MM Obesity
Almost a third of Irish children are now overweight! Here’s how to stop your baby joining the ranks!
Can you protect your baby against a fat future?
For decades, parents worried about their babies putting on enough weight, but now a new problem has reared its head in the form of too much weight. Recent statistics published in The Lancet medical journal don’t
make for positive reading. According to the statistics, which were compiled by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, there was a ten- fold increase in the rate of obesity among Irish boys between 1975 and 2016, and a nine-fold increase among Irish girls. That means that while, in 1975, only one per cent of Irish
children were classed as obese, that figure has now risen to nine per cent among girls and ten per cent among boys. Globally, Ireland stands in 58th place among 200 countries. So is there anything that you can do to cut your child’s risk of a
fat-filled future, and all the health dangers that brings with it? Yes, absolutely. There’s no doubt that parents – mothers in particular – have a
crucial role to play in reducing their child’s risk of obesity. And the good news is that it’s not complicated….. just follow this simple feeding plan.
Watch your child’s weight in the first year Now, let’s keep things in perspective. No-one is advocating that you should have your child on a diet during its first twelve months! Most babies will have a set of little chubby thighs or cheeks at some point, so you don’t need to freak out and pop him onto the scales every other day! All you simply need to do – in conjunction with your health
visitor – is to check that your baby’s weight and height increase steadily together at the same rate during the first year. If baby is soaring through the weight centiles and his height isn’t going at the same rate, then your health visitor will be able to advise you.
Breastfeed if you can The health benefits of breastfeeding have been advocated for some time now – and rightly so. But now experts believe that breastfeeding could also protect against obesity. Studies have found that breastfed children are up to five times less likely to become overweight and also that, the longer a mother breastfeeds, the more baby’s risk of becoming obese falls. One theory put forward for this occurrence is that bottle-fed children seem to have higher levels of insulin; a hormone that encourages the laying down of fat cells.
18 Modernmum
Pay attention to portion sizes The importance of what you feed your child is matched equally by how much you feed him. If you do use formula, then make sure that you measure it in level spoonfuls rather than heaped ones. Also, do not pile your toddler’s plate up as high as it will go! If you give your child more than he needs, you’re setting him up for weight problems in the future. A normal toddler portion is about a quarter of an adult one. So, if you have four potatoes, only give your child one.
Let your child decide when he’s full Ah, the old chestnut. The bone of contention between many modern day parents and their own parents, who lived through a period when food had to be rationed. Ironically, babies and toddlers are often more aware than adults as to how much they need to eat and when to stop! While it’s natural to want your child to eat well, if you constantly urge your child to completely clear his plate, you could weaken his ability to understand when he’s actually hungry and when he’s full. This can lead on to subsequent over-eating. Sensible mums should bite back their instinct to offer ‘just a little more’ and allow their child to stop when he’s had enough.
The fat controller Providing fried foods at every meal for your child doesn’t even bear thinking about. But nor do you have to ban your child from eating high-fat foods altogether. If you tell your child that they cannot have a particular food at all, you are making that food
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