Dieting Causes Weight-Increase In Kids'

Well, for kids, they don’t say it for nothing, “Let them eat, it’s their growing age.” Children - in their early years and till the end of the teenage period of life - should eat sufficient healthy food to meet the needs of their constantly growing bodies. But, perhaps owing to the unwavering exposure to TV commercials talking about diet programs and ads in newspapers about diet pills, some children start developing a feeling of awkward and self-conscious about their physical appearance. As a result of this, they end up doing something which isn’t mean t for them, at least at this very age. The word is ‘Dieting’.

As put forward in a study on 14,972 children conducted in October 2003 Pediatrics, the more often that children dieted, possibly the more chances are they were to become more overweight over the next three years.

How is that possible? Normally, kids think eating less would make them grow into a beautiful shape, like the woman or man in a TV commercial. Who said starvation is the way to salvation! Mind you, the more you starve yourself, the more viciously attracted you would get towards food. Growing kids need more ample quantity of food, compared to their adults. But, dieting will only cause various health problems in them.

It was also observed that binge eating was seen to be much more common in dieters than in non-dieters in the study. The worsening weight issues are more likely seen in girls than in boys. Since most children restrict themselves to a limited intake of food in terms of fixed amount of calories for a few weeks or months at a time, dieting ultimately develops an imbalance between under eating and overeating, causing increased Weight Gain Conceivably, restricting the calorie count changes children's metabolism, and they become prone to attaining a few more pounds, as presented in the study results. No matter what method was adopted, dieting in kids was seen to cause short term Weight Loss, but long term weight gain, in particular.

Obesity in children is a rapidly growing crisis, prone to worsen even more. This study helps us understand that rather than dieting, kids should be persuaded and promoted to give adequate time to physical activities and sports, and pushed to eat appetizing, healthy whole foods, instead of opting for zero calorie food or even cutting back on their eating habits. Health is wealth. Teach your kids the meaning of healthy life. Parents should make sure that their kids are growing up into healthy individuals, vibrant with life – a healthy life!