Childhood obesity is an increasingly widespread disease, not only in Spain, but in general in all developed countries, but the most worrisome is that children are increasingly suffering at younger ages. In fact, childhood obesity already affects babies.
This is what Mercedes de Onís has said in an interview, responsible for the Department of Nutrition of the World Health Organization (WHO), who has been coordinating for more than twenty years a multicenter study on growth patterns, prepared with 8,500 children 0 to 5 years born in Brazil, Ghana, India, Norway, Oman and the United States.
It states that all children are born with the same growth conditions and abilities, that is, what determines that a child is obese or malnourished is influenced by external factors. Hence the importance of prevent childhood obesity from the first day of life, even from the womb.
Obesity is a disease strongly linked to habits and lifestyle. A chubby baby is not synonymous with a healthy baby, this concept cannot be confused today. An obese baby is a baby with health problems that will carry them all his life. When a baby exceeds 85% to 95% of its growth percentile, the alarm goes on and the pediatrician should consult the steps to follow.
Among the main weapons to combat childhood obesity is breastfeeding, as they have shown that babies fed with breast milk have fewer weight problems than those who drink artificial milk. From which the complementary feeding is incorporated it is important to offer the baby a balanced diet, and in the infantile stage instill them good habits like the practice of exercise, in addition to other good advice to prevent childhood obesity.
But you can also start to prevent from pregnancy, since eating an unhealthy diet and excessive weight gain of the mother increases the risk of obesity in children.
