Eperts reveal how to speak YOUR child about their weight

Health and fitness experts have shared their tips for how parents’ can help manage their child’s health after ‘alarming’ official figures showed childhood obesity rates in England have soared to record levels during Covid.

According to NHS Digital data released yesterday, one in seven youngsters are obese by the time they start Reception now, compared to one in 10 before Covid struck.

Obesity campaign groups called the figures ‘alarming’, warning that lockdowns and school closures had taken a huge toll on youngsters’ physical health and widened health inequalities.

Speaking to FEMAIL, UK doctors across the health and wellness industries have revealed how parents who are worried about their children can help them manage their weight in a healthy way, including ‘conscious’ shopping and exercising together.

Experts have revealed how parents should ‘consciously shop’ and cook fakeaways for children who might be overweight – after ‘alarming’ official figures showed childhood obesity rates in England have soared to record levels during Covid (stock image)

1. ‘CONSCIOUS’ SUPERMARKET SHOPPING

Dr Giuseppe Aragona, GP and Medical Advisor at Prescription Doctor explained that education is key to helping children eat well.

He said: ‘As a parent the best thing you can do to encourage your child to have a healthier balanced diet and to ensure they aren’t over eating is to educate them on foods and the food groups and try to conscious buy when you go shopping.

‘Conscious buying is essentially a way of shopping that means you are only buying foods for the family that is healthy as opposed to buying sugary snacks and drinks.’

Dr Aragona continued: ‘As the parent, you are doing the weekly shopping and cooking the dinners so trying new healthy dinners and cooking from scratch is a good way to ensure your child is eating the right foods.

2. CREATE FAKE-AWAYS

Dr Aragona explained that eating more healthily doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy your favourite meals at home.

He said: ‘Ask your children what they like eating, they’re favourite foods and also the dinners they like best that you cook, perhaps you can see if there are healthier options available.

‘For example, if they say fish and chips you may want to look at cooking fresh fish as oppose to battered and switching up normal chips for hand prepared sweet potato chips which a healthier option.’

Meanwhile Jenny suggested swapping chicken nuggets for grilled chicken breast.

‘It is not a good idea to completely rid of all sugary snacks and unhealthy foods from the house, instead, try and explain to your child that its ok to have a snack, but that they might want to opt for a piece of fruit as oppose to a chocolate bar.’

Jenny Pacey, Hollywood trainer and Bio-Synergy ambassador, explained: ‘Stacking the fridge with healthy delicious wholefoods is a great alternative to cupboards full of processed snacks like crisps and crackers.’

‘And creating a healthy meal menus for the week, putting together healthy food combos so your child feels empowered to make positive nourishing food choices.’

Meanwhile hypnotherapist Emily Hall said parents should ‘stop buying unhealthy foods’, adding: ‘Sounds simple but so many people don’t do this.

‘When food is in our line of sight we eat more so if you absolutely do have to buy the food then hide it away in the back of a cupboard where your child can’t see it.’

3. TEACH THE CHILD HOW TO COOK

Meanwhile the experts also suggested teaching children how to cook themselves can help improve a potentially unhealthy relationship with food.

Dr Aragona said: ‘The key is, rather than making your child afraid of food or seeing food as the enemy, make them take an interest in food, teach them about the food groups, what’s good and what’s not so good.

‘You could do this by teaching them to prepare meals and cook from scratch, essentially cementing a good relationship with healthy food as oppose to just telling them certain foods are bad.’

Meanwhile Emily added: ‘Get them involved in the cooking and cook from scratch where possible, make it exciting by getting them to research recipes and give them responsibility in planning meals.’

4. DON’T TREAT EXERCISE LIKE ‘THE ENEMY’

Dr Aragona advised against making exercise feel like ‘the enemy’, saying: ‘Ensuring they understand how exercise is beneficial to a person’s health, not just the way they look on the outside but how it makes them feel, why its good and the long-term health benefits.

‘Try and encourage them to do things such as riding they’re bike, walking or joining in with inclusive sports.

5. BE CAREFUL HOW YOU SPEAK ABOUT WEIGHT

The experts also suggested being careful with the words chosen when speaking to youngsters about weight gain.

Dr Aragona said: ‘Things you should not do are to scare them by telling them that all food will make them bigger, limiting their foods or dinners dramatically, telling them they have put on weight or comparing them to other kids at school or family members.’

And Jenny added: ‘Choose your words carefully because words carry meaning and power.

‘Instead of saying or thinking your child is fat, or over weight, reframe to ‘they have fat’ ; it’s not a part of who they and can be changed.

‘For instance We do not say we are cancer, we say we have cancer.

‘Because it’s possible to change what we have, but much more difficult to change what we are.’

Emily continued: ‘Don’t make your child feel like they’ve done something wrong or that there’s something wrong with them.

