Children's growing bodies and high-energy demands require good nutrition. With one third of all children in the United States being overweight or obese, however, parents are rightfully concerned and looking for ways to help their children get to or maintain a healthy weight. Dieting among children is a controversial subject. As trying as it is for adults, placing such restrictions on growing children is certainly a difficult process. There are very little scientific data on the effectiveness of no-carb diets in children. Carbohydrates are an important source of energy, and subjecting a young child to a fad diet could be harmful. In teens and children with other health conditions, your health care provider may prescribe a weight-loss treatment plan. Some research shows low-carb dieting among teens works, but the emphasis remains on the type of carbs they eat rather than eliminating an entire food category.
Dieting for Children
Children who are overweight are helped by the fact that they are still growing taller. The goals for treating overweight children younger than 7, reports the Mayo Clinic, is maintaining their weight rather than actual weight loss. Children who are older and those who have related health problems may be put on a diet that will allow gradual weight loss, from a pound per week up to a pound per month, depending on your pediatrician's assessment. Healthy dieting for children is the same as healthy dieting for adults. It doesn't eliminate entire categories of food. Doing so among children, reports the Nemours Foundation's KidsHealth, can lead to eating disorders.
Drawbacks of Low- and No-Carb Dieting
Low-carb dieting produces faster weight loss in the first six months, however, over the long-term, they are no better than low-calorie and low-fat diets in terms of total weight loss. Moreover, low-carb dieters tend to cheat as it's difficult to completely eliminate this food source. In terms of health effects, realize that carbohydrates are the body's preferred fuel source. You can expect your children to become fatigued, have shorter attention spans at school and potentially become deficient in the range of vitamins and minerals found in carbohydrate foods. In addition, your children's consumption of meat and fats is likely to dramatically increase. This means they'll be eating more saturated fat, which is the building block of blood cholesterol, and this type of dieting is a gateway to heart disease and kidney damage. In addition, you'd be forcing those young bodies to get energy from fat and protein, which increases their risk of osteoporosis. The bigger and most dominant challenge you might face will likely be compliance, however, and that means weight regain.
Teens
A 2007 Russian study published in the journal "Vopr Pitan" reported that obese teens tolerated low-carbohydrate dieting well, and doing so helped stabilize their cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin resistance. In addition, a low-carb diet helped them lose weight and get control of their appetites. The findings were reinforced by the results of a clinical trial at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center aimed at determining the effectiveness of dieting interventions from a doctor's office setting. In one report from that study, obese children ages 12 to 18 were placed on diets in which they ate no more than 50 g of carbohydrates daily for six months. The recommended dietary allowance for total carbs for youth this age is 130 g daily. On average, the participants lost between 12 and 53 lbs. However, there are a few important take-aways from these studies. First, to be successful, dieting among teens needs to take place with high contact with a qualified medical professional who can assure your child stays healthy and gets adequate nutrition. Dieting among children is not something to do on your own. In addition, turnover was fairly high in the Cincinnati study. Only 38 of the 63 enrolled youths finished. Moreover, the study never assessed the effects of no carbohydrates.
Obese and Diabetic Children
Medical weight loss programs may be advisable for children who are obese and have diabetes. In addition, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, severe asthma, bone and joint problems and sleep apnea are complicating factors that may make your healthcare provider suggest weight loss. Controlling carbohydrates, especially among diabetic children and those with blood lipid problems, is an important part of not just losing weight but managing the conditions and improving their health as well.
Get Carb Smart
Rather than eliminating carbs from your children's diet, health professionals advise you to be wise about the choices of carbohydrates you purchase and consume. For example, avoid highly refined carbs like white breads and pastas, snack and processed foods and sugary soft drinks. Eat whole grains, fruits and vegetables instead. In addition, "Fiber is the number one thing you can add to your child's diet to help fight and prevent obesity; fiber helps the body digest and feel full faster," says Dr. Mehmet Oz, of New York-Presbyterian Hospital and the Doctor Oz Show. Fiber is a type of carbohydrate, and you'll find plenty of it in beans and peas, bran, brown rice, quinoa, spinach, prunes, Asian pears and almonds.
Pitfalls of Dieting Children
Nancy Krebs, co-chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Childhood Obesity, says diets in children provide a structure for the child and the whole family to follow, and it may instill a sense of accomplishment and positive reward for hard work and discipline. But it also "fosters the quest for the magic bullet." In addition, it sets up the inevitable cycling between restrictions and relenting by parents. Moreover, in the long-term, she says fad diets, such as no- and low-carb diets, are associated with higher weight over the long-term. So in the end, the ultimate effect of dieting in children can be weight gain.
References
- White House Task Force on Childhood Nutrition; Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity within a Generation; May 2010
- Harvard School of Public Health: Carbohydrates: Good Carbs Guide the Way
- Kaboose; Kids and Carbs Be Carb Smart; Deborah Kohn;
- Elon University "The Pendulum"; The Skinny on Fad Dieting; Andie Diemer; Feb. 8, 2007
- "Vopr Pitan"; [Efficacy of Low-Carbohydrate Diet in the Treatment of Obesity in Adolescents]; T.N. Sorvacheva et al.; 2007
- "Clinical Pediatrics"; A 6-Month, Office-Based, Low-Carbohydrate Diet Intervention in Obese Teens; Robert M. Siegel et al.; Sept. 2009
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