The main cause for excess weight is overeating. Overeating
means consuming more calories each day than are needed for normal activity and
growth. Overeating is mainly a bad habit and it's learned during the early
years of life. Currently 10% of 2 to 5 year old children in the US are
overweight. Any child in a family with a strong tendency toward being
overweight needs to learn healthy eating habits. It is far easier to start
good eating habits early, than wait until a child starts to show signs of
becoming overweight.
How can I help prevent my child
from gaining too much weight?
For babies:
- Try to breast-feed. Breast-feeding teaches babies to
control the amount of milk they drink. Overfeeding by breast is unusual.
Breast-fed babies tend to be leaner than bottle-fed babies.
- If you are breast-feeding and your milk has come in, do
not allow your baby to graze. Grazing is nursing very frequently, sometimes
every hour. Infants who graze learn to eat when they are upset and to use
food to reduce stress.
- If you are feeding your child with a bottle, don't allow
your child to keep a bottle or sippy cup as a companion during the day or
night. Children who are allowed to carry a bottle around with them learn to
eat frequently and to use food for comforting.
- If your baby is bottle-fed, try to feed your infant no
more often than every 2 hours at birth, and no more often than every 3 hours
from 2 to 6 months of age. Change to 3 meals a day and 2 snacks by 6 months
of age.
- Feed your child slowly, rather than rapidly. Don't do
anything to hurry your child's pace of eating. (For example, don't enlarge
the hole in the nipple of a baby bottle. The formula will come out of the
bottle too quickly.) It takes 15 to 20 minutes for your baby to feel full.
- Don't make your baby finish every bottle. Unless your baby
is underweight, he knows how much formula he needs.
- Don't feed your baby every time he cries. Most crying
babies want to be held and cuddled or may be thirsty and need just some
water. Teach your infant to use human contact (rather than food) to relieve
stress and discomfort.
- Discontinue breast and bottle feeding by 12 months of age.
A study by Dr. W.S. Agras found that delayed weaning was associated with
more obesity.
- Don't assume a sucking baby is hungry. Your baby may want
just a pacifier or help with finding her thumb. Also, don't use teething
biscuits or other foods in place of a teething ring.
- Avoid giving solid food to your child until he is 4 months
old.
- Don't encourage your child to eat more after she signals
she is full by turning her head or not opening her mouth.
- CAUTION: Don't underfeed your infant. While overfeeding is
more common during infancy, underfeeding is more harmful.
- CAUTION: Don't feed your child 2% milk or skim milk before
2 years of age. Your baby's brain is growing rapidly and needs the fat
content of whole milk.
For toddlers:
- From the beginning, try to teach your child to stop eating
before she feels completely full. Overfeeding teaches a child to overeat.
- Avoid any grazing. Grazing is eating at frequent intervals
instead of just when hungry. If a child rarely experiences hunger, the
feeling of hunger may cause him to be upset.
- Only feed for hunger. Help your child recognize hunger and
only eat when he's hungry. Teach him not to eat for other cues such as when
he's bored, lonely, stressed, watching TV, etc.
- Don't deny your child food if she is hungry. Parents have
control over what they serve but not over the amount eaten. Research has
shown that if parents try to control the child's food intake, the child
usually develops poor self-control.
- Don't insist that your child clean his plate or finish a
jar of baby food.
- Avoid giving sweets to your child until she is at least 12
months old.
- Avoid giving children bottles, sippy cups, or other snacks
while they are in car seats or strollers.
- Don't give your child food as a way to distract him or
keep him occupied. Instead, give him something to play with when you need
some free time.
- Use praise and physical affection instead of food as a
reward for good behavior. Use food as incentives only to solve special
problems such as difficult toilet training.
-
When should I call my child's
health care provider?
Call during office hours if:
- You are uncertain if your child is overweight.
- You are concerned about your child's weight.
