Unfortunately, today it is a statistical fact that every 4th child is overweight. However, behind the factual finding there are many more pathological conditions and risk factors than the “simple” aesthetic problem. Moreover, as our society is becoming more and more accepting of the overweight condition of children in some respects (“so cute little round kid”, “not fat, just has matter in him”, “shapely” we hear day in and day out), the aesthetic problem does not even appear as a problem in certain age groups. However, pathological health conditions are all the more present, even at a very young age. Indeed, it is a well-known fact in the literature that being overweight alone can cause high blood pressure, impaired carbohydrate metabolism, insulin resistance, sleep apnoea syndrome, vitamin D deficiency, abnormal adolescence, self-esteem and psychiatric disorders, and more. The development of these complications affects not only the quality of life, but also life expectancy.
Aware of all this, it is worth contacting a specialist with our overweight child as soon as possible to map the appearance of complications with a detailed condition assessment, plan their treatment and help them return to the path of healthy development and life with the necessary lifestyle changes. We also need to be prepared that this will not be easy. Mostly perhaps because the child alone is not capable of change. In this special case, we must not only support our children in the treatment and lifestyle change, but also take an active part in it. We have to cross our borders every day! We have many opportunities for this, in a lifestyle change that is otherwise constrained from the outside. For example, making tasty, delicious, eye-catching foods from less sweet foods (we crave for due to our sugar addiction) with less calories are a big challenge, but well worth it! Or it feels like nothing to sweat and get tired in some sporting activity, and slap on our back saying that we did it and it even felt good! We can mobilize unimaginable energies in our body by reshaping our sleep-wake habits by giving us more time to rest by leaving out some unnecessary activity (e.g., “gadgets”). Renewing our social relationships, belonging to a community, learning to accept, loving ourselves is worth every effort! And in the things listed here, we create experiences from limitations. If we do that we forge an experience of crossing our borders, the result will not be missed, we ourselves will be healthier and happier. And last but not least, we will be closer to our children, our relationship with them will be more intimate! This is how we can become the parents we want to be …
