어린이 비만 어떻게 치료할까요?

어린이 비만의 문제는 어린이들만의 문제가 아니라 부모님의 문제이기도 합니다. 몸에 좋지 않은 음식을 많이 먹고 운동을 많이 하지 않는 것은 비만을 부추기는 원인이 되지요. 비만을 경험하는 많은 어린이들이 친구들과 함께 뛰어 놀기보다는 컴퓨터 스크린이나 TV 앞에 앉아 시간을 보내려 하지요. 비만을 치료하기 위해서는 온가족이 함께 노력할 필요가 절대적으로 있습니다. 부모님 자신들은 노력하지 않은 채 아이들에게만 ‘먹지마라 나가 놀아라’라고 아무리 이야기하여도 소용이 없지요. 비만을 없애는 비결은 매일 다섯 종류의 과일과 야채를 먹는 것, 두 시간 이상 스크린 앞에 앉아 있지 않는 것, 한 시간 이상 운동하는 것과 설탕이 들어간 탄산음료 등을 마시지 않는 것 등입니다. 그 무엇보다 중요한 것은 가족 모두가 함께 노력해야한다는 것이지요.

<Parents of overweight children need to fight fat too>

While Kris Pettit lost over 100 pounds in the past 2-1/2 years, her family fell in love with whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

When her two little girls want a treat, “They ask for berries,” says the London, ont.-area nurse.

“They know what healthy eating is,” says Pettit, adding the family dairy farm provides lots of exercise.

Pettit joined Weight Watchers to lose her weight and, although her husband and daughters didn't count their calories, everyone benefited from her healthy food choices, she says. Her husband also lost 30 pounds.

Pettit was touched deeply when her husband complimented her saying, “You have done so much for this family.”

Fighting fat isn't a one-person job — it’s a family responsibility that can directly affect overweight children, reveals a new study by Weight Watchers U.S., one of many organizations responding to the child obesity crisis in North America.

The four-year Weight Watchers’ Family Pilot Program, which included 114 children — 67 girls, 47 boys at an average age of 10.3 years — did not involve calorie-counting and wasn't directed at children but rather the entire family. Sixty-eight of the kids attained a healthy weight and maintained it for a year, another 12 already had healthy weights, one child's weight remained the same and 33 kids had slight weight increases.

Parents concerned about their children's weight attended weekly group meetings to problem-solve, learn about nutrition and healthy eating strategies, and were asked to adhere to five basic rules: eat nutritious food; limit treats; maximum two hours’screen time a day after homework; one daily hour of activity; and everyone in the family follows the same rules.

“Parents often see their roles as enforcers, telling children they can only have this much of a certain food or no desserts. That doesn't work,” says nutritionist Karen Miller-Kovach, who ran the pilot program from 2005 to 2009 in Florida. Instead, the parental focus was changed “to one of provider. Don't have high-calorie foods in the house rather than saying, ‘You can't have that',” she says.

Parents are also role models who greatly affect their children's behaviour, says Miller-Kovach, adding that it isn't fair if an overweight child is denied foods that others have, or are sent off to exercise by themselves.

“Parents have to walk the talk,” agrees Sharon Brodovsky, senior manager of the ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation's year-old, child-focused Spark program (Spark Together for Healthy Kids).

“We are physically active together,” says Brodovsky, who models a healthy lifestyle at home. “We are foodies, we like to eat and we like to cook. It’s not fast food. The kids cook with us.”

Her daughters Talia and Juliana Duarte, ages 10 and 6, read food labels and talk about nutrition, she says, adding, “We should bring home ec (economics) back into schools. We need to teach life skills.”

By the time a child graduates from school, “they should know where food comes from and how to cook,” she says.

Parents have to get a “broader definition of health,” she says, and not just worry about weight.

“Walk around the block as a family as opposed to driving someone off to dance class.”

Dr. Tom Warshawski, chair of Canada's Childhood Obesity Foundation, is a pediatrician who treats obese children. The foundation's key tenets — five servings of fruits and vegetable daily, no more than two hours of screen time, one hour of activity and zero sugar beverages — are similar to the Weight Watchers family program.

He tells families the single most important thing they can do is get rid of sugary drinks including pop, fruit drinks and energy drinks.

Parents “wouldn't allow a child to have a couple of cigarettes day but they allow four hours of TV.”

Obesity has to be tackled together, he says. “Families are unit.”

Marco Di Buono, director of research at the foundation, says, “The important message is that this is a family thing to tackle together.”

Doing activities as a family has the benefit of providing acceptance and support to an overweight child who may be socially isolated, he says.

“Kicking a soccer ball together in the backyard is a lot better than standing on the sidelines of a school team, where they never actually get to play.”

Florida housewife Lori Clark was attending Weight Watchers for herself when she volunteered to be in the four-year U.S. family pilot program. Her children, Audrey and Logan, 11 and 15, were already pudgy.

“It was starting to scare me,” says Clark. When the family began eating wholesome foods together, Clark says she was relieved she wasn't making a special meal for herself and another for the rest of the family.

“I realized my family needs healthy food, too.”

She bought a croquet set and the kids couldn't wait to get outside to play with her. They walked together after supper. Her kids went to cooking school and she learned to read labels.

“We made little, slow changes. They know now what to do.”

As a result of the study, Weight Watchers has published a book Eat! Move! Play! A Parents’ Guide for Raising Healthy, Happy Kids (John Wiley & Sons) released in April.

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(Source: TORONTO STAR May 5, 2010. page E1 and E7, by Trish Crawford; LIVING REPORTER)