Obesity and overweight

When we talk about obesity and overweight we indicate a situation in the body that reflects the presence of more kilos than the normal standard of body mass. For this classification of overweight and obesity we refer to a table obtained using the body mass index or BMI .

This parameter is calculated by dividing the weight in kilograms by the height squared in meters. This measurement defines a number that if it is between 19 and 25 equals the normal weight, if it is higher than 25 it is overweight and if it is greater than 30 it is obese.

The situation in the world

Obesity and overweight are considered a true emergency and a chronic metabolic disease that does not affect the person only from an aesthetic point of view but also and above all puts the health of the body at risk .

People with an excessive body weight face many other dysfunctions and diseases such as cardiovascular disorders, onset of diabetes, problems with sleep and breathing and finally but not less important are the aspects of spico-emotional imbalances that emerge as low self-esteem and negative image of one's body with health repercussions and possible falls into depression, anxiety and stress.

According to the WHO, obesity is one of the main public health problems in the world with estimates of 1.5 billion overweight adults in the world of which 0.5 billion are obese.

A study of the Imperial College of London published in Lancet reveals that the world population is increasing by 1.5 kilos every decade of our history starting from 1975. This means that more and more people are moving from the normal weight to the overweight and the estimate is 266 million men and 375 million women are obese in the world.

Childhood obesity

The big problem is that obese people were often this critical situation in childhood, and 90% of obese children fail to return to normal weight in adulthood, with consequent health problems.

In Europe it has been estimated that in 2025, overweight children under the age of five will be 70 million worldwide. Currently in Europe 1 child out of 3 aged between 6 and 9 is obese and in Italy 20.9% of children are overweight and 9.8% are obese.

It seems that obesity and overweight depend on a genetic predisposition, on the increase of food availability with high energy density and very low levels of physical activity. Certainly incorrect eating habits are the prevailing cause of this situation and in fact statistics reveal that 25% of school-age children do not consume fruit and vegetables every day.

A solution against childhood obesity? Playing with food

It is always said not to play at the table ... true, but in this case we can look at the situation from another angle. Let's have fun at the table to eat healthier foods like fruits and vegetables.

No to television, let's play with the pot

Overweight and obese children are often used to eating in front of the television without realizing what they are eating because they are all intent on watching the screen. Their perception of satiety is completely unbalanced and they are no longer able to stop when they have a full stomach.

So first rule turn off cartoons and any other electronic screen that attracts the child. Meal time must be precise, have a start and end time. This is to help the perception of time and give importance to the meal we are about to eat. By removing the distractions the child will look at his own dish and so we can start inventing.

Fancy emoticons

Yes, because you need imagination to prepare colorful and fun dishes, with animal faces or other characters with big inviting smiles. Every child in front of a smile is more encouraged to eat. Decorating and serving thus becomes an art where you can experience stories about animals or characters present on the table every day.

Portions should be reduced: just 1 carrot for the ears, a little salad for the hair, 2 peas for the eyes with two slices of cucumber and tomato for the mouth. It will be a success to start eating vegetables in this way between animals and fantastic characters, including monsters and aliens.

Mysterious recipes with stories

Baked croquettes, pies and rolls can be other intriguing forms to offer children to eat more vegetables. If you have imagination you can tell stories specifically created with the shapes and characters that are protagonists in the meal of the day.

Helping the child to eat the portions of vegetables means eating healthy with many fibers that have the task of cleaning up the body and perhaps facilitate the loss of body weight.

The rice or spelled salad with treasure hunt to find hidden olives or the playful choice of many vegetable ingredients to add can be another way to eat various whole grain cereals with many mixed vegetables.

This will help to avoid dry pasta every day, giving an alternative to other cereals like millet, quinoa and barley that are great for a balanced diet.

Fruit, healthy snacks and flag steals

Fruit kebabs are also very popular with children, as they could sometimes make a nice dark chocolate bath to give them a whim in more but completely healthy.

Starting to prepare snacks based on fresh fruit, smoothies and vegetable snacks will be an excellent alternative to packaged and industrial snacks that aggravate the situation of overweight and obesity.

Another fun game is the flag steal at the table where a fruit or a vegetable is cut into pieces and a number is assigned to each.

When a number is called, the child must take and eat the corresponding piece that was called as quickly as possible. Banana is one of the most suitable fruits for this game. It becomes very fun if there are more children at home or adults who still enjoy themselves as children .

Taking the example of eating fruits and vegetables will be the best help because your child learns by imitation and so will learn to have a balanced and healthy diet like yours.

Children in the kitchen

Finally, what better solution than to help children prepare dishes in the kitchen ? Let's start with going shopping together so that the child can decide which vegetables to buy.

Making the child choose the vegetables and the fruit will be a responsibility that will help you feel part of the preparation of the food and will thus have more desire to taste it.

Once at home we can choose a recipe and prepare it together . We will have to give the child an important role as the responsibility of cutting vegetables for example or mixing the ingredients in the pot.

Children like to play the cook and have roles as a waiter, even making the child serve the meal for the whole family. This will help the child feel useful and through role-playing he will want to taste what he has prepared so hard.

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