A good screening tool
The problem is, childhood obesity doesn’t show! Moms look tenderly at the plump forms of their 5-year-old daughter … ignoring that a child of this age should be thin and that her curves can hide future obesity! And relying on classic growth charts is not always enough. In general, breaks in the BMI curve occur well before those in height or weight. But rare are the corpulence curves correctly filled out on the child’s health record!
Watch out for flying curves
Corpulence is the amount of fat in the body, assessed by what is called the BMI (body mass index). This is calculated by dividing the weight (in kilos) by the height (in meters) squared. In adults, its interpretation is simple. We are overweight when the index exceeds 25 and obese when it is above 30. In children, who are constantly growing and gaining weight, things are more complicated. His BMI varies constantly … Hence the development of the so-called Rolland-Cachera curves (those which appear on the health record), which calibrate it age by age. These curves define an area around a reference mean. Children with BMI within these limits are within the norm; those who come out on top are affected by obesity.
However, obesity is not just a cosmetic problem. It also exposes to all kinds of ailments (diabetes, osteo-articular pain, cardiovascular diseases …). The trap: until the age of 8-9 years, it is not obvious. It is therefore very often during the pre-adolescence that parents are alarmed, seeing that their son or daughter is decidedly a little too round. Unfortunately, the later obesity is detected and taken care of, the more difficult the goal of regaining a normal weight … In adolescence, the path to weight loss is often difficult, punctuated by relapses, while the prevention in childhood has proven its worth.
To learn more about the growth of children with EurekaSanté, the general public medical site published by VIDAL.
Follow their development
First imperative: keep these body curves regularly updated. Whenever you take your child to the pediatrician or to the PMI consultation, bring his health record. You will also be asked for it during the school medical visit.
Make sure the doctor, nurse measures and weighs your child, and puts the numbers on the curve. And nothing prevents you from doing it at home. Finally, do not neglect the obligatory medical consultations, in particular those of the ninth and twenty-fourth months, which are an opportunity to take stock of the evolution of your child’s height (height) and weight (weight).
Second imperative: be attentive to any “stall” of the curve compared to the reference values. Normally, the body mass index rises sharply until 12-15 months, then it drops and reaches its minimum around 6 years. Then it increases again, this is called the “fat rebound”. Three situations should attract attention: if the index increases beyond 15 months; if the adiposity rebound occurs much too early, around 3-4 years old; if the child experiences normal growth until around 6-8 years of age, but his index then moves away from the curve and leaves the normal zone.
Ask for advice…
To the attending physician. General practitioners and pediatricians are increasingly aware of obesity surveillance. In regions where prevention networks (Repop) are present, practitioners follow specific training.
To the PMI teams. Especially for low-income families, who are the first to be affected by obesity. PMI plays an essential role in screening children at risk.
To doctors, psychologists and school nurses. In kindergarten and elementary school, medical visits make it possible to take stock, to decipher body curves and to make parents aware of their child’s overweight. In college, the nurse or the shrink can be the interlocutor of choice for teenagers distraught by their curves …
To learn more about the growth of children with EurekaSanté, the general public medical site published by VIDAL.
