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Is My Child Too Fat?
November 5, 2009 |
Adults rely on the scale to determine their pounds, but for children, the numbers
are weighed differently.
“There’s not a magic formula,” admits LMHS family physician, Dr. Tracey Richardson.
She calculates the child’s BMI during examinations at the Outpatient Center at the
Sanctuary.
“We put it on a chart, at every visit, you know, in the beginning we are seeing
you quite often as babies; every 3 months. Then it spreads out where we are continuing
to chart your height and weight and that gives us your BMI,” she explains.
The child’s weight is plotted on a numerical scale. Under 5 is considered underweight.
85 and above is considered overweight or obese. Dr. Richardson says she’s seeing
a lot of kids in the higher range these days. “A lot more than previously. Lifestyles
have changed a lot since the 70’s or since a long time ago. People had to be more
active in their daily life and now they aren’t having to be as active,” suggests
Dr. Richardson.
She works with parents to devise a plan of action to help get their child’s weight
on a healthy level. She emphasizes the need to make sure all children are not just
eating better but are getting at least 30 minutes of exercise each day. |
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