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Don't Put Kids on a Fad Diet
Mary Shedden
Posted Jan 13, 2010
Think twice before encouraging your child to try the latest fad diet.
How and how much weight a developing child can lose is fundamentally different from what an adult body can handle, even if the child is severely overweight or obese.
Overweight children and their parents often think they can address the problem with low-carbohydrate and high-protein diets such as Atkins or South Beach, says Joanna Dolgoff, a New York City pediatrician. Two years ago, she opted to specialize in weight loss when she saw patients growing increasingly obese and parents who were unaware, unwilling and sometimes unable to address the problem.
Many times, children, teens or families tackle weight problems without consulting a doctor or dietitian. But that fad diet approach ignores the fact that kids' bones, muscles and organs are growing, Dolgoff says. They need the right amounts of fats and carbohydrates to grow properly, according to their age, height and even hormonal development.
"What works for you won't work for your child," she says.
She tells her clients that children need to lose no more than a half-pound to a pound a week. By comparison, some adults are able to drop 5 pounds in that same time period. Dolgoff says that significant difference bothers some.
"Parents are very disappointed the weight loss is not more," says Dolgoff, author of "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right" ($21.99, Rodale) and owner of the weight-loss Web site www.drdolgoff.com.
The diet plan Dolgoff features in her book and on her Web site adapts a longtime weight-loss approach: The "red, yellow, green" or "traffic light" diet identifies foods to be eaten in abundance, in moderation or to be avoided altogether. It's at the center of popular diets such as Rick Gallop's "G.I. Diet" ($11.95, Workman). A revised and updated version of Gallop's best-seller was released this week.
Dolgoff suggests different eating plans for girls and boys, depending on their age and body mass index. It doesn't address calories, but it does use classic portion-control size comparisons -- a baseball, checker or computer mouse -- to measure out meats, grains, dairy and proteins. And those dreaded veggies are considered "free fuel," meaning you don't have to give up something more tempting in exchange.
"Our goal is to have a healthy heart and healthy body," she says, "not a skinny heart and skinny body."
Another key difference between Gallop's plan and Dolgoff's pediatric adaptation is the interpretation of red-light foods.
These higher-calorie and high-saturated-fat foods are permitted as a treat twice a week on the kid plan. A red light -- or ban -- on bowls of ice cream tortures a child who is still developing eating habits.
"What kind of child doesn't love to eat pizza and birthday cake?" she asks.
That's because for children, and some adults, banning foods leads to a diet backfire. If you try to restrict any food, that is all the person will want to have. This idea may be Parenting 101, but admit it: You, too, crave things you've been told are bad or sinful.
"People are going to eat them, no matter what you say," Dolgoff says.
Parental modeling also is critical in any pediatric weight-loss plan. If Dad is gorging on cheeseburgers and fries, there's no reason a child will opt to choose veggies and grilled chicken. Dolgoff says parents can eat different foods than their parents do, but those foods should be healthy.
"Your child sees a lot more than you realize," she says.
Want to share your health and fitness idea? Contact me at (813) 259-7365 or mshedden@tampatrib.com. Or follow us on Twitter, @4YouTampa.
Date: Jan 11, 2010
To see more of the Tampa Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tampatrib.com.
Copyright © 2010, Tampa Tribune, Fla.
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