Parents Resources for Child Obesity

obesity

Recently there has been worldwide press about the problems we face on a global scale with regards to child obesity (UK, Europe, USA, Australia)

Many long term solutions are being discussed, debated and in some cases implemented in order to curb this overall trend at a societal and international level. However, if you are a parent with an overweight child, then the majority of these initiatives are not going to help you here and now.

I have, therefore, put together a list of some of the best, most useful and potentially most effective resource and suggestions that I have discovered during my research of this issue:

Parent’s Resources for Child Obesity

  • Despite the potential shortcomings of the BMI for adults – there is a lot of value in this measurement for children (as they have not developed a great deal of lean muscle mass which can skew the scale) – the New South Wales Govenment website has an easy to use child BMI tool to assess which category your child fits into.
  • Healthy Kids – has a massive list of resources, but these really stood out for me:
    • Choosing the Right Snacks for Your Kids
    • Chosing the Right Drinks for Your Kids
    • Reducing Childrens Television Time
  • The University of Michigan has put together a very forward thinking page on how to tackle child obesity including how to set goals with your children, addressing their ‘media time’ (in front of TV, computer etc), and how to get active.
  • In many cases, it can be extremely useful to gain the support of a registered dietician or nutritionalist, however, it is essential to ensure that the person you chose is registered and recognised. Here is a helping hand in finding the right person(s) if you are in the USA, the UK & Australia.
  • Vegetarianism can be a great solution because a) it is something the whole family can do together b) it gives the child more specific guidelines and c) it can quickly reduce the amount of saturated and trans fats in the child’s diet. Personally I think this is a great step in the right direction – and if this interests you then the following sites will be very handy:
    • The Vegetarian Resource Group – have a great resource guide on becoming a vegetarian family
    • The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine – has a brilliant Vegetarian Starter Pack – as well as a very good article on child vegetarianism
    • The Vegetarian Society have also produced a straight to the point guide to vegetarianism for children.
  • My Food Diary – have a nice Q&A on encouraging children to eat more vegetables
  • The British Dietetic Association have created a superb site for teens called TeenWeightWise.com: this is definitely worth a read. It contains recipes, motivational stories, education and generally makes it a lot more attractive for teens to take control and responsibility for their own health. It also offers an excellent newsletter – which is great for reinforcing the positive messages for kids – who often have short bursts of motivation followed by distractions.
  • Kids Health – gives a basic introduction to kids and exercise. A good intro.
  • Sainsbury’s ‘Active Kids’ campaign has just finished for 2006 – so now is a great time to get registered and get ready for 2007
  • The American Heart Association – also have a great starter guide to getting kids active and fit.
  • My Overweight Child Blog – is one to bookmark. This blog pulls together a lot of research and makes some excellent suggestions on how to move forward positively.
  • For other top blog news on child obesity – keep your eye on Technorati using this search. The blogosphere is often a great place for unbiased news and views.
  • The BBC Academy has a great guide on getting your kids involved in sport.
  • And finally – The NHS has a number of great resources to get you started including ‘Healthy Start‘ which is full of great articles and vouchers that can be redeemed for healthy foods, ‘WeightWise’ which gives overall advice as well as a good FAQ with a registered dietitian.

Please do let me know if there are any other resources out there that you have found useful.

Interesting Note:

Recently (we’re in 2012 now!) a food documentary called Hungry for Change was released and it covers a LOT about food education and teaches us the things we WISH we’d been told when we were growing up. Please spread the word about this fantastic documentary and go watch it too!

In the mean time, if you want to know more, here is my interview with James Colquhorn, the co-creator and director of the Hungry for Change Movie (click link to watch on youtube):

You can find out more about the Hungry for Change Movie Here


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  1. Rich Reply

    I have found the answer to help my kid overcome obesity with the help of the roca labs formula. The product is so easy to use, I mix it with his favorite apple juice in the morning so he can take it easily. My son does not need to stick on a specific diet, but I chose to serve him healthy and nutritious foods to aid on his weight loss too.

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