One in 3 children is overweight obese adults: expert

One in three children are overweight or obese continues with this health problem in adulthood, which favors diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular problems and eating disorders specialist warned Aracely Garcia Hernandez. 

The director of the Family Medicine Unit No. 33 of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) in Reynosa, urged parents and teachers not to offer foods with high sugar content to children as a reward or punishment. 

He mentioned that motivate children through candy, cookies, sodas or fried foods is to ingrain bad eating habits that prevail in adulthood and lead to a number of diseases. 

He said that it is estimated that one in three children with overweight, obese continues into adulthood. 

He recommended replacing some fruit and candy snack that can be amaranth cereal bars, granola or honey, 'as significantly stimulate metabolism and increase the energy required to carry out the activities of the day.' 

García Hernández stressed the importance of ending the practice of rewarding or punishing with treats and fried to minors, after considering the emotional damage involved coupled with the promotion of consumption of high-calorie foods. 

'Give them candy, cookies, soft drinks or chips, is to reiterate bad eating habits that prevail in adulthood, whereas if from small they canceled the affective meaning to the food during its development will be easier to choose a form objective a healthy diet, "he said. 

He stressed that the practice of rewarding or punishing children is one of the reasons why generations of children became adults with overweight and obesity, and many of them at risk of diseases such as type-two diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular problems and even disorders food. 

He noted that the IMSS to generate a new culture of healthy eating and physical activation family so he recommended that parents and teachers of preschool through high school, avoid reward or punish children based on the consumption of sweets. 

Finally, he urged parents to keep track of their children, including weight and measure in order to detect any symptoms and if necessary can be given a food and physical activation program to have a better quality of life.