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Dieting for
children
is tricky, and
parents of
overweight
kids should
proceed
with caution.
JENNIFER FINER
Special to The Jewish News
64
FP I DAY_AIJAUR11931 1%0
hile one in
three children
in Michigan are
overweight,
doctors and oth-
er health care
professionals
are warning parents that putting
their children on diets can be
dangerous.
Dr. Stanford Singer, M.D., of
Southfield, an officer of the Amer-
ican Academy of Pediatrics, says
diets can be detrimental to a
child's health because they are
growing and essential nutrients
may be eliminated in the process.
"Later in life when a child's
growth is complete, then they can
go on diets," he says.
Children who eat a balanced
diet won't have a weight prob-
lem, says Dr. Pat Fosarelli, as-
sistant professor of pediatrics at
the Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine and medical
columnist for the Weekly Read-
er, a national publication for
school-age children.
Dr. Keith Levick, Ph.D., of
Farmington Hills, is the founder
of
a world-
wide program
called the Center
for Childhood Weight Manage-
ment which advocates healthy
lifestyles instead of dieting.
"Treatment for overfat children
is not dieting or restricting calo-
ries, because that will only cre-
ate more of a problem. I really
need to stress this because it is
so important," said Dr. Levick.
"Treatment is different than it
would be for adults. Only a hand-
ful of people are working with
overfat children and only a few
are doing research," he says.
Dr. Levick started the program
six years ago when he realized
there was such a small amount
of programs throughout the
country geared toward children.
While doctors are not recom-
mending diets for children, they
are advocating healthy eating
habits and some form of exercise.
"Studies have shown 95 per-
cent of adult dieters fail. There-
fore diets don't work, so I am not
going to teach children some-
thing that does not work," Dr.
Levick says.
Dr. Singer offers parents the
same advice.
"What we do
for children is
say when you
come home from
school and want a
snack, rather than eat
ice cream have an ap-
ple or some carrots."
Detroit-area children in
Dr. Levick's program spend
eight weeks learning weight
management techniques at Kid-
sports in Southfield and they par-
ticipate in gym activities.
"I teach kids to be responsible
eaters and make healthy re-
sponsible decisions and then it is
up to them to make those choic-
es. If you deny a child food they
become sneaky and parents find
food wrappers under beds and in
closets," Dr. Levick says.
Dr. Levick's program has par-
ents playing an active role in -,
their child's weight management.
"In our program, parents are
also being worked with because
being overfat is not only the
child's problem. Family also
needs to be involved to rectify the
problem," he says.
Ralph Keith is a West Bloom-
field clinical psychologist who
specializes in adult weight loss.
He believes the best thing a par-
ent can do for his child is be a
good role model.
"I think children will learn
more from examples their par-
ents set than what they tell them
to do. Parents need to be positive
role models. If they are really con-
cerned, they would best commu-
nicate that by their actions," Dr.
Keith says.
Weight Watchers has also
joined the children's health band-
wagon. They are offering teach-
ing aids to kindergarten and
first-grade teachers to help chil-
dren understand the importance
of nutrition and physical fitness.
According to Lisa Mark Lis, di-
rector of creative services at
Weight Watchers, the program,
Journey to the Health Zone, is
designed to help younger chil-
dren learn about the importance
of good nutrition and a healthy
lifestyle.
Weight Watchers also offers
special programs for children and
teens.
"It is not a diet but a way of life.
We are teaching proper eating
habits that will be with individ-
uals throughout their lives," she
says.
Because we live in a society of
convenience, where there are a
tremendous amount of labor sav-
ing devices, it is often difficult
to motivate children to exercise.
"The number one key is fun,"
says Dr. Levick. "Children also
do better in groups as opposed to
being told to go out and exercise.
But get your child involved be-
cause it's something that will be
fun for them to do. Unfortunate-
ly with overfat children, they
have been the last to be picked in
gym class."
According to Dr. Singer, there
is a lot of research being done to
determine why some children are
overweight. Some studies have
pointed to genetics and some
have said inactivity could be a
factor, but right now there are no
concrete answers.
"We do know it is a learned be-
havior and there are certain be-
haviors being associated with
being fat," says Dr. Levick. CI