Child Obesity: Are Feeding Your Child too much Food?

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Child obesity is now a growing problem. Some blame junk food manufacturers and fast food chains for their very enticing ads. The question is, are they really the ones responsible for this childhood dilemma? Well, probably yes. But, as parents and guardians, you are held responsible for your child’s optimal growth. On rare occasions, too much love can also lead to this problem. Hence, you might want to ask yourself if you are feeding your child too much food. To answer this, you can think about the following questions and contemplate if you’ve done it or not. 

Do you feed them adult sized meals and encourage them to eat everything?

To find out if you're feeding your child too much, the first thing you should think about is serving size you give them. When feeding your kids, it is not advisable to give them adult sized servings. Compared to your body, a child's organs are still developing. Hence,  it can’t handle large-sized servings. So, what is the exact serving size for children? This will actually depend on their age. You can estimate their appropriate serving size by measuring his and your hand. As a rule of thumb, if his hand is smaller than yours by 1/2, then you can give him half the size of your servings. 

Aside from that, you should also avoid implementing a strict policy that they should eat everything on their plate. When a child’s stomach is full, his immediate body response is to stop eating. Forcing them to eat everything on their plate will only lead to overeating as they grow up. This is because their stomach is already accustomed in digesting large portions of food. Hence, their body  cannot effectively detect satiety or know if they're eating too much. 

Do you deprive or give them too much snacks and sugary treats?

Another important consideration to verify if you are feeding your child too much is the amount of snacks and sugary treats you give. In regards to this matter, depriving or giving your child too much snack is not highly recommended. Obviously, too much snacks and sugar will eventually lead to obesity and diabetes. But, why does deprivation lead to obesity? This is because a child’s craving for snacks and treats will only increase if you restrict them from having it. Hence, if you finally give in, they will satisfy their craving by eating too much.

Basically, the key here is balance. You can do this by creating a consistent eating schedule. Through this, you can check and manage your kid’s eating habits. As much as possible, you should also allot a two-hour interval between snack time and meal. And lastly, avoid giving your child commercialized sugary beverages such as soda and juice. These products are not only addictive but they also contain a lot of calories and no nutrients. It would be best to give them homemade fruit juices or water instead.

Do you encourage them to play sports and other outdoor activities?

Last consideration to find out if you are feeding your child too much is physical activities. How is this related? Basically, like adults, kids should use or burn their calories through various activities. If he doesn't consume these calories it would eventually be stored as fats.

This can actually help you measure your child’s meal servings. For example, your kid is an outgoing person who loves sports. Evidently, his body will need more food compared to those that spend their afternoon watching TV or playing computer games. Plus, you should always encourage your kids to try outdoor activities and interact with other children. This will not only allow them to burn their calories but it will also help them enhance their social skills.

With that, hopefully through these questions, you can assess if you are feeding your child too much. If he is on his way to obesity, you should try to alter his eating habits and schedule. Obesity may seem harmless now. But, this can lead to a lot of serious health issues as he grows old.