Is such a "happy" holiday really good for children? - Focus on childhood obesity

Author: Huo Liang, Associate Professor, Shengjing Hospital, China Medical University, Associate Chief Physician

Wang Ziyu Shengjing Hospital Affiliated to China Medical University

You Mingyang Shengjing Hospital Affiliated to China Medical University

Reviewer: Liu Xueyan, Professor and Chief Physician, Shengjing Hospital, China Medical University

The happy summer vacation is over. During the summer vacation, children suddenly had a lot of free time. They were able to eat carbonated drinks, potato chips, fried skewers, and hamburgers. In the hot summer, they turned on the air conditioner and lay on the bed to play games on their mobile phones, often without moving for hours. Their sleeping and eating times also became irregular. However, is such a "happy" vacation really good for children?

Many people think that obesity is a sign of "health", but in fact, the health problems caused by obesity cannot be ignored. 10-year-old Xiaowen was originally a chubby girl. After spending 2 months of happy vacation, her weight soared by 10kg. One day when she went downstairs, she suddenly found that the distance she had easily run before, now she was out of breath after just a few steps. After barely finishing the run, her knees showed obvious discomfort. The mother also found that the child began to snore when sleeping, turned over more often during sleep, and even stopped breathing during sleep. Xiaowen herself felt drowsy and tired during the day. She had become a lot rounder and had a lot of acne on her face. Thinking that school was about to start, she felt that she had become ugly and began to worry about how to face her classmates...

In fact, Xiaowen's troubles are all caused by simple childhood obesity. Obesity refers to long-term energy intake exceeding consumption, resulting in excessive energy storage in the body in the form of fat, and the accumulation of fat reaches a level that harms health. Childhood obesity has become an important cause of harm to the health of Chinese children. The harm of obesity is not only unsightly, but also causes a series of diseases, such as respiratory system: sleep apnea, increased risk of asthma; cardiovascular system: hypertension, hyperlipidemia, early childhood atherosclerosis, etc.; digestive system: non-alcoholic fatty liver, gallstones; endocrine system: type 2 diabetes, precocious puberty, etc.; skeletal muscle system: premature closure of epiphyseal line, degenerative arthritis; urinary system: chronic kidney disease; mental health: inferiority complex, depression, anxiety.

If we have become obese like Xiaowen, what should we do?

The most important and effective thing is to control your diet and increase exercise.

1. In terms of diet, it is recommended to eat a healthy and balanced diet, avoid high-oil and high-fat foods, and appropriately limit total energy intake. You can also go to the nutrition department and let a specialist develop a personalized diet plan.

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2. In terms of exercise, it is recommended to increase daily exercise, such as swimming, cycling and other aerobic exercises to increase the body's metabolic rate.

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3. When a child has developed some systemic diseases caused by obesity, parents need to take the child to the hospital for treatment in time and never take medicine on their own.

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4. Families, schools and society should also give more care and love to these obese children.

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Childhood obesity cannot be ignored. Are you ready to reject obesity during the next holiday?