‘If they have a belief that they’re not good enough already this will just compound the issue and they’ll need something to make them feel better and what makes us feel better instantly? Food!’

‘Perhaps getting involved with a sporting hobby that they enjoy may help they’re change attitude towards exercise.’

Meanwhile Jenny agreed, explaining: ‘exercise is key along side healthy whole food filled nutrition.

‘Help your shield find a form of exercise they enjoy and make it part of your family weekly routine e.g. wall climbing of a Saturday morning, or a family walk before dinner.’

Emily advised ‘making exercise fun’, saying: ‘Don’t call it exercise as this just feels like hard work.

‘If something feels like hard work getting motivation to do it is VERY challenging! Say ‘Let’s go out and have some fun’ instead – much more exciting!’

6. ENCOURAGE BETTER SLEEP HABITS…

And Jenny said helping a child who is obese isn’t always down to diet and exercise advice.

She suggested: ‘Focus on the healthy habits and behaviours your child can control and will have a positive impact on their weight management.

‘We can’t control how much the scales go down or how much fat we can lose, but we can control how much we move, how much water we drink, the healthier food choices we can make and how much sleep we have.’

She advised: ‘Turning off devices 2 hours before bed to help the child sleep more deeply for 7-9 hours.

‘A good nights sleep reduces carb and sugar cravings.’

…7. AND REDUCE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Meanwhile Emily said reducing social media useage could help youngsters who are struggling with their weight.

She said: ‘Reduce sedentary activities such as gaming and scrolling on phones as we can become almost trance-like in these activities which leads to mindless eating, not being fully aware and present in the amount or quantities that we’re eating.

‘Limit social media to lower feelings of inadequateness. We all know that a lot of things on social media aren’t real but children don’t so they try for the impossible and just end up feeling like they’re failed because they can’t attain it.’

Childhood obesity hits record high during Covid: A QUARTER now too fat by time they leave primary school and one in seven are obese by the time they start Reception, ‘alarming’ official figures show

It comes amid the news more than 2.5million children in England are either overweight or obese and experts fear they are on course to become the fattest generation in history.

Earlier this week, the head of the NHS in England warned the pandemic had ‘shone a harsh light’ on obesity in young people.

She announced that thousands of severely overweight children will be sent to NHS ‘fat camps’ under a pilot scheme aimed at cracking down on the crisis. The drastic measure will see 15 specialist clinics treat fat children aged as young as two.

Today’s figures are from the National Child Measurement Programme, which measured the height and weight of more than 300,000 children in Reception and Year 6.

It found that a record 14.4 per cent of Reception-aged children were obese during 2020/21.

That was up from 9.9 per cent in 2019/20 and marked the biggest rise since records began in 2006/7.

A fifth of children living in the most deprived areas of England were deemed obese, compared to as little as 8 per cent in the least deprived areas.

It found a small but growing proportion of four and five-year-olds are morbidly obese, which puts them at risk of deadly complications like strokes, heart attacks, and diabetes.

Nearly one in 20 (4.7 per cent) are severely overweight now, compared to 2.5 per cent pre-Covid.

Among Year 6 pupils, obesity prevalence increased from 21 per cent in 2019/20 to 25.5 per cent in 2020/21.

Up to a third of 10 to 11-year-olds living in the poorest areas of England were obese, compared to just 14.3 per cent in the most affluent parts.

Some 6.3 per cent of those in their last year of primary school were morbidly obese during the most recent school year, compared to 4.7 per cent before the pandemic.

The Obesity Health Alliance said there were ‘several aspects of the pandemic’ that had contributed to the rise.

Like adults, children were subject to the Government’s initial draconian stay at home order and were only allowed outside once a day for exercise.

Many were also confined to their homes even when the lockdowns came to an end due to isolating protocols in schools.

Experts have said that lots of children will have turned to comfort food to deal with boredom, isolation and anxiety during the pandemic.

Caroline Cerny, of the Obesity Health Alliance, said: ‘This new data highlights the need for a relentless drive on improving children’s health.

‘In particular we need an intense focus on closing the gap between the most and least deprived to ensure every single child has an equal chance to grow up healthy.

‘Childhood obesity rates are twice as high in the most deprived communities compared to the least, highlighting that addressing obesity is key to tackling health inequalities.

‘There are several aspects of the pandemic that are likely to have contributed to this increase child obesity levels.’

Dr Max Davie, officer for health improvement at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: ‘This sharp increase in obesity levels across childhood is alarming.

‘While lockdown may have been a key factor, we mustn’t assume that this year’s results are an aberration since there may be other factors, including mental health difficulties, which will take time to address.

‘One factor we must focus on is poverty. Every year we see the gap between the most and least deprived children widen.

‘Obesity is increasingly a disease of poverty in the UK and any attempts to address this problem therefore need to be focused on these groups and the causes for their increased vulnerability.’

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