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Answered by Dr Oh Jean Yin,
Consultant,
Department of Paediatrics - General Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
KK Women's and Children's Hospital.
Mr Micheal Lim,
Senior Clinical Exercise Physiologist,
Sports Medicine Service
KK Women's and Children's Hospital.
Ms Grace Quek,
Senior Dietitian,
Department of Nutrition & Dietetics
KK Women's and Children's Hospital. |
| It is a complex problem with interactions of environment, behaviour and genes. Subtle alterations in the interaction results in the imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure which favours the net deposition of calories as fat. So, in other words, researchers believe that in some individuals there may be a genetic tendency for easy weight gain, and in an environment that promotes this, such as exposure to energy dense/ high caloric foods with sedentary activity, obesity may result.
Sit down together to identify a time and list the activities which the family can do together. Make sure that the activities are fun and engaging for the whole family. Go to the beach or parks on the weekends for cycling / brisk walking. Check the community centres for sporting facilities and organise a badminton or basketball game.
Organise a game or challenge to encourage every family member to be physically active throughout the week. Some suggestions for challenges can include:
- Stairs Challenge - be the first in the family to climb xx flight(s) of stairs in one week
- FIND THIRTY – be the first in the family to accumulate up to 30 minutes of physical activity a day
- Family pedometer marathon – a pedometer is a small device that can be used to measure step counts. This can be used as an estimate of an individual’s physical activity levels during the day or week. Be the first in the family to accumulate 42,195 steps in any week. This however does not meet the recommended step counts for adults and children, which are >10,000 steps and > 12,000 steps per day respectively. Work together as a family to progressively increase the step counts to meet these recommended targets.
There are many causes/factors that increase one’s risks of being overweight. First, if there is more energy taken in (from an excess intake in calories) than energy expended, it results in a greater risk of being overweight over time. Second, an inactive lifestyle can also predispose a person to being overweight. Other factors that also contribute to risks of being overweight include environmental factors such as oversized food portions and food advertising during television watching, all of which can result in excessive calories being ingested than what the body requires. Genes and family history can also be an influence - if one or both parents are overweight/obese, chances of being overweight are greater. Health conditions such as hormone-related conditions (hypothyroidism, Cushing’s syndrome and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) are also associated with greater risks of being overweight.
For growing children and adolescents, it is important to recognize that excessive caloric restriction is not recommended, as they still require these calories and proper nutrition to ensure continued growth and development. Rather, more importantly, foods of little nutritional value deemed “empty calories” such as sweet drinks, sweets or candies, fast foods and deep-fried foods should strongly be limited in frequency (e.g. limiting to once or at most twice a week) as part of a healthy diet.
Depending on the age/age-group of your child/teenager, attached is a table (from the Health Promotion Board) that lists the servings from all the important food groups, ensuring your child gets all the essential nutrients he/she needs.
| Food Groups |
Recommended number of servings^ per day |
| |
7-12 months |
1-2 years |
3-6 years |
7-12 years |
13-18 years |
|
Rice and Alternatives (Do include the recommended wholegrain serving as part of the Rice and Alternatives serving needs.) |
1-2 |
2-3 |
3-4 |
5-6 |
6-7 |
| Whole-grains |
½ |
½ - 1 |
1 - 2 |
2 - 3 |
2 - 3 |
| Fruit |
½ |
½ - 1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
| Vegetables |
½ |
½ |
1 |
2 |
2 |
| Meat and Alternatives |
½ |
½ |
1 |
2 |
2 |
| Milk (Do include the recommended milk serving in addition to the Meat and Alternatives serving needs.) |
750ml |
750ml |
500ml |
250-500ml |
250-500ml |
Below is a table that defines the serving size from each different food group (adapted from Health Promotion Board)
| Food Group |
Example of 1 Serving |
| Rice and Alternatives |
▪ 2 slices bread (60g)
▪ ½ bowl rice (100g)
▪ ½ bowl noodles or beehoon (100g)
▪ 4 plain biscuits (40g)
▪ 1 thosai (60g)
▪ 2 small chapatis (60g)
▪ 1 large potato (180g)
▪ 1 cup plain cornflakes (40g) |
| Fruit |
▪ 1 small apple, orange, pear or mango (130g)
▪ 1 wedge pineapple, papaya or watermelon (130g)
▪ 10 grapes or longans (50g)
▪ 1 medium banana
▪ ¼ cup dried fruit (40g)
▪ 1 glass pure fruit juice (250ml) |
| Vegetables |
▪ ¾ mug cooked leafy or non-leafy vegetables (100g)
▪ 150g raw leafy vegetables
▪ 100g raw non-leafy vegetables |
| Meat and Alternatives |
▪ 1 palm-sized piece fish, lean meat or skinless poultry (90g)
▪ 2 small blocks soft beancurd (170g)
▪ 1 cup cooked pulses (e.g. lentils, peas, beans) (120g)
▪ 5 medium prawns (90g)
▪ 3 eggs (150g)++
▪ 2 slices of cheese (40g) |
Support from family, friends and peers is pivotal to dealing with the issue of managing or reducing weight.
Some ways or tips towards setting healthier lifestyle as a family together include:
▪ Eating healthier together by choosing healthier food choices and limiting highcalorie foods can lessen the likelihood that one will over-consume excess calories.
▪ Being active together as a family by choosing a sport or activity that engages everyone
▪ Reduce overall screen time. Limit the use of TV, computer, video games etc. Health experts recommend limiting to 2 hours or less of overall screen time. |