The Great Debate: Should Kids Go On Diets?

After a baby celebrates its first birthday, parents typically will schedule an annual visit with their doctor for the sole purpose of monitoring their baby’s growth. Babies are weighed and measured, and then those statistics are compared to a chart to see how they stack up against other babies that are around the same age. However, as children grow, some of them will weigh more than others. What happens if the child is heavier than average? When adults are heavy, they tend to go on a diet and exercise routine to drop those extra pounds, but should a child be subjected to that same kind of expectation to get their weight back to what is normal for their age and height? The debate about children and dieting now begins…

Should Parents Put Their Kids On Diets?

The answer to this question is no. The fact is that kids grow at different rates and sometimes their bodies have not quite caught up just yet. Children may be over their ideal weight for their height and age, but this does not mean that they need to be put on a diet. Children’s bodies are growing, and they need nourishment in order to help with the process. If children are deprived of food, then it can have an effect on both their bodies and on their mental health, and these effects can last for the rest of their lives.

Even if parents do try and have their children eat healthier, that might not resolve the issue. If a child is carrying around a few more pounds than they should be, they will more than likely grow out of it. Dieting is for adults only, and young children may not have the understanding as to why they are being deprived of food and going hungry. Parents just need to have patience and, eventually, their children will grow and become the right weight for their age and height.

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