Wir überwinden Grenzen

Expert at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg points out health damage caused by long-term obesity in children

41 million children worldwide are too fat, warns the World Health Organization (WHO) - and in Germany, too, around 15 percent of all three to 17-year-olds are currently overweight. Prof. Dr. Ute Spiekerkötter, Medical Director of the Department of General Pediatrics, Adolescent Medicine and Neonatology at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg, has been researching children's metabolism for a long time and knows what long-term damage to health can be expected from childhood obesity.

"The causes of obesity in children and adolescents are manifold: a diet that is too rich in sugar and fat contributes to this, as does too little exercise," says Prof. Spiekerkötter. But the parents' diet and lifestyle also have an impact: "Studies have shown that if the mother gains more than 17 kilograms during pregnancy, this increases the child's risk of becoming overweight later on," says Spiekerkötter. This is associated with health risks: "Overweight children are particularly at risk of diabetes, orthopaedic damage and gastrointestinal diseases."

A balanced diet and sufficient exercise - 60 minutes a day is recommended by the WHO - can help prevent this. "If the scales show too much, children in the growth phase should never go on a diet," advises Spiekerkötter. "Otherwise a lack of valuable nutrients can jeopardize healthy development." Instead, the child should maintain its weight as much as possible so that the next growth phase brings the ratio of weight to height back into the normal range. Plenty of tasty vegetables, fruit, wholemeal bread, low-fat dairy products and meats help to normalize weight. Additional calories are also hidden in drinks such as juice, lemonade and cocoa, which can be saved with unsweetened teas and thin juice spritzers.

The aim should be to avoid health risks caused by being massively overweight: "Just like adults, children also have their own unique physique," says Spiekerkötter. "In addition to weight and height, the age of children must always be taken into account," Spiekerkötter points out. Anyone in doubt as to whether their child is at risk can find a BMI calculator for children and adolescents on the website of the Federal Centre for Health Education, which takes these factors into account and provides nutritional tips: www.bzga-kinderuebergewicht.de/adipo_mtp/bmi/bmi-rechner/rechner.php