Health Matters! Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds

Childhood obesity

• Children who are very obese are not put on specific slimming diets.
• Guidelines to help children maintain a healthy weight include:
• • 60 minutes of physical activity each day;
• • at least 5 portions of fruit or vegetables a day;
• • eat less fat;
• • child sized portions of food at each meal;
• • swap high sugar food and drinks to low sugar alternatives.

• www.foodafactoflife.org.uk

Overweight but not obese

• Being overweight (BMI 25-30), but not obese, is still a risk to health. People in this range should not gain anymore weight and ensure they participate in physical activity and eat a balanced diet to become a healthy weight.
• In many countries, there are cultural pressures for people, especially women, to be slim. People may try to lose weight even though they are in the normal weight range for their height or only slightly overweight.
• Severe weight loss may lead to development of an eating disorder, e.g. anorexia nervosa or bulimia.

• www.foodafactoflife.org.uk