It’s not fate
You want to avoid labeling a child at all costs. You don’t want to be calling them any sort of names; they get enough of that at school. I think parents should show kids their family history of diseases and say, “Our family is at greater risk of getting type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure–” maybe not necessarily using those terms but using terms that they feel their child would be able to understand. And just say, “Because of this, it’s really important that we work a little bit harder at following a healthy diet.” And show them what you mean by a healthy diet; model those foods that you want them to eat, and model physical activity. Those are all key things that parents can do, as opposed to saying, “You must do this. You must do that. If you do this, you’ll get ill ” those are just scare tactics that don’t usually work. In some cases, families think, “Our family has type 2 diabetes; my father had diabetes, my grandfather had diabetes, and I’m going to get diabetes.” But parents need to point out to kids that it’s not written in the stars; it’s not definitely going to happen to you. It’s not fate; you have control over whether or not you get those diseases that are associated with obesity. You can change what you’re eating, increase your physical activity, and really choose a healthy weight.
Kelly Sinclair, Clinical Nutritionist
Simple changes
It is no more expensive to eat a healthy diet. Possibly, it requires more time, but there are basic things that can be changed that are very simple to implement. Avoiding sugary drinks and fast foods and increasing intake of salad, vegetables, and fruits are the basic steps we recommend to the family of an overweight child.
Diego Botero, MD, Pediatric Endocrinologist
Support and praise
Setbacks and disappointments happen. I think group support is important, because children need to know that setbacks and slow progress, or lack of progress, are common themes in this population of kids trying to lose weight or manage weight. One important thing is to let children know that they’re not alone. This might be done by establishing contact between their family another family, so that they can be in contact with other children. Or it could be done by having them be part of a group, even a special exercise group. The other really important thing to remember in dealing with setbacks is that certainly a long term goal is being in an ideal body weight range, but leading up to that goal there should be numerous small goals. Meeting small goals should be rewarded, and there are many types of rewards that don’t need to cost money. For example, a reward can be verbal praise. I used to photocopy children’s hands and then have them put the photocopies on the wall and high five themselves when they had a great day. I also encourage parents and guardians to give verbal praise.
I often encourage parents not necessarily to keep a food journal, but to keep a praise journal to celebrate short term goals. At the end of the day, they sit down and write two things in the journal that the child thought went very well. Then parents can look at those two things and ask the child if he or she thinks that one of those two positive things could be improved a bit. The idea is to focus on praise and not on foods, but to make the foods a part of the praise. Also, we’re building on the positives; we’re not saying, “How did you mess up today?” In fact, that may come out in the conversation at the end of the day, but in general I like to keep a very positive chain of events going. Focus on the positive, and build on the positive.
Jan Hangen, Clinical Nutritionist