Advice for Infants to Prevent Obesity
We are all
concerned about the increasing epidemic of obesity in children.
Here are some simple suggestions that may help combat our
society’s obesity-prone lifestyles:
1. Encourage your baby to trust his own appetite.
Feeding a baby on demand, regardless of the time since last
feeding, can teach a baby to trust his own appetite. Don’t
let him sleep too long during the day, though, or you may
be up at night to make up the difference! Keeping a baby on
a feeding schedule, regulating the feeding volume, or encouraging
the baby to “finish” what is in front of him may
give the message that the baby should expect someone else
to tell him when, how much, and what to eat. Parents who battle
with their older children about eating vegetables or clearing
the plate may inadvertently are setting the kids up for an
eating disorder.
2. Limit juice to 4 ounces a day. In fact,
fruit juice has little nutritional value, and is not necessary
for infants. Fruit juice is mostly sugar and water. This gives
mainly “empty” calories, and teaches kids to expect
drinks to be sweet. The vitamins contained in juice are also
contained in many other healthful foods that children eat.
If you wish to introduce juice, we recommend that juices not
be started until 6 months.
3. Limit television exposure to 1 hour per
day. Studies document that obesity risk doubles for children
who are exposed to 2 hours per day of television, regardless
of whether the kids are actually watching. Studies also document
the link between the hours of TV that infants are exposed
to, and their subsequent TV habits as schoolchildren. If infants
learn to accept TV as part of their daily stimulation, it
will be hard for them to turn it off later. The American Academy
of Pediatrics recommends against turning on TV for infants’
benefit, even if the tape was specially made “for babies.”
4. Parents who role-model exercise are encouraging
their children to follow an active lifestyle. Exercise daily
in front of and with your children. Take a “family walk”
once a day. Try to take your baby outside as much as possible.
(Don’t forget the sun block!)
5. Breastfeeding has been shown to have a
positive influence on reducing obesity.
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