Curated by Nicolò Ragalmuto
Childhood obesity, according to the most expert nutritionists, is the result of a positive energy balance extended over time. This means that the child introduces more calories into his body than he consumes.
An alarming figure is provided by the statistics, where in Europe Italy is placed in the first places by number of overweight children; in fact, in our country one child in four is obese.
The problems incurred when children are obese, often continuing to be obese as adults, reside in exposure to certain diseases that affect the circulatory systems (such as arterial hypertension), skeletal muscle (eg arthrosis ) and metabolic (eg diabetes mellitus). In addition to this, the obese child may develop psychological distress due to his appearance, resulting in shame and rejection of his appearance, not to mention the fact that he often becomes a victim of jokes by comrades and "friends". This discomfort can also contribute to the onset of a disturbance in eating behavior.
The main risk factors for childhood obesity are mainly three:
 | NUTRITION: which can be excessive, unregulated, frequent and bad; |
 | SEDENTARITY: derived from the use of means to move and move, from too much time spent in front of the TV and video games, from the reduced number of exits in outdoor places where you can play; |
 | FAMILIARITY: of hereditary nature, due to environmental factors. |
The solution to be adopted to prevent childhood obesity is provided by the Ministry of Health through the document "Nutrition and nutrition education strategies", according to which children must get used to:
- 3 regular meals plus 2 snacks;
- avoid rewarding them with too many snacks, especially if they are rich in sugars;
- do not insist on making them eat at all costs by forcing them even when they are full;
- limiting protein intake by alternating meat, eggs and cheese and preferring fish;
- get them used to outdoor games and physical activity to burn calories and for proper physical development.
Regarding the last point, as my personal and professional experience, I think it is of fundamental importance (of course always taking into consideration the other points). Today, unfortunately for various reasons - such as the lack of or very little physical education in schools, the spread of video games with the disappearance of outdoor ones - the so-called street game is increasingly lacking, that is all those activities that until a few years ago they were carried out by children when they met in outdoor places, on the street, in playgrounds, in church parishes, etc., represented by running, crawling, jumping, rolling, fighting, climbing, from throwing, etc. etc., that is those simple basic motor activities which are very important for the harmonious development of the child.
Often the game is missing because parents too easily reproach their children while they play, saying "stay still", "don't move", watch television ", etc. .. This makes the child instead of being active and therefore in movement (with consumption of calories), you become passive and slowly begin to become a "stationary engine" that receives only fuel (food).
The game is very important, it is training, it helps to burn, to grow and to interact with what surrounds us. Of course the game is not only this, according to Freud it allows the elaboration and expression of emotional and unconscious experiences. Moreover, playing is a way of passing on and acquiring new complex knowledge, even when not explicitly defined.
The game, therefore, can and must be inserted as a training method, useful in the prevention of childhood obesity.
According to J. Weineck the advantages of playing as a training method are:
- development of motor skills and knowledge of personal and companion possibilities through mutual adaptation to the needs and abilities of others;
- increase of the interactions among the participants pursuing socialization objectives;
- focus of attention not only on what happens in one's own body, but also on what happens outside;
- establishment of relationships of collaboration and emulation among the participants;
- motivation of the subjects to participate;
- stimulation of creative abilities if personal solutions to motor problems are encouraged.
Resistance, for example, can be trained through paths with climbs, descents, obstacles, or trying to grab a companion with the game of "guard and thieves".
It will be possible to train your strength by climbing, playing wrestling games, or playing "tug of war"
You will be able to train the speed through the relays, doing the "slalom among the comrades".
But above all it will be possible to train the neuromotor coordination, one of the skills that is increasingly being lost.
Therefore through training the game it will be possible to train correctly in a playful way respecting the correct physical development of the child.
The most important duty is therefore up to the parents who have the task of accustoming children to avoid bad eating habits, too long in front of the
