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Expert Q&A: Helping Your Child With Weight Loss
Concerned that your child might be overweight or obese? As a parent, it can be hard to know what to do. Can you just hope your child will grow out of it? Can you encourage healthy habits without nagging? Is there some way to get your child to try a bite of vegetables without turning dinner into a pitched battle every night?
WebMD got some answers from David S. Ludwig, MD. He's a pediatrician at Children's Hospital, Boston and founding director of its Optimal Weight for Life (OWL) program, a clinic for overweight kids. Ludwig is also the author of Ending the Food Fight: Guide Your Child to a Healthy Weight in a Fast Food/Fake Food World.
Expert Interviews
Got a question about diet or nutrition? WebMD asked the experts for answers
about eating healthy and losing weight.
How do I know if my child's weight is unhealthy?
Well, you can look for signs of being overweight. Is your kid having trouble keeping up with other kids in sports? Is he outgrowing standard clothing sizes? But the best way is to look at the growth charts, which your pediatrician should be doing regularly. You can find out how your child's BMI (body mass index) compares with those of other kids.
If your child is overweight or obese, you need to take action. Some parents of obese kids want to write off the issue. They say, "Oh, he'll grow out of it." But all we have to do is look around us. It's very obvious that many, many children are not growing out of it.
What are the potential health effects of being overweight or obese as a child?
We know that obesity in childhood increases the risk of becoming an obese adult and developing all the complications that can go with adult obesity -- diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and other chronic conditions.
But the risks of childhood obesity aren't all in the future. It causes immediate problems, too. Excessive weight affects virtually all of the organ systems in a child's body. It can exacerbate asthma and trigger sleep apnea. It causes a range of heart disease risk factors and problems with the GI tract, liver, bones, muscles, and joints. We've seen high blood pressure in kids as young as 5 years old.
Having excess weight in childhood is serious, because it's a pivotal moment in development. The organs are still forming. Excess weight can affect how a child grows and develops, and that can have long-term repercussions. Unless you do something now, these changes will be very hard to deal with later.
What are some things I can do to help my kid lose weight?
At our clinic, we try to address this on multiple levels. It's important to realize that obesity isn't caused by one thing. It's the result of a combination of factors: the foods we eat, our physical activity level, emotional issues, stress levels, family dynamics, finances, and societal influences.
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Health & Diet Guide
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INDICATION
Vivelle-Dot is used after menopause to: reduce moderate to severe hot flashes; treat moderate to severe dryness, itching and burning in or around the vagina; help reduce your chances of getting osteoporosis (thin weak bones); and treat certain conditions in which a young woman's ovaries do not produce enough estrogens naturally. Vivelle-Dot 0.025 mg/day is only used to prevent osteoporosis from menopause. If you use Vivelle-Dot only to treat your dryness, itching, and burning in and around your vagina or if you use Vivelle-Dot only to prevent osteoporosis from menopause, talk with your healthcare professional about whether a different treatment or medicine without estrogens might be better for you.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Estrogens increase the chances of getting cancer of the uterus (womb). Report any unusual vaginal bleeding right away while you are taking estrogens. Vaginal bleeding after menopause may be a warning sign of cancer of the uterus (womb).
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Vivelle-Dot should not be used if you have unusual vaginal bleeding; currently have or have had certain cancers, including cancer of the breast or uterus; had a stroke or heart attack in the recent past (for example, in the past year); currently have or have had blood clots; currently have or have had liver problems; or think you may be, or know that you are, pregnant.
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Please see Full Prescribing Information for Vivelle-Dot.
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