A balanced lifestyle and proper nutrition: this is the recipe for a healthy life and to avoid diseases that have become social plagues as in the case of obesity.
The latest estimates from the World Health Organization reveal that 50% of adults and 30% of children and adolescents on the planet are overweight or obese.
In Italy there are 18 million overweight adults (35.5%) and 5 million obese adults, or one in ten.
Furthermore, 3 out of 10 children (29.8%) are overweight and 1 of them is obese (9.4%).
We are second only to Cyprus and almost on the same level as Greece and Spain, with a prevalence of overweight children in the South. A dramatic count that must be highlighted especially and also on the occasion of
World Obesity Day
the World Day for the Prevention of Obesity and Overweight which is celebrated on March 4th.
The appeal for prevention comes from the Valter Longo Onlus Foundation
Prevention starts as children
Parents and families play a decisive role in children's nutrition education:
the onset of the accumulation of overweight begins at the age of 2 to 6
and may require early and effective nutritional assistance.
Overweight in pediatric age exposes, in fact, to the
risk of chronic diseases
ranging from cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, liver disease, respiratory disorders, up to cancer, just to name a few ("Longevity begins as children", Valter Longo, Vallardi Publisher 2019).
As the WHO indicates, an obese child has a higher chance of premature death and disability in adulthood.
Children and young people fit with the Decalogue of Longevity
Children should eat more, not less, but better,
following the 3 + 2 formula:
three main meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) plus a couple of snacks with foods rich in fiber to promote a greater sense of satiety.
Green light for vegetables and legumes in place of bread, pizza, pasta and potatoes
Here in detail the handbook of advice for children and teenagers:
1) A complete diet:
Proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, fiber and water: all nutrients are necessary and, especially in a child's diet, nothing should be missing.
2) Protein as required:
For the child over the age of 4, unless otherwise indicated by the pediatrician, it would be good to keep around 0.9 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.
So if the baby weighs 30 kg, that's about 27 grams of protein per day.
3) Watch out for the "4Ps":
Limit the 4Ps (bread, pasta, pizzas and potatoes), rice and fruit juices.
For children and young people who need to lose weight, replace part of it with vegetables and / or legumes.
The proposal is to replace even just 50-60 grams of potatoes, rice, bread with 100 grams of carrots, broccoli, beans, chickpeas, lettuce more per day.
An acceptable amount for children and young people, but it can make a huge difference in the long run from a nutritional and weight point of view.
4) Only "good fats":
It is advisable to minimize saturated, hydrogenated and trans fats present in creams, cheeses, butter, sauces, snacks and baked goods, and it is essential to limit them even more in situations of severe obesity.
The child should, on the other hand, consume regularly, but without exaggerating, extra virgin olive oil, salmon, sardines, walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts.
5) Limit salt and sugars: green light for dark chocolate and fruit ice cream
The liver uses excess sugars to generate fat that is stored in the liver itself or transferred to various storage points, including the abdomen (visceral fat) and areas distributed throughout the body under the skin (subcutaneous fat).
But be careful not to demonize all sweets, ice creams: sometimes a dessert doesn't hurt.
But it is better if it respects some rules: better dark chocolate or fruit ice cream.
6) Eating within 12 hours:
If you finish breakfast at 8 you have to have dinner at 20. In adults it is amply demonstrated that with the same calories introduced, subjects who eat meals within 12 hours have a lower risk of overweight and metabolic disorders.
7) Eat more, not less, but better:
Choosing the right combination of foods (such as for lunch, 50-60 grams of pasta with plenty of vegetables and 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil to add for dinner 200-250 grams of chickpeas and vegetables), allows you to offer more abundant, healthier and more complete meals from a nutritional point of view and which will determine a lasting sense of satiety thanks to the good balance of nutrients (complex carbohydrates, proteins and fats).
8) Choose simple and traditional local foods:
The dishes normally found on the tables of our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents still provide us with a valid example.
This makes it possible to limit the use of fast food and industrially manufactured products.
9) Avoid a sedentary lifestyle: practice at least one hour of sport and one hour of walking a day.
Walk, cycle and play for at least an hour a day.
Children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 17 should practice at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity daily physical activity and musculoskeletal strengthening exercises at least three times a week.
10) Organize meals by dividing the daily intake into 4-5 moments (breakfast, snack and snack, lunch and dinner).
Unlike what is suggested for adults (two meals and a snack for those who are overweight), it is advisable for children to divide the daily intake into 4-5 meals.
But be careful to limit calories and some carbohydrates / starches responsible for weight gain.
How to choose foods
First course:
a cereal-based dish every day for lunch or dinner.
The alternatives: pasta, wholemeal pasta, rice, polenta, potatoes, other cereals (spelled, barley), pizza.
Weekly frequency: for pasta (2 times) for other cereals once a week.
Quantity: from 7-10 years between 50 and 60 grams;
from 11 to 14 years between 70 and 80 grams;
from 15 to 17 years from 90 to 100 grams.
Side
dish: a vegetable-based dish every day for lunch and dinner.
Leafy vegetables, salads (50 to 100 grams depending on age), raw vegetables (100 to 200 grams) and cooked vegetables.
Second course:
a protein-based dish every day for lunch or dinner.
Red meat once a week, white meat once a week, fresh legumes 2-3 times a week, fish 2-3 times a week, eggs (only one up to 10 years old) twice a week, cured meats (no more 40 grams) only once a week, fresh or aged cheeses (no more than 30 grams) at most once a week.
· Bread: every day for both lunch and dinner.
The best choice is wholemeal bread, 50 to 110 grams depending on age.
· Extra virgin olive oil: every day for both lunch and dinner.
From 15 to 20 grams per meal.
· Snack or slice of cake, only if homemade: at most twice a week.
Alternatively, organic seasonal fruit (a small banana, a medium apple, 4 apricots or a cup of blueberries), a fruit bar, 20 to 30 grams of nuts;
from 20 to 40 grams of dark chocolate;
bread and jam by choosing wholemeal bread and jam with high fruit content and no other added sugars.
