The amount of calories in a child’s diet depends on his age, health characteristics and physical activity. So, for a preschooler aged 3-6 years, the diet should be 1800 kcal per day, for a younger schoolchild – 2100 kcal, children aged 11-14 years old – 2300 kcal per day, and adolescents aged 15-17 years old – 2500. Gazeta. Ru tells about this gastroenterologist, nutritionist, head of the laboratory of age-related nutrition at the Federal Research Center for Nutrition and Biotechnology Ekaterina Pyryeva.
“This corresponds to the standards for physiological energy requirements approved in the Russian Federation in 2021. These standards are designed for children who lead an active lifestyle and comply with the recommended level of physical activity,” the expert said.
But today, according to him, 17 percent of children under the age of 18 are overweight and 9 percent are obese. The increase in prevalence in the last five years has exceeded 20 percent; in the early 2000s, only 5 percent of children were obese. And according to estimates, the number of overweight children will increase even more.
“This is a problem of modern society. Previously, children usually walked to school, played and ran a lot in the yard. Today, we see such a picture less and less; now the level of motor activity of children remains much lower than desired. The type of food we eat has also changed: now we snack more often at the expense of breakfast and lunch, we eat more ready-made meals, which does not always comply with the principles of proper nutrition. Typically, such food contains more fat, sugar and salt than home-cooked meals,” the doctor said.
The presence of overweight or obesity in a child can be assessed in the same way as in adults, using body mass index (BMI). There are special calculators where you can enter the child’s height, gender, weight and age.
“It should be noted that, unlike adults, BMI standards change significantly with age. If for a preschooler the optimal corridor is from 14 to 17.7, then for a senior schoolboy it is from 17 to 25. But sometimes BMI can be misleading. For example, in athletes, these indicators can be overestimated due to the large volume of muscles. Also, BMI does not reflect the fact that there is a decrease in muscle mass among those who like to spend time with gadgets, which is extremely negative for health. Therefore, if your child is overweight, it is important to know the ratio of fat and muscle in the body. To do this, you can contact a specialist. The doctor will conduct a bioimpedance analysis of the body’s condition, which will determine the amount of fat and muscle tissue in the body,” he said.
It was there before named Fatal mistake in treating cough in children.