no solution ,till the people in charge understand that limited resources , and unlimited babies make for impossible situations.They make gullible votebanks ,but unproductive citizens
In a country where survival of babies is often the primary question,few have time to worry about their future physical and mental health.
But if you want a better tomorrow for your baby you may need to plan your today well.
What research says?
- Healthy mothers have healthy babies.What you think too can affect your baby
- Mothers nutrition and child’s nutrition both are important.Nutrition has a large role .Both undernutrition and over nutrition will cause malnutrition.There’s malnutrition of obesity to watch out for.
- Stress levels during pregnancy can alter the stress response in the unborn child.
- Childhood stresses can cause lifetime harm ,both psychologically and physically.
Your physical and mental health has a lot to do with your childhood.
Yes you already know this.
But did you know most of your adult diseases ,can be traced back to childhood?
Mother’s will sigh in exasperation. What else are we suppose to take care of?
Just blaming childhood stresses ,is but oversimplification.
The various researches show a 2 ‘HIT'(3) theory.
1st hit is a stressors in childhood .This cause changes at the cellular level and in your brain wiring.Your adaptation is good ,average or poor,
Presence or absence of a similarly potent stressor later .A cascade of neurochemical,neurohormonal, over -reaction.Because your brain is already sensitized you go into protective mode.
Result:
Metabolic diseases and mental health problems.
That’s scary ,but I am hopeful
Because this is good research .
Why You ask?
Someone is finally talking about it.Maybe things will change
Government of Italy has declared 22nd September “Fertility Day”.They want to encourage women to have children.They have a declining childbirth rate ,and an economic slump.But the Government gives inadequate support to working mothers and most private companies don’t have flexibility for working moms.
The research findings can help .A lot.
- To help moms stand up for “work from home” policy.
- To take jobs with flexible work hours.
- To not have to explain why they want to be with their babies and compromise the career ladder.
- For child right biggies to keep in mind ,for future recommendations and actions.
- For corporations to take Corporate social responsibility to another level
Plus you are at risk, only if you face another episode of high chronic stress.So actively try to decrease stress
Teach children to cope positively with it.
Teach children to cope positively with it.
Another good news is, since you know this ,you can have lifestyle habits in place to deal with it.
Yes you can beat the childhood
scars by practicing healthy lifestyle .
There’s a lot of science backing this up.Many studies has been done including one at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai .
What can this stress triggers do?
- Obesity(2)
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Metabolic dysfunction(3)
- Hyperlipidemia
- Muscle wasting disease
- Depression
How does this happen?
Sress in early childhood causes change in muscle mitochondria.
(Mitochondria are the cellular organelles which help you generate ATP as energy currency for your body.)
Hypothalamic pituitary axis which controls stress has an altered response (3).
Stressors removed .Normal growth pattern.
Re-exposure to similar stressors later in life:Metabolic dysfunction ,physiological and emotional distress.
What are the early life stressors that can cause this?
Prenatal postnatal early childhood ,adolescent period are all susceptible.
Stressors may be:
- Nutritional
- Emotional
- Physical
- Sexual.
They may present as:
Starvation during famine and war
- Maternal separation
- Childhood neglect
- Adverse parenting
- Childhood physical or sexual abuse
- Medical trauma
These stressors can alter the stress adaptation responses.
They are major risk factors for developing metabolic disorders (1)
With improved environment children can adapt themselves to these stressors .Growing up,they will be externally normal.But since these cellular changes have happened ,if exposed to chronic stress in later life ,metabolic and psychological problems can be precipitated .
Why does this happen?
Childhood stress reprograms your HPA axis (3)and your brain in general .
Some people adapt well due to good environment follow primary stress exposure.
But others may have maladaptive responses.This can cause inappropriately high levels of cortisol in your blood during exposure to chronic stress as adults.
The pancreatic B cells may be lower in number following childhood stress adaptation.
What this means ?
If you face high level of chronic stress later in life your brain and hormones can over react.
Putting you at risk of obesity diabetes, hypertension and depression-anxiety disorders.(4)
Maternal separation during early life disturbs neuroendocrine, neurochemicals and behavioral changes in adults.
Maternal seperation can be variable .From 40 minutes to 8 hours.Which period will be traumatic for the child is difficult to predict.
Abuse in childhood and adolescence ,can cause type 2 diabetes,food addiction and significantly heavier adult women(6).
What can you do to protect yourself & your child?
Don’t worry during pregnancy.
Related
Always work actively to lower your stress levels.
Teach children coping skills through play.
Exercise:Low levels of physical activity is seen to increase and precipitate theses metabolic problems.A good physical exercise schedule protects against development of these metabolic disorders.
Avoid high calorie diet .Swinging insulin levels can make you prone to 2 Diabetes ,obesity,depression,anxiety and a host of other problems.
Practice mental health exercises.
All moms deserve to spend time with their babies.All babies need their mothers.
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But to make this possible, we need the help of society ,government and the corporate sector.
Everyone has a mother and you are what you are because your mom cared .
What do you think we should do to change the situation?
Are you a mom struggling with work-biz-home?Share your story with me in the comments below.
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References:
1)Chrousos GP. Stress and disorders of the stress system. Nat Rev Endocrinol (2009) 5:374–8110.1038/nrendo.2009.106 [PUBMED]
2) Stress and obesity/metabolic syndrome in childhood and adolescence.
Int J Pediatr Obes. 2011 Sep;6 Suppl 1:21-8. doi: 10.3109/17477166.2011.615996.Pervanidou P1, Chrousos GP.
3)Early-Life Stress, HPA Axis Adaptation, and Mechanisms Contributing to Later Health Outcomes.Jayanthi Maniam, Christopher Antoniadis, and Margaret J. Morris[PubMed]
4)Nemet D, Dolfin T, Litmanowitz I, Shainkin-Kestenbaum R, Lis M, Eliakim A.Evidence for exercise-induced bone formation in premature infants. Int J Sports Med (2002) 23:82–510.1055/s-2002-20134[PubMed]
5)Franks PW, Ekelund U, Brage S, Wong MY, Wareham NJ. Does the association of habitual physical activity with the metabolic syndrome differ by level of cardiorespiratory fitness? Diabetes Care(2004) 27:1187–9310.2337/diacare.27.5.1187 [PubMed]
6)Mason SM, Flint AJ, Field AE, Austin SB, Rich-Edwards JW. Abuse victimization in childhood or adolescence and risk of food addiction in adult women. Obesity (Silver Spring) (2013) 21:E775–8110.1002/oby.20500 [PubMed]
7)Mela V, Llorente-Berzal A, Diaz F, Argente J, Viveros MP, Chowen JA.Maternal deprivation exacerbates the response to a high fat diet in a sexually dimorphic manner. PLoS One (2012)7(11):e48915.10.1371/journal.pone.0048915 [PubMed]
8)Masuzaki H, Flier JS. Tissue-specific glucocorticoid reactivating enzyme, 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11 beta-HSD1) – a promising drug target for the treatment of metabolic syndrome.Curr Drug Targets Immune Endocr Metabol Disord (2003) 3:255–6210.2174/1568008033340135 [PubMed]
10)Chronic stress:32 simple solutions
