Tet, the Lunar New Year, is a special occasion because it's a time for family reunions and gatherings after a year of hard work and study. Besides that, during Tet, families often prepare a lot of sweets, cakes, snacks, sticky rice cakes (banh tet and banh chung), and fried foods… These are all tempting dishes with high calorie content and are favorites of obese children.
Join a pediatrician as they review a diet and tips to help obese children avoid excessive weight gain during the Lunar New Year holiday, ensuring the whole family and the child can still enjoy themselves without stressing about the child's eating habits.
Choose appropriate dishes for children during Tet to avoid obesity, prioritizing steamed and boiled dishes...
Principles for creating meal plans for obese children.
Instead of being overly strict about food choices for obese children, focus on controlling their total calorie intake through food and build menus based on the following principles:
Firstly, ensure the body receives all essential nutrients, including protein, carbohydrates, and fats. However, since fats typically provide a large amount of energy, parents should limit their intake as much as possible and choose vegetable oils instead of animal fats for their children.
Vegetables, meat, and fish are the preferred choices.
Secondly, choose foods that are low in calories but can keep you feeling full for longer, such as nuts, fruits, vegetables, and jams (choose low-sugar jams or buy jams made with diet sugar for obese children).
Third, only eat the amount of calories your body needs and use calorie counters to balance meals for your child.
By simply applying these three principles, even if a child eats just one piece of sticky rice cake or fried spring roll during the Lunar New Year, parents won't have to worry too much about the child gaining weight uncontrollably after the holiday.
Suitable snacks for obese children during Tet (Lunar New Year)
Based on the three principles for creating a menu for obese children mentioned above, parents can easily choose suitable snacks for obese children during Tet (Lunar New Year):
- Nuts and grains: watermelon seeds, pumpkin seeds, chestnuts, etc.
- Fresh fruit, fresh fruit juice, or vegetable juice.
- Steamed and boiled dishes, or soups and stews with little oil and fat, such as meatball soup or chicken soup...
- Wraps are dishes that are rich in vegetables, filling, and easy for parents to make for children. Instead of using fatty meat, parents can substitute it with lean meat, eggs, fish, or seafood.
- In addition, homemade ham can also be a fun snack for obese children during Tet because it is lower in calories and contains fewer spices than commercially sold ham.
5 tips to help obese children happily get through the Lunar New Year and avoid gaining weight.
Take advantage of healthy and readily available snacks like watermelon seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc., to prevent children from getting bored with other snacks, but also to avoid weight gain from other sugary treats. Choose roasted nuts that are not coated with sugar or coconut milk.
Prepare a bottle of unsweetened fruit juice at home, such as orange, lemon, grapefruit, or apple juice, or vegetable juice if your child cooperates. Choosing the right fruits, like grapefruit or cucumber, can help obese children feel full and may even aid in weight loss.
Let the child choose their food, and parents decide the amount the child consumes. The principle remains the same: only eat enough calories to meet the body's needs, as mentioned above.
Limit your child's consumption of fast food.
It's best to eat at home and limit going out during mealtimes because during Tet (Lunar New Year), restaurants often only sell fast food and greasy options like fried chicken, spring rolls, hamburgers, etc. Eating at home still offers many healthier and lower-calorie options for children to choose from.
Bring packed lunches for children when going out, and healthy snacks for overweight children, to avoid having to give them uncontrolled food. Thorough preparation also helps both parents and children feel happier and more comfortable because they are proactive in any situation.
Important notes for obese children during Tet holiday.
Besides a suitable diet and meal plan for obese children during Tet (Lunar New Year), parents need to ensure that children eat on time, avoiding overeating at one meal, but also not letting them skip meals due to playtime. A subsequent compensatory meal will lead to overeating, lack of self-control, and increased food storage in the body after a bout of hunger.
Maintaining physical activity for obese children during the Lunar New Year holiday is a crucial factor that many parents overlook. During the holiday, trips, outings, and visits cause both children and parents to neglect exercise and physical activity. This leads to sluggishness and poor metabolism; it is especially difficult to rebuild exercise habits after a long holiday lasting ten days or even half a month.
The Lunar New Year is a time for family reunions and gatherings. Don't let the fear of weight gain cause stress for both obese children and parents. Relax, apply the meal planning principles above, and enjoy the traditional New Year with your children while maintaining their weight and health.
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