Young children are at risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease

Health .. A nutritionist warns: Do not deceive your children with processed foods

Childhood obesity is a serious problem.

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Dr. Evelyn Benden, a pediatric nutrition expert at Cleveland Clinic, confirmed that over-processed foods are causing obesity in children all over the world.

The expert urged parents to follow healthy diets to prevent health problems for their children in the long term, pointing to the results of a recent study conducted in Britain showing that an increase in the proportion of highly processed foods in children's nutrition makes them more likely to be overweight or obese in adulthood.

The study was conducted on more than 9,000 children, and its results were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study found that, on average, over-processed foods account for more than 60% of the calories eaten by British children.

Diseases

Evelyn Benden emphasized that childhood obesity is a "serious problem", considering that diets that contain many highly processed foods "may cause children to have a higher risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer in the long run."

The nutrition expert at the Cleveland Clinic for Children called on parents to prevent their children from eating overly processed foods, and to replace them with whole foods, while limiting the intake of sweets, encouraging them to eat healthy snacks of fruits and vegetables, and replacing soft drinks and juices with water, flavored water and milk. .

Calories

The expert continued: “In addition to the fact that foods and drinks are highly processed, such as frozen pizza, soft drinks, ready-made bread produced in commercial quantities and ready meals, they are rich in calories, saturated or trans fats, sugar, salt and ingredients, which prolong the life of these products, they are foods that do not contain many benefits. food.”

World Health Organization figures indicate that there are 340 million children and adolescents who are overweight or obese worldwide, including 39 million children under the age of five.

Most of the world's population lives in countries where being overweight and obese kills more people than being underweight.

Benden called on parents to look for indirect signs of weight gain in their children, such as difficulty sleeping or feeling tired quickly when doing physical activity, noting that a doctor or nutritionist can advise parents in this regard.

suitable method

"Children and young adults may grow and become obese, but being able to make changes in their diet and exercise will allow them to appropriately slow and stop their weight gain," Benden added.

The nutritionist suggests buying frozen fruits and vegetables, fruits canned in their own juice, or vegetables that don't have added salt, if whole foods aren't readily available.

She recommends eating lean meats, such as chicken, turkey and low-sodium meats, and whole-wheat pasta products and crackers.

Evelyn Bunden:

• «Parents should look for indirect signs of weight gain in their children, such as difficulty sleeping or feeling tired quickly when doing physical activity».

principles

Dr. Benden urged parents to consider adopting the global health guidelines for eating, which recommend that half of a plate be made of fruits and vegetables, and the other half of grains, proteins and some dairy products.

She explained: "Parents should encourage their children to respond to the feeling of fullness as they respond to the feeling of hunger, rather than pushing them to eat their plate of food to the full, which may lead to their overeating."

• 340 million children and adolescents are overweight or obese worldwide, including 39 million children under the age of five.

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