Health Library

Excess weight increases the chance of a child having:

• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Type 2 diabetes
• Bone and joint problems
• Asthma
• Sleep problems such as sleep apnea
• Liver and gallbladder disease
• Depression
• Unhealthy eating habits, including eating disorders
• Substance abuse problems
• Problems during adulthood—more likely to develop severe obesity and heart disease as adults, early death in adulthood

Your doctor may refer your child to a dietitian. A dietitian can help make a diet plan for your child. The plan may include a daily calorie goal, healthy food options, and tips to change your child’s diet.

Have your child follow basic healthy eating habits, such as:

• Eat a diet low in saturated fat. Check food labels. Saturated fats are common in processed snacks and fried foods.
• Avoid trans fats. These are also common in snack foods like cookies, crackers, cakes, and donuts.
• Limit sugar-sweetened beverages. This includes sodas, sport drinks, and juices. Encourage your child to drink water.
• Switch to low-fat or non-fat dairy products.
• Limit refined carbohydrates. This includes sugars, white rice, and white bread.
• Eat a high-fiber diet. This includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
• Eat a diet that is low in sodium.
• Eat breakfast every day.

Children rarely prepare their own foods. It is important that a parent participate in healthier eating habits. For example:

• Pay attention to how food is prepared. Foods cooked or seasoned with high amounts of fat can quickly increase calories.
• Limit fast food, take-out, and dining out.
• Give your child healthy lunches and snacks to take to school. This may keep your child from buying unhealthy options at school.
• Don’t use sweets as a reward for good behavior or test scores. Think of other, more active rewards.
• Set a good example. Prepare healthy meals at home. Children are strongly influenced by their parents behavior. Eat together as a family.
• When grocery shopping, choose healthy foods. Focus on unprocessed foods. Teach your child how to make good choices in the grocery store.
• Teach your child about proper portion sizes. Your child may be able to continue eating favorite foods, just in smaller portion sizes. Also, cook less food at mealtime and don't bring it all to the table.
• Focus on healthy foods your child can eat. Don’t eliminate all sweets and treats. Overdoing this may make your child want them more. Include occasional treats in proper amounts.

In more severe cases, your child may have to follow a meal plan.

Encourage your child to participate in physical activity. Sign older children up for sports or activities. Develop some family-based activities that everyone can enjoy.

General guidelines for your child include:

• Get at least one hour of physical activity every day.
• Limit time in front of a TV, game, or computer screen to 1-2 hours per day. If your child is under two years old, avoid screen time.

In more severe cases, your doctor may provide a specific activity plan.

Your child may struggle with weight loss or being obese. Some support options or actions include:

• Consider a weight-loss program and/or counseling. This type of support may give your child insight into losing weight. Therapy that includes the whole family may also be helpful.
• Ask friends and family members to support your child. Time and motivation will keep your child on track.
• Make sure a healthy lifestyle is promoted at school or other organizations your child is involved with. Help your child to feel confident in making healthy choices even when the other children are not.

Some children who are obese may already have serious conditions due to weight. This may include problems with the heart or lungs, diabetes, or bone and joint problems. These conditions may require separate treatment.

Other children may have a hard time losing weight despite following guidelines. For these children, other options may be considered, such as:

• Medication may assist weight loss when added to lifestyle changes, but teens need to be closely monitored for side effects.
  • Note: Over-the-counter and herbal products that are marketed as weight loss drugs may not be effective and some may be dangerous. Talk to the doctor before your child takes any of these.
• Bariatric surgery may be an option for some obese children and teens. This surgery will change the size of the stomach. This option is generally only considered if all other options have failed.