Important rules for maintaining your child’s weight

Growing children need more calories, but if your child is underweight, he may have a calorie deficit. How do you maintain your child’s weight?

Important rules for maintaining your child’s weight

Have you noticed that your child is underweight, or is growing abnormally? Do not hesitate to go to the doctor at that time, as he may diagnose your child’s condition, in order to identify the main causes behind the occurrence of weight loss in the child, these causes may be stemming from malnutrition or an inappropriate diet for the child. How do you help your child to gain a healthy weight?

“Good nutrition is the most successful way to maintain a healthy weight for a child, and children need energy, from a varied and balanced diet,” says Pediatric Dietitian at Manchester Children’s Hospital, Jason Lowden. Therefore, it is necessary to gain weight in a healthy way, by getting a balanced diet. Some parents may consider that the child should be provided with foods that contain high calories, to compensate for the deficiency that afflicted them, but in return, these foods may be unhealthy such as sweets, chocolate, sugary and carbonated drinks.

Paying attention to the child’s diet is an important matter that parents must realize, especially when the child reaches the age of five. Where it must then ensure that the child’s diet, especially at this age, is a healthy diet similar to the balanced diet recommended for adults. Where children at this age need a diet that contains a high percentage of fat, and a small percentage of fiber useful for the growth of the body. Therefore, nutrition experts advise that the child should have three healthy, light meals a day.

A better diet for your child

The child is present throughout the day in the kindergarten or school, and he may spend most of his time playing with his colleagues or answering the teacher’s questions, and in the break time, in particular, he is mixed with foods, and part of it he finds in a box hidden in his school bag, and another part he buys himself from a window selling sweets And candy inside the school. So it was impossible to monitor what goes into a child’s stomach, so how do you help your child choose healthy foods?

Prepare healthy and balanced meals in advance for your child at home, which contains the important elements for building his body, instead of giving him the money he spends on buying sweets and chips.

Talk to your child about the importance of a healthy and balanced diet.

Find out how he eats healthy food at school, and what the school’s policy is.

It is noted recently that school meals have become of high standards and meet the nutritional requirements of the child, compared to canned food. But if mothers prefer to provide canned food to their children, they must provide a balanced diet, which contains starchy foods and proteins. By eating meat, fish, eggs or beans. In addition to the meal containing milk or dairy products, fresh vegetables and fruits.

Pediatric nutrition specialist at Manchester Children’s Hospital, Jason Lowden, says it is time for us to sit down and think about the right diet for our children. The question he asked is: Do you depend on your child’s nutrition, on snacks or fast food? This may cause the child to consume enough calories. Accordingly, a time must be set for eating meals, and at specific times.

Rules for a balanced diet for your child

Accordingly, the child can also be helped in building and growing his “skinny” body, by applying some health rules, which are the main outlet for maintaining the child’s weight, natural and healthy. So what are these rules?

As mentioned earlier, a child who reaches the age of five must obtain a healthy diet similar to an adult, so the first step depends on providing the child with starchy meals, containing carbohydrates found in bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes. Where it is recommended to eat a potato without peeling to get the important fibers for building the body, it is also recommended to provide the meal with items made from whole wheat grains.

Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily.

Provide the child with foods rich in protein, concentrated in meat, fish, beans, legumes, and dairy-free varieties.

Urging the child to drink milk, or eat dairy products such as yogurt and cheese. In order to provide his body with calcium and protein.

Provide food that contains a low percentage of fat or sugar.

As for saturated fats, it is recommended to eat a small percentage of them, specifically the fats found in biscuits, cakes, pies, as well as meat.

Reducing the intake of sugar-containing drinks, such as soft drinks, as well as foods that contain high sugar content such as cakes, chocolate, and biscuits.

More healthy meal ideas

In the interest of your health and the health of your children, we put in your hands the best simple ideas to prepare a useful and balanced nutritional meal for your children. What are these ideas?

Make sandwiches. Provide your child with carbohydrates and protein such as sandwiches filled with raw meat, eggs, cheese, or tuna.

Pasta and potatoes can be prepared as an alternative to sandwiches.

The meal contains milk, or fruity yogurt, as it is low in fat. Or you can provide the child with a piece of cheese, which is rich in calcium, which is necessary for bone growth.

Vegetables and fruits are important in the diet, as cut the vegetables into small pieces, to make it easier for the child to eat them. As for fruits, the child is given one portion of them, that is, 30 grams of dried fruit.

In addition to foods rich in important elements, the child must be provided with water, milk, or natural fruit juice at a rate of up to 100%.

It is reported that it is not allowed to drink more than 150 ml of fruit juice, as it is part of the diabetes group that is sugar-free.

Children prefer nibbles.

Children can be provided with energy during school days, by supporting them with snacks “naqreesh” in the morning break, as these healthy meals increase their energy and activity. It can be given in a solution that the child has not consumed enough calories required per day.

Among the snacks that the child prefers to eat, dried fruits, we offer you some suggestions for healthy and light meals:

Spread whole-wheat bread, or brown bread, with a piece of cheese.

Sandwiches stuffed with eggs, which are rich in protein.

Yogurt meal, because it is important in providing the child’s body with protein and calcium, which strengthens the bones.

Bananas and avocados are energy sources.

Nutrition experts advise, in addition to following a healthy and balanced diet for the child, that the child engages in physical activities and exercise, which help him revitalize his body, burn the calories he obtained throughout his day, and strengthen bones and muscles until he obtains a coherent, strong, and disease-resistant body. It is preferable for children aged five years and over to exercise for approximately 60 minutes, and physical activity may vary from one child to another, according to weight.

Advice :

Parents are always asked to follow up on their children’s health and weight, in addition to following the aforementioned guidelines and rules, in order to ensure the child’s health and obtaining a healthy and balanced diet. And when the child attains a healthy weight, then his diet is readjusted so that he does not suffer from excessive “obesity”. So always keep records of your children, which include measurement of height and weight, and this is very useful in the matter of diagnosing the child’s condition with the GP.

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