How can you tell if your child is
overweight?
"Parents have to look
for it, consider it, to see it," says Angela Lemond, a registered
and licensed dietitian at Children's Medical Center Dallas. "If
your child seems to be growing too fast, growing out of their
clothes very fast, especially before puberty, you should check this out
with your pediatrician."
The doctor can help you learn whether your son or daughter is
overweight. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends doctors
check kids' progress at least once a year using growth charts and a
body mass index calculator from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
The BMI,
which measures the relationship between a person's weight and
height, applies differently for children because their body fatness
changes as they grow and differs for boys and girls. The CDC offers
growth charts for boys and girls ages 2 to
20.
"It's important to remember that
girls have a tendency to grow out before they grow up, and that's
completely normal," Lemond said. "Growth trends really tell
the story of a child's status more than where they rank on the
growth chart on any given year."
Dean Foods LEAN
Families Program
Click here
for nutition information on childrens.com. For information
about the Dean Foods LEAN (Lifestyle Exercise And Nutrition)
Families Program at Children's, click here.
Resources
To
learn more or find the calculators and growth charts, visit these Web
sites:
