Help for obese children must be constructive and based on scientific facts. Obese children can have more problems in life compared with tiny peers. First, the appearance is different. Modern clothes do not fit. Big children cannot enjoy activities as much as children who do not have problems with weight.
Obese children do have an unhealthy microbiome that does not provide benefits for food digestion and absorption. Besides, obese children consume processed food that lacks vital nutrients.
Help for obese children
Nutrition
Proper nutrition plays a vital role. Nutritious food gives minerals and other nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, amino acids, and bioflavonoids. Processed food offers empty calories, which are later on converted to fat. Sugary drinks lead to the risk of catching diabetes and weight gain.
Microbiome
There is evidence that children’s microbiome can influence weight gain. Microbes can change the way how the body gets energy from food. Circadian rhythms are affected by microbes too. This way, the body turns how and when the liver works. Liver stores glucose which is converted to energy when it is needed.
Without proper energy, children can become sluggish. It is the same pattern as with adults. When we feel tired, we grasp for coffee and something sweet. Processed foods lift us for a while, but lacking nutrients prompts us to eat more, making us happy.
Children who develop a taste for sweets linger for more of them. It is better to offer them food rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. In this way, children will be fulfilled and will not crave sweets.
Think about the time when they were born. Babies do not know what sweets are. They crave them when candies and cakes are always around and introduced to them.
A diet full of processed and fatty foods triggers the growth of different bacteria. These microbes do not have a day-and-night rhythm. They are less diverse than germs from the healthy gut with nutritious food. Besides it, when these microbes change a liver’s rhythm, it becomes incompatible with the rhythm of the brain. The perception of time differs for the liver and brain. It creates turmoil as the body is not balanced anymore. One of the results is the increased storage of fat.
Do you see how everything is connected? Processed food changes the quality and quality of microbes in the gut. Later on, it affects the circadian rhythm in the liver. The liver, which stores glucose, does not work together with the brain. These systems interpret time differently. I call systems because it is the more complicated process involving not just organs but tissues, nerves, vessels, etc.
How can you help?
Providing nutritious food would help the gut microbiome to be happy and healthy. Researchers found out that there is a constant interaction between the microbiome, immune system, and brain. When the microbiome changes, neurotransmitters produced by bacteria start to behave in a harmful way. It means that children can feel not real hunger but increased cravings instead of it. The satiety feeling changes. Children do not think about limits when they eat. Processed food is high in calories. It means that children can gain weight faster.
You can protect children against obesity by introducing them to healthy foods. Everybody would be happy: children, microbes, and you.
What to do when a child is obese?
The authors of the book Dirt Is Well advised changing the microbiome using fecal transplant, severe changes in the diet, or probiotic therapy.
There are reports that fecal transplants make positive changes in individuals’ microbiomes. Maybe it sounds gross, but this procedure can be a savior if somebody does not have the strong will to keep up with the diet. Fecal transplants are from healthy individuals and are carefully inspected.
Probiotic therapy works for animals in a significant way. Mice, after probiotics, got better insulin production.
The dietary approach works best. However, to see changes and diet take at least nine months. Maybe with children, diets would work better compared with adults. You can divert the child’s attention to games or play outside. Adults are different. They cling to old habits and later complain about why their weight increased more than before the diet.
How does the diet work for the microbiome?
When introducing healthy products, harmful bacteria do not get sugar and other junk from processed food. Bacteria starve to death, and good bacteria change it.
Good bacteria restore a healthy relationship with the liver and brain. Circadian rhythm works as Nature created: in the balance.
Conclusion
Obesity hurts self-esteem and opens gates for disorders. The best way to avoid weight gain is to have a healthy diet and control the amounts of children’s food. The microbiome changes when sugary and processed food is introduced. The move prompts weight gain and inflammation. A healthy diet and watching how much one eats prevents obesity.