Hyderabad: Gone are the days when kids used to play cricket or football the entire day, till parents asked them to return home. For today’s kids, a holiday means gadgets, sitting, eating and sleeping. With all these and no physical activity, they tend to put on weight.
School children are more prone to gain weight over school holidays in summers. They miss their school routine and meal timings. Their physical activity levels fall during holidays. Kids are unsupervised in summers as they lead a sedentary lifestyle with the availability of many unhealthy snacks and gadgets like tabs, phones and laptops.
Summer is the time for kids when they start mindless snacking, eating another piece of cake/pie or enjoying some extra ice cream. Even adults find it hard to resist; and imagine a child’s plight to maintain control over the diet! In summer, kids sit in front of the screen and eat loads of junk food.
All their regular activities like structured meal time, play time go haywire. They also wake up late and skip breakfast; and to compensate for this, they take more of unhealthy food. This leads to weight gain.
Dr. Rahul Agarwal, senior consultant general physician, MaxCure Hospitals, said, “Parents should know how to give an active and healthy holiday to their children. Parents should help kids maintain a diet pattern as is followed in school with scheduled timings for breakfast, recess, lunch, evening snack and dinner rather than allowing them to graze when they are hungry.”
He adds, “If they are in the house, children will obviously want to eat them. Instead, stock your fridge with easy-to-grab options like cheese, fruits, vegetables like cucumber, carrot and dips, and hot soups for snacks or light meals. And also plan to have different variety of foods.”
Madhu Naredi, a parent from Attapur said, “The phone and the idiot box are taking a big toll on the kids who become averse to outdoor activities. I have seen several kids having problems with eyesight and putting on weight. Luckily, I have been able to restrict the TV and gadget time of my kids. We have also been helped in a large measure because of our stay in a gated community where the kids have a lot of company and there are good facilities for outdoor games.’’
Seema Agarwal, mother of a 10-year-old kid from Hyderabad, said, “Last summer, my daughter put on weight due to her sedentary lifestyle in her summer holidays. This year, I have made sure to be not so liberal with her. I have put her in a music class and some other activities to keep her busy and avoid more time with gadgets and binge eating. Summer holidays definitely affect the habits of the kids but it depends on the parents how they can mould the kids’ habits.”
Doctors’ suggestions
- Always encouraging kids to be active and to play outdoor games can cut screen time. If they want indoor activities, all in the family can play board games, card games and puzzles together.
- Stock your fridge with easy-to-grab options like cheese, fruits, vegetables (like cucumber, carrot) and dips, and hot soups for snacks or light meals.
- Avoid high calorie, high fat foods like chips, chocolates, cold drinks.
- Put kids in summer camps where they will have many activities planned like arts, swimming, cycling, skate boarding and creative thinking to help improve their skills.
