European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 6, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse To your health overeat kids too much of the wrong foods by Janet d Agostino medical writer Hubby children Don t need to blood they Are overweight. Taunts and jeers irom thinner playmates or siblings remind them Loo often of those extra pounds. Unfortunately a Chubby child often grows into a Lal adult Man american Tii Jrsn end to boo sri High is Caus they eat too Many fast and processed tools High in fal and Low in nutritional value and Don t get enough exercise according to health professionals. Parents can help keep their children out of husky size clothing by being aware o heir child s eating habits examining their. Own diet and seeking professional help it they think their child is overweight. Excess weight gain can begin in infancy said or. Agene Egerton. A paediatrician at the army Hospital in Augsburg and adolescents consultant Lor 7th medical in and in Heidelberg. West Germany. We have a tendency in America to overfeed our children he a baby s cries cannot be appeased Many parents will assume the child is hungry and iced him. However the child May no be hungry accepting the bottle or breast because sucking is a pleasurable and soothing sensation he said. Parents with the help of their paediatrician should Fry to establish a regular feeding schedule for their babies so they can better judge when the child is crying because he is hungry or Lor some other reason Egerton said. The majority of overweight children under 10 years old win be overweight by Only a Lew pounds said or. Col Charles n. Onufer paediatric consultant for 7lh medical card. But As those children enter adolescence the pounds arc Likely to increase dramatically. Parents coma in with their Young adolescent and say it s Only in the last couple of years they have noticed their child looks overweight when the problem May have started earlier outer said. Parents need to watch their child s eating habits for example whether the child snacks often or eats Only junk food he said. Children under 10 normally do not Tike to eat Onufer said. If a Preadom Escene does look Forward to meal time that is a computing percent of fat calories r find number of Grams of father serving from nutrition information on package or can multiply by 9 calories Pergram Divide by total coteries preserving. _ result is the percentage of total calories that come from fat 1 Gram my. x 9 calories per Gram i a 20 calories per serving = 45% of calories from fat Chicago Tribune graphic sign the child May be overweight. However it is difficult for a preadolescent to diet because at hat age children do wham hey see big brother is reaching for a bag of cookies then the 8 or 9 year old is going to want do the same and will not understand Why he must be deprived. You almost have to put the whole. Family on a diet to get a preadolescent to. Comply he said. It s impossible to ask a child to do this atone.". In fact tha child s parents and siblings May Atso Benefit from a change in eating habits. A cd Iii s Bone Structure Piid ii Ign Are determined by his parents genes his eating habits Are Learned from what he sees mom and dad munching. When you see an overweight child you often see an overweight Parent said capt. John Warber chief of nutrition services for the exceptional family member program in Frankfurt we have to look at the whole family the parents have to be involved.". If one Parent is overweight or overeat the Etta Warber prefers to use the risk is 40 percent that the child will be overweight. If both parents Are overweight the risk is 80 percent. Children of trim parents have Only a 10 percent Chance of being obese. The Best predictor of a child s weight is his miners wei6lit,"wailj&f close took at a family s eating pattern of ten reveals a diet lacking fruits and vegetables which Are Low in calories and High in nutrients and fiber. Warber tells parents to prepare More a Green Leafy vegetables and More Orange vegetables such As carrots and american families eat Loo much red meat which la High in fat and calories. Fish and poultry Are Tower in fat and calories but should be eaten in smaller portions. Children age 2 and above do not need to eat More than 4 to 6 ounces of protein a Day he said. Parents Are surprised when Warber tells them it is of for their children to eat potatoes and bread in moderation As Long As the spuds Are not Fried and covered with Rich sauces and the bread not slathered with butter. Breads should be made of High fiber whole grains. High fiber breads Are hard to come by in military commissaries so Warber recommended buying German breads. Children aged 2 and older should be encouraged to drink skim milk which provides the same protein Calcium and vitamins As whole milk but without the fat. Pres whitened cereals should be replaced with unsweetened cereals that provide More fiber such As Charlos. Raisin bran and shredded wheat. Children win team to eat those cereals it there is no other Choice he Sake. Teen agers have a Lough time clicking to a diet because they want to see immediate results and often try unhealthy fad diets. Egerton said teen agree Don t want to wait. They want fast results they Don t want the diet to take a year but the Best Way to lose weight is by eating a balanced diet thai provides enough Calor Tot Lor Good body function and alertness in school and a Stow weightless about a Pound a week. It May Lake six months to a year to lose the weight depending on How overweight the Chad is he said. Obesity in teen agers can Lead to High blood pressure difficulty in exercising bom and joint problems and the beginnings of cardiovascular disease Egerton said. Weight loss can be hastened by encouraging the child to be More Active instead of silting for Long hours before he television the professionals said. The child should participate in structured or unstructured activity with other children or with the family Warber said. A child he said should spend no More than two hours a Day watching to or playing computer games. My my m tuesday december 6, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 17
