My family just relocated to the middle east, and my eldest son has gained 15 pounds in the past 3 months. I don't know whether it is lack of exercise or too much junk food. What foods do you suggest he should eat to limit his calorie intake and lose all this weight he gained?
May you be rewarded for your efforts
Salam
Answer
I believe the reason for the weight gain is both lack of exercise and messed up diet.
As you just moved, you do not yet know where to take him for exercise and all your schedule has changed.
Try to let him join any sports team on regular basis at first then work on his food habits. Try to use low-fat homemade food. That way you can monitor his intake.
Cut down on junk food such as chips and soda and replace them with low-fat crackers, skimmed milk, and water.
Let him snack on vegetables and fruits instead of candies and lollipops and tell him this is good for him, especially in the hot weather of the Middle East.
Try to always keep him full with healthy, low calories food. Microwaved popcorn without fat added is a good choice for snacking.
Name
Mohammed Al-Hindi
- United States
Profession
Question
Assalamu alaikum
As obesity is a big problem here in the US, what are the foods children need to avoid and which ones to emphasize on.
What about pizza? Even though we avoid giving at home, it is provided at school and thus difficult to avoid totally. What can be a healthy alternate to pizza.
Answer
Pizza in itself is not a bad type of food, just alter some things - such as convincing the kids to have extra vegetable pizza + a cup of water and skimmed milk.
This will help to satisfy them with one slice instead of two while they will still have fun eating this delicious snack. And in the meantime, they will also be eating healthy stuff.
When the kids eat out let them go for grilled chicken sandwiches with no mayonnaise or grilled chicken salad with half of the dressing. Both Burger King and McDonald's offer them. They also offer drinks of milk and these drinks do not have free refill like soda. This will help reduce the children's caloric intake too.
Low fat mozzarella sticks are also a good snack.
At home, always serve low-fat cheese, milk, and oven-baked fries. You can also wrap the fries and pizza in a paper towel and put them in th microwave for 50 seconds to get rid of some fat.
Finally, teach the kids how to eat healthy by giving them 5 pieces of fruits and vegetables everyday. This will make them full and not have space for junk food.
Name
Zakaria Belbees
- Afghanistan
Profession
Question
Greetings
I know all food categories are important, but what foods should we concentrate on for our kids, during different age ranges?
Thank You
Answer
I cannot say which category is more important as any deficiency in any group will affect tissue building and growth.
Without carbohydrates there will be no energy for all the activities of the body. Proteins are important to build new tissues in the body and build memories for the things we learn or encounter. Fat is used to give the extra needed energy especially for the young who have a small stomach. It is also important for the absorption of a category of vitamins that are called fat soluble vitamins. These vitamins cannot enter the body without the aid of fat
Fruits and vegetables are the main sources of vitamins, minerals and fibers.
Basically having a balanced diet is very important for kids at all ages and never forget the importance of milk and dairy products.
Name
Cassie
- Germany
Profession
Question
I am not sure if my question is relevant to the subject, but it is always on my mind.
Lots of people mention that we should not give young children sweets all the time, but how do we deal with the fact, that children always want sweets, and they see it all around them in school, and with friends?
Again I apologize if it not relevant to the dialogue.
Answer
Actually it is very relevant to the subject!
All of us, not just kids, love sweets. Sweets are actually what we call "empty calories". This means they offer nothing but weight gain. they don't have any proteins or vitamins but still tastes very good!
Manipulations can play a big role in here. Tell your kids that fruits taste sweet too. Chocolate, especially low-fat chocolates with nuts, are better than candy.
For example tell your kids that you can have a chocolate for the whole family + one banana, one apple, and one orange as desert. This will give them the perception of fruits as sweets. Keep pushing this concept through all the time.
Cereals with honey also taste sweet. They can snack on that when they are hungry. Dried fruits are very sweet - even more so than some candies - but they are good and healthy.
Homemade rice pudding cooked with honey is also sweet and has a fair amount of calcium in it too. Raisins look very much like candies and are sold in a box very similar to candy boxes. Get it and call it raisin candy - they will eat it, enjoy it, and be healthy!
Name
Kawther
- Egypt
Profession
Question
Which category in particular helps in having healthy hair in children.
Thank You.
Answer
A balanced diet is required for healthy tissue - regardless of which tissue that is.
For hair in particular protein is very important + vitamins and minerals, especially zinc if this is what you are asking about.
Fresh vegetables, especially cilantro, parsley, and dill are very good for skin integrity. Sea food in particular would cover most of the needs of the body and also supply enough calories to cover for the body's energy needs. It is also rich in proteins which are integral for tissue building.
Name
Serena
- United Kingdom
Profession
Question
Dear doctor:
When should a parent give external vitamins to the kids? Does it have any side effects?
Answer
You shuold only give external vitamins when you get a lab result telling you that your child has a deficiency in a certain nutrient, or when your doctor tells you so.
Also if your child is not having 2-3 cups of milk/day he might need to increase his milk intake. Also if he or she is not eating calcium rich vegetables on a regular basis then most probably he might need vitamin supplements.
