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Childhood Obesity
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Childhood Obesity – Overview
Obesity refers to an excess amount of body fat. It is a common occurrence in adults because of a sedentary lifestyle. However, the sudden and sharp rise of obesity in children and adolescents is concerning; it has shockingly gone up by 400% over the past 30 years. Childhood obesity adversely affects a child’s health in the short as well as long run. The extra kilos of weight give children health problems, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which are usually more common among adults and the elderly. This condition also increases the risk of early onset adult health conditions, such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, reproductive problems, joint pains, etc. Childhood obesity can also lead to poor self-esteem and depression. As most children do what they see, one of the best strategies to prevent childhood obesity is to improve the diet and exercise habits of the entire family. If a child or teenager is overweight, further weight gain can be prevented. Breastfeeding and delaying the introduction of solid foods during infancy may help prevent obesity. From early childhood, children should be given healthy, low-fat snacks and encouraged to take part in moderate to vigorous physical activities every day. Their television viewing should be limited to no more than one hour per day. Older children can be taught to select healthy, nutritious foods and develop good exercise habits.
Homeopathic medication forms an important part of managing childhood obesity. Homeopathic medicines help speed up slow metabolism, commonly seen in obese children, and also help treat and prevent any diseases caused by childhood obesity.
Childhood Obesity – Causes
Diet: excessive intake of fatty foods, such as fast foods, baked foods, soft drinks, chocolates and desserts – which are high in calories and fat content – are the primary cause for childhood obesity.
Lack of exercise: this is a very common problem amongst children and teenagers these days, because more time is spent on gadgets such as mobile phones and video game consoles instead of playing outdoors. Lack of exercise, coupled with calorie-rich, ‘fast food and snacky’ diets contribute heavily to childhood obesity.
Stress: some children tend to overeat to overcome emotional stress such as bullying at school, discord at home and, sometimes, even physical abuse.
Family environment: children tend to copy habits such as poor diet and lack of exercise if the adults around them are doing the same.
Hormones: of the total childhood obesity cases, 10% are associated with hormonal or genetic causes.
Childhood Obesity – Symptoms
The symptoms of childhood obesity are as follows:
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increased weight that is at least 20% more than the normal for that age;.
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increased body mass index (BMI), which will show a higher fat content than normal;
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poor eating habits that usually include overeating and indulgence in food; and.
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a lack of desire to do any physical exercise.
Complications
Physical complications
High cholesterol and high blood pressure: a child can develop high blood pressure or high cholesterol because of a poor diet. This can also lead to heart attacks and strokes later in life.
Diabetes: type 2 diabetes is commonly linked to obesity. Children who do not get enough exercise are prone to developing diabetes as they age.
Metabolic syndrome: this causes high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high triglycerides and low HDL (good cholesterol).
Asthma: children who are overweight are more likely to have asthma, sleep disorders, sleep apnea and other disorders linked to childhood obesity.
Early puberty or menstruation: childhood obesity can cause hormonal imbalances that lead to an early onset of puberty.
Emotional complications
We often tend to forget the importance of emotional complications among children who have childhood obesity. Some of them are listed below.
Low self-esteem: children who are obese may suffer from low self-esteem.
Depression: low self-esteem can cause depression in obese children. Such children lose interest in normal activities and avoid playing with other children or socialising with people in their age group.
Behavioural or learning problems: overweight children tend to have more anxiety and weaker social skills than normal children. This may give rise to behavioural and learning problems at school or at home.
Childhood Obesity – Diagnosis
BMI: as a part of regular child health programmes, our doctors calculate the child’s BMI and determine where it falls on the BMI-for-age growth chart. BMI helps to indicate whether the child is overweight for his or her age and height.
In addition to BMI and charting weight on growth charts, the doctor also evaluates the following:
family history of obesity and weight-related health problems, such as diabetes;
child’s eating habits;
child’s activity level; and
Childhood Obesity – Treatment
Homeopathy effectively treats childhood obesity in many ways. Homeopathic medicines safely, and without any side-effects, increase the child’s metabolism, which is, otherwise, slow due to obesity. Our doctors assess the child’s lifestyle, temperament, behaviour, eating habits and any associated complaints that may arise due to childhood obesity.
Homeopathic medicines are individually selected based on the specific reasons that cause childhood obesity in different children. There are specific medicines in homeopathy, like Phytolacca, which help in reducing body fat without any side-effects. Besides medicines, lots of attention and guidance is required in diet, physical activity and handling the child’s temperament, with which a homeopath is well-versed. Homeopathy also helps to safely and effectively treat complications — both physical and emotional — that arise due to childhood obesity.
Why Dr H.M. Soni?
We, at Dr H.M. Soni Homoeopathic Hospital, are specialised in handling obesity in general and childhood obesity in particular. As discussed above, childhood obesity needs a multidisciplinary approach. We have a dedicated wing called BTrim that comprises expert dieticians and nutritionists who methodically and scientifically evaluate the child’s growth parameters and understand whether the child falls into the obese or overweight category. We have a team of paediatricians and endocrinologists who help us monitor the child for any secondary problems such as blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, etc.
Our very senior and experienced team of homeopathic doctors systematically evaluate the child’s health, while we treat the child safely and surely through homeopathy. The child is monitored scientifically through BMI machines available at all our clinics. Our homeopaths work as a team comprising dieticians, paediatricians and endocrinologists to provide the best treatment outcome.