How to help Children and Young Athletes lose weight and become healthier?

Currently in the UK, we are battling a crisis, one which you may not know is directly impacting you or your family but is one that must be addressed for the sake of our children’s futures. That is the overwhelming and increasing obesity rates of children throughout all areas in the United Kingdom. According to research from the NHS, 10.1% of reception age children (4-5yrs) were obese in 2021/22 with a further 12.1% being classified as overweight. At Age 10-11 (year 6) those figures increased to 23.4% of children being obese and 14.3% overweighted respectively. These rates have dramatically increased since the outbreak of COVID-19 where lockdowns completely altered the way children socially interreact with one-another and where outdoor exercise was near enough completely halted.

Reading this article is already a huge step into helping your loved ones make a dramatic difference that will positively impact them for the rest of their lives. This article is going to outline the things we can all do better to help children live better lives and build foundations they can develop in adulthood.

Reasons children gain weight

To begin, it is useful to understand why children may gain weight in the first place to make us aware of the signs that may become apparent in your loved ones.

  • Family or personal stress (parent divorces, problems at school etc.).
  • Sedentary lifestyles (hours a day spent watching TV or playing video games etc.).
  • Drinking fizzy or high sugary drinks.
  • Eating processed meals (Microwavable food, baked goods, and oven pizzas etc.).
  • Large/ adult portion sizes.
  • Fast food, high fat, or frequent snacking.
  • Family eating habits (high processed, low protein, takeaway 2-3x a week etc.)

 

Common weight loss mistakes

Next, weight loss for children can fail for many reasons and while they should simply eat less and exercise more as parents well know, that’s easier said than done due to less self-control and more temptations at school or with friends.

Things to look out for:

  • Unrealistic expectations– set small goals and reward them when they reach their goals, losing 4kg in a week would be unrealistic and setting your child up to fail but a goal of not gaining any weight in a week would be far more achievable!
  • Trying too much, too soon– Just like the point above, completely ‘quitting cold turkey’ and stopping all sugary drinks and snacks etc. will frustrate your child and they may look for other alternatives like when not at home to get these snacks in, alternatively incremental changes every so often will be a far more successful long-term approach.
  • Not increasing physical activity- Start with 15-20 mins of activity a day and gradually increase intensity and duration to an hour a day.
  • Lack of meal planning- By planning, you can count calories while ensuring that you meet the nutritional goals of your entire family. It’ll also prevent you from “scraping together whatever you have”.
  • Skipping meals- Skipping meals may not only lower their metabolism and energy levels it will lead to more snacking on less nutritious foods to help boost their energy levels.

 

Things you can do to help your children become healthier

For most cases, losing weight for children comes down to burning more calories than they consume which can be broken down into exercise and diet, which should both be tracked to ensure your child is getting the right amount of each.

 

Exercise

  • Keep a logbook– this means log what exercise they are completing (football, outside with friends) and the duration of the exercise. This is to make sure it is increasing each week to a point where they complete an hour medium intensity (at the park with friends) exercise Everday and 3x 1 hour of high intensity exercise a week (sport, running etc).
  • Try out new ways of exercise- Do not force them to do exercise they do not enjoy and consistently try out new forms to keep them interested and to stop them getting bored. Get them to try ones that are mentally stimulating as well as physically like strength training or rock climbing instead of running on a treadmill.
  • Get the whole family involved- Use this as an opportunity to increase your physical activity as a family and to find a new hobby together! This will also stop your child from thinking that it is about them having to lose weight but rather them having fun with you!
  • Rewards- Provide positive feedback when goals are met and rewards when targets are reached, also provide encouragement when goals are not met. This is a good way of using exercise as a reward I.e. a day of high ropes or lazer tag.
  • Friends- Children love to spend time with eachother and are far less apprehensive about trying new things if their friends are there too! So speak to parents about your children trying new things together!

 

Diet

  • Keep a logbook- Track everything they are eating and drinking to gain an understabnding of qwhat they are putting into their bodies- apps like myfitnesspal are a great tool to help this. No more then 30% of their calories should come from fats.
  • Limit high calorie and sugary snacks- Food with lower sugars will provide more long term energy levels, less sugar rushes and longer term fullness after eating.
  • Eat better as a household- Eating better together to not only improve everyones wellbeing but also to make sure your child doesn’t feel left out or alone at meals.
  • Healtheir snacks- Replace sweet treats and chocolate bars with things like fibre one bars, encourage them to drink more water or squash over sugary drinks. Have healtheir snacks in clear view and unhealtheir treats hidden away.
  • Deserts- Don’t reward completion of meals with sugary or fatty deserts, instead make or find alternatives they could have instead.
  • Plan ahead- Plan your week in advance so you know what your family are having everyday for breakfast, lunch and dinner so there are no need for microwavble meals or takeaways.
  • Mindset- It is very important that your child see’s you having a positive attitude towards these changes (even if it is hard for you too!) as this is will encourage them to feel the same! If you’re unhappy and moaning about it, then most likely they will do the same.

 

Summary

If your child is overweight or obese, it is important to take a rational approach to weight loss. One of the first goals is to identify the underlying causes of weight gain so that you can aim to correct them. These may include your child’s diet and eating habits, the lack of physical activity, and personal issues like stress or boredom.

Remember to make this journey as fun as possible! Try new things! Make a positive and long lasting impact on your children!

 

By Charlie Hawken