Still, I recommend you ask his pediatrician before giving any external vitamins as any excess in any substance in the body is considered toxic. There are certain cases that mothers thought that their kids are not eating well and they supplemented them with vitamins which reached a toxic level in the body.
Also, if your child does not need the extra vitamins you are giving him/her then you are putting an extra burden on his kidneys because they have to excrete the excess waste.
You are also wasting your money on unneeded things when you can use that money to by extra fruits and vegetables - where its excess is never toxic.
Still if there is a sign of vitamin deficiency detected by your doctor, do not hesitate to give him/her the vitamins he or she is lacking - just be sure first.
Name
Marina
- Turkey
Profession
Question
I have an eight year old daughter who is over weight? Should I let her follow a diet and ban fried food, pastas and rice or will that be bad for her?
And how many calories should she have a day?
Answer
The word diet means eating a balanced diet for good health.
Following a diet is going to help her.
Do not ban her from eating fried foot completely - not because it is not bad for her but because this will not be realistic. Besides, severe restrictions bring out cravings more. You will not be able to resist or deny her what she wants and this will make her regain the weight she would have lost.
Instead, do some corrections and try to convince her to adopt a more healthy way of eating.
For example, let her eat fried food once a week instead of twice. Give her 2 pieces of fruits instead of one and 3 pieces of vegetables instead of one. Let her walk once in the morning and bike for 15 minutes in the afternoon instead of no exercise at all.
Ask her to do some exercise while watching TV in order to allow her to see her favorite show. This way she will love doing exercise as this is the way for her to enjoy that show.
Try to let her keep that weight for the next years instead of asking her to loose weight. If she is not very obese she will grow out of this weight by time while getting taller.
Give her low-fat milk or skimmed milk.
Finally the best treatment of childhood obesity is exercise while maintaining their weight for a couple of years till they get taller. Encourage plenty of water, fruits, and vegetables as they are filling but have low calories.
Regarding your last question, caloric requirement varies according to her height and how many pounds she is over her ideal weight.
Name
Samira
- Canada
Profession
Question
What sort of food would enhance the children's immune system?
Thank you for a great dialogue
Answer
Again, eating a balanced diet is the key for good health.
Here is a simple way to know if your child is most probably eating well:
If you can count between 26 and 28 different kinds of food that your baby is eating then most probably they are getting what they need.
Proteins are very important for new tissues formation and wound healing.
Vitamin C in pepper and citrus fruits is very much needed for immunity. Other vitamins and trace elements are very important too.
If your child is not getting enough carbohydrates, then the body may burn proteins to produce energy. Having enough carbohydrates in the diet is needed to preserve protein for healing purposes and blood cells formation to guard against infections and diseases.
I can't say that you should feed your baby something and leaving something else to boost their immune system since it is very much like building a new house - we need all the different components of a diet to build it right.
Name
Marwa
- United States
Profession
Software engineer
Question
Hi Dr Maha,
I have 3 and 5 years old boys , they do not like to eat at all they just want to play.
How can I get them interested on eating and what food is more important for them at
This age ..
Thanks a lot for
Answer
Playing is very important for kids at this age and it is quite normal for kids at this age to be more interested in playing than eating.
You can help them eat by using colored plates and spoons. Tell them that if they want to see the drawings on the plate, they have to finish the plate to uncover it.
Try to feed them while they are very hungry. Separate the meals by enough time to let them feel hungry. While eating, turn off the TV so they can focus on eating. Also try to let the whole family eat together and have fun talking and sharing warm family time so they would love eating time. And never ever scream or punish them for not eating or finishing their plates.
Finally you should know how much food they need so you will not get frustrated by them not finishing their plates as most mothers believe that their kids should eat a full adult plate - which is no the case.
For the 3 years old child, he needs one and a half cups of milk/day divided into 3 halves. He also needs one tiny sandwich with one slice of cheese for dinner. For breakfast, give him half a bowl of cereals and half an apple. Three and a half tablespoonfuls of rice and the same amount of cooked vegetables and a small piece of chicken - even less than a drumstick - for lunch. Add another half of fruit and 5-6 crackers for the whole day.
For the 5 years old make the milk 2 cups. Give him 5 teaspoonfuls rice or pasta and the same amount for vegetables. One slice of toast with peanut butter or another half a bowl of cereals should be sufficient for breakfast. For lunch add an extra drumstick or one egg and a slice of cheese + another piece of fruit and this would be enough.
Name
Hatem - new york
- United States
Profession
Question
Alsalam Alukium ,
What nutrients are needed to assist in the height development for children ?
Thank you
Answer
Make sure your children get enough calories for normal growth. Proteins are important for building new tissues and growing.
And the most important thing is calcium from milk and daily products for healthy bones. And do not forget to let them get enough sun exposure as well. Calcium without sun exposure is useless.
Fish and other seafood is also important. The most important thing is not to eat sweets, candies, and chocolate at night as this affects the secretion of a hormone called the growth hormone which is responsible for all aspects of growth in children.
