What is overweight?

Excess weight is spoken of when there is excess body fat. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), you speak of being overweight when there are "abnormal or excessive accumulations of fat that may affect health. This includes two categories: moderate and severe (obesity). According to information on Public Health and Care, in 2023, 12.7% of children aged 4-17 were overweight. Looking at adults in 2023, this number sits as high as 50%(!).

Effects of obesity on children's health

Overweight or obese children are more likely to suffer from psychosocial problems than children of healthy weight. For example, eating disorders and low self-esteem. As BMI increases, the likelihood of psychosocial problems also increases with it(Gibson et al. 2017). In addition, obesity, especially for girls, is also associated with depression. Here, it is not clear whether the obesity is a cause or consequence of the anxiety disorders or depression.

Why is it that children are overweight?

There are several causes that can cause a child to be overweight. A few are listed below.

• too little exercise or sports
• too much sitting
• ingesting too much (unhealthy) food
• unpleasant emotions
• (hereditary) predisposition
• unhealthy habits such as soda, candy or snacks
• disease

What can you do about childhood obesity?

Fortunately, there are also a lot of things you and/or your child can influence yourself to maintain or gain a healthy weight.

• Exercise and sports. In doing so, it is nice if your child has fun and together you look for forms that your child likes. A team sport, playing outside and building cabins, outdoor games such as Pokémon Go. Children follow example, so you can take the lead by making exercise and sports a priority and fun.
• From sitting to standing and walking. What times when you sit can you replace and alternate with standing and walking? A short walk around the block after school, a 10-minute walk outside together just before bed. Or even 1 minute of jumping jacks every half hour will do a lot for your body.
• Healthy diet. Nutrition has a lot of influence on a body's health and fat percentage. Don't know where to start? A maximum of 3 meals a day with an equal distribution of healthy fats, proteins and vegetables in each meal is a great start. For example, 500 grams of vegetables in a day already makes you feel very full, which results in less snacking. The same goes for adequate protein, maintain about 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight. In addition, you cansupplement nutrition with supplements as needed.
• Space for emotion. When emotions are given space and allowed to be there, they naturally become softer and milder. Then it seems less big. If you feel your child is unhappy, try taking moments to talk together (walking is totally fine, also for the brain). Or choose to put question cards on the table and occasionally pick one up and answer it together. This creates connection and thus automatically more space for emotions.
• Making healthy habits important. Take a look at the habits and patterns in your daily life. Do you eat pizza and soda every weekend? Or always after school some treat? These are all times when you ingest unhealthy foods. By breaking those routines and replacing them with healthier alternatives, you create increasingly healthier routines for yourself and your child(ren).

Being overweight is very much influenced by your lifestyle and that of your child. As far as possible, it is very pleasant for your child to be relaxed about it, even if you are concerned about weight. When there is too much pressure, it can backfire and cause additional mental strain.

You can remedy this by giving your child self-determination and letting them feel the urgency themselves. Make a plan together how you can be healthier as a family or that your brains will all work even better. Make it a relaxed story with little emphasis on fat, weight and losing weight. Instead, emphasize health, mental benefits or having fun together.