Children and Weight Loss

Overweight children has increasingly become an issue over the last twenty years and there are ways to make sure that it doesn't happen to your child in the first place. There are also ways to lose the weight if there has already been weight gain. There are many things to consider when it comes to weight issues.

There are many signs to consider such as abilities to play sports or even running and not being able to catch their breath. There are also other physically evident signs such as beginning to grow out of the average sized clothing and coming horizontally larger. If this starts happening it is important to take your child to the doctor to get all of the proper tests. This is especially important if you know that you haven't been feeding them the best foods because they may need to be tested for diabetes. Or if there is no explainable cause, there could be underlying issues that cause them to begin to gain weight. Either way, it is important to get the child checked out.

It is important to take immediate action because without action they can become very sick. All children deserve a fighting chance to be healthy. Many parents believe their children may grow out of it, but that is not always the case. This is why we have programs documenting hardcore weight loss and gain all over television.

There are other complications to worry about when it comes to obesity. There could be heart disease issues, cancer, or other issues. That is just for the future alone, but there are a lot of immediate issues to worry about such as asthma or even sleep apnea. So, now we are going to consider all of the ways to help an overweight child to lose weight.

While it tends to be hard to have a perfect diet when many of us have financial issues at the moment, but diet really is so very crucial. Not only that, but it is very important to allow for physical activity. In a world of technology and video games, it can be very hard to motivate a child to get out there and lose weight but it is important to keep pushing them. If you aren't eating quite right yourself, then it is important to plan out a proper diet for yourself too. Both you and your child should be able to vibe off of one another when it comes to this.

Making exercise fun is the best way to do this, so it would be important to find something like even a WII or family outings. Many parents feel like they don't really have control over what their children eats or does but yes--you do! It is true! You have control over the food that is in the house and that means ignoring the hissy fits and picking the healthiest food that you can to help them. They will thank you in the long run.

Give yourself the gift of health. Subscribe to a free email newsletter to receive helpful weight loss center tips, tricks and facts that you should know about as you work towards a healthier you.The staff at Svelte Medical Weight Management is a skilled medical team and offers expert attention,knowledge and experience in a safe and supportive environment. Not only do we help patients lose weight, we help them to dramatically improve their quality of life. Call them directly at (407) 352-9877 or visit them at

Svelte Medical Weight Loss Clinic - Orlando
7009 Dr. Phillips Blvd. Suite 240
Orlando, FL 32819.

Also check out their partner, Florida Vein Care for your orlando vein removal.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Bragg,_M.D.

Weight Loss in Children and Teens - Preventing Diabetes & Heart Disease

Overeating in children and teens leads to overweight and obesity which quickly leads to serious medical conditions. It occurs when a child is well above the normal weight for his or her age, sex and height. Childhood obesity is particularly troubling because the extra pounds often start kids on the path to health problems that were once confined to adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, strokes and cancer.

Overweight Children Dramatically Increase Their Risk for Heart Disease:

60% of overweight children have at least one risk factor for heart disease. The famous Bogalusa Heart Study (Bogalusa is a small rural southern town) followed more than 9000 children from 1973 to 2001 and found:

- 77% of children that were obese in the early 1970's became obese adults.
- 87% of children who were obese at age 6 or younger became obese adults.

There was a direct relationship between childhood obesity and the build of plaques (a build up of fat and white cells) on the inside of artery walls scattered throughout the body. Dr Geetha Raghueveer, from the University of Missouri, found numerous signs of aging in obese young children and teens including:

• Artery walls of obese children as thick as the artery walls in the average 45-year-old.
• A Life expectancy decreased by two to five years.
• One third of obese children have fatty liver
• Increased risk of diabetes:

Childhood Obesity and Diabetes:

Obesity in childhood can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes in both childhood and adulthood. A study from the University of Michigan found that more than 229,000 children approximately 3.2 cases for every 1,000 American children under the age of 18 currently have diabetes and one-third of those children are obese. The study found that children ages 6 to 17 who were obese were more than twice as likely to have diabetes as children of the same age who were of normal weight.

Metabolic Syndrome and Blood Lipids Disorders in Children

In 1988, Dr Reaven described "the metabolic syndrome" as a link between insulin resistance and hypertension, abnormal blood lipids, type 2 diabetes, and other metabolic abnormalities associated with an increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular events.

The 3rd report of the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel defined the criteria for the metabolic syndrome.

These include meeting three or more of the five following criteria:

• BMI > 97%-age and gender adjusted
• triglyceride > 95th percentile,
• blood pressure, 95th percentile,
• HDL cholesterol below the 5th percentile and
• impaired glucose tolerance.

Currently 39% of overweight children and 50% of obese children meet the criteria for metabolic syndrome.

What needs to be done:

The first barrier to changing the eating habits of a child or teen who is overeating is to recognize that there is a problem. When you see a 6 or 7 year old finish a whole plate of food in minutes and then look for more, it's no so hard to decide if there is an eating issue. If it's less subtle, you can need to look up the BMI-for-age table and compare your child's weight with what is normal of his age and gender.

If he is overweight, than more often than not all you need to do is to slow down the weight gain, so that in a year or two he will "catch-up" with what is normal. The average child from 6 to 16 gains almost 10 lb. a year, so slowing the weight gain from 15 lbs. to 7 or 8lb. is all that may be needed. Obviously if the child is very overweight more vigorous changes are needed.

Richard L. Lipman M.D., a board certified internist and endocrinologist has been treating weight and metabolic problems for 25 years in his Miami office. His recent book, The 100 Calorie Secret, describes how thousands of his patients lost weight and kept it off. Learn more weight loss and tips from a doctor who actually takes care of metabolic problems and obesity problems at [http://www.the100caloriesecret.com].

See the CDC web site for BMI calculator: http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Lipman_M.D.