“We don’t lose weight because of what we eat, but because of what we don’t eat”

Explaining that obesity is one of the major health threats in adults and children, Pediatric Cardiology Specialist Prof. Dr. Selami Süleymanoğlu knew that obesity was the main threat to their children’s health and warned families to be careful. Stating that there are different forms of obesity, Prof. Dr. Süleymanoğlu listed them as ‘overweight, obesity, overweight’ and said: “You can calculate this from your child’s body mass index. While obesity was very low 20-30 years ago, it has now become the body type we often see in school.

“OBESITY WILL TAKE A HUGE LOAD ON THE HEALTH SYSTEM”

Saying that obesity is a public health problem, Prof. Dr. Süleymanoğlu said, “Because it is a chronic disease. Their problems are reflected in society in the long run. It causes all kinds of problems, from cardiovascular disease to hypertension, from diabetes to endocrine disorders. Obesity-related health problems currently go unnoticed because they occur over a long period of time. This will put enormous pressure on the healthcare system in the future. The reason why we don’t realize it as much now is that it has been emerging over a very long time and we are at the beginning of this period.

“FAMILY CAN TAKE CONTROL OF THEIR CHILDREN WITH 5 BASIC METHODS”

Emphasizing that obesity, especially in children, has increased recently, Prof. Dr. Süleymanoğlu said: “The rate of increase is also increasing. Due to genetic and hormonal reasons, it is more common in boys and girls in adults. The main thing is to be aware of this danger and control the rise in obesity. There are 5 basic methods for this. It is necessary to apply them carefully” and listed these methods as follows:

“The first is to accept this as the family’s common problem. The second is to limit the amount of food. Obesity is the result of eating more than calories consumed. Maybe it’s said on a tabloid show or on social media that “you’ll lose weight if you eat this.” But in any medical text, in any medical information, it never says that anything you eat will make you lose weight. If someone tells you that you will lose weight if you eat this, know that they are clearly trying to mislead you. We are weak because of what we don’t eat. So we need to restrict or limit the amount we take. The third is to increase your child’s activity, to encourage walking. The fourth is to have the progress of this weight monitored and checked by an external eye. Fifth, there may be an underlying psychogenic cause of your child’s obesity. A specialist should be consulted to detect and control this.”

“IF HE WEIGHT AT 6 YEARS HE MAY HAVE A WEIGHT PROBLEM FOR LIFE”

Prof. Dr. Süleymanoğlu said: “At 6 years old, the weight of girls, especially girls, is an important criterion to show their lifelong weight. If he is overweight at this age, it indicates that he will have a weight problem of 40-60% throughout his life. Therefore, it is in phase to detect this problem as early as possible and take corrective action as early as possible.”

ALSO WARNING FOR FAMILIES WITH WEAK CHILDREN

Also warned the families of underweight children, Prof. Dr. Süleymanoğlu finally said:

“Because obesity is the number one health threat today, we need to construct our children’s perceptions of health from this perspective. You are upset because your child is eating less and you find additional dietary recommendations to feed, but remember that this is where the risk of obesity is greatest and your child is much less likely to have health problems because you are eating less.