Don't Focus On Kids' Weight Gain. Focus On Healthy Habits Instead
It's a conversation I've had with many of my fellow parents in recent months, as our children have reunited at park play dates, and soccer matches: We've noticed our kids put on some extra weight during this pandemic, and we're not sure what, if anything, we should do about it.
"You are not alone," says Dr. Sandra Hassink, medical director of the American Academy of Pediatrics Institute for Healthy Childhood Weight. "This is happening to many, many people." She says the pandemic created "the perfect storm for having issues with weight gain," with its mass disruption of school, sleep and physical activity schedules, as well as stress and social isolation.
"I think everybody's shifting upward," she adds. "Kids that were in the healthy weight range are shifting upward. Children with obesity are shifting upward and children with severe obesity are shifting upward."
Weight is an incredibly fraught topic — and an imperfect indicator of health. As parents, a kid's sudden weight gain can be hard to know how to tackle.
The last thing we'd want is to set the stage for poor body image or eating disorders for our children. "If, a registered dietitian in Raleigh, N.C., who specializes in family feeding issues.
