Diet for obese children

Children’s diet must be balanced and nutritious for their proper growth and development. Or else, various complications including obesity may arise. The tendency to become obese increases the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and other complications. So, one needs to be careful regarding the diet of the children, especially those who are overweight. All unhealthy food should be replaced with healthy ones for their diet.

Obese children’s diet should include adequate cereal and fibre like brown bread, brown rice, barley, corn, brown pasta, wholegrain noodles and so on.

Meat or protein must not be cut from the diet or else growth will be hampered. Fish, lean meat, eggs, lentils, peas, beans, pumpkin seeds, skimmed milk, sour yogurt, nuts, etc. should be included regularly in meals. However, it is better to avoid salted and oily nuts, fried fish and meat.

The less obese children are fed foods like biryani, pilau, fast food, pizza, chips, chocolate, candy, juice and so on, the better. Avoid processed food.

Homemade burgers, sandwiches, soups, low-oil brown noodles can be given. Homemade fruit juice is better than soft drinks or juice bought from outside. One can add healthy fats like peanut butter, sea fish instead of unhealthy fats.

If your child wants to eat chocolate, you can give her dark chocolate. Do not add extra sugar in milk or other drinks.

*The author is a nutritionist at Ibn Sina Consultation Centre in Badda, Dhaka.