Studies of children have repeatedly shown that when a parent or sibling is overweight, then that child is at higher risk of becoming overweight, even if they are not at present. No one is sure yet if this is due to inherited genes, or to parents and children sharing the same lifestyle. It is probably a combination of the two.
What we do know is that this tendency to overweight needs to be watched out for. In children in whom it is detected, healthy eating, and exercise habits need to be reviewed and encouraged. The steadygrow program, along with your doctor's guidance, is a good way to monitor your child's weight from an early age. This will maximise your chances of picking up excess weight gain early and guiding your child to better health lifelong.

What is steadygrow?

steadygrow is an approach to weight management for your child which relies on you, as the parent, to quietly and gently monitor and guide your child.

The current approach to overweight and obesity in children is to encourage all children to have more physical activity, and to eat healthy foods.

However, studies have shown that parents are poor at estimating overweight in their children. It can also be difficult for parents to know whether the eating and activity plans they have put in place for their children are in fact working.

steadygrow is a world-first online program developed by New Zealand paediatrician Dr. Felicity Breen, to allow parents to understand, monitor, and if necessary, to steady the growth of their child's weight so that over time they 'grow into' their healthy weight.

I'm worried that my child is too thin, not too fat, should I use steadygrow?

The steadygrow program has recently added the "underweight" line to guide parents in recognising underweight in their children. The underweight line in steadygrow is defined by using a body mass index (BMI) of less than the 5th percentile.

How is overweight and obesity in children defined?

Many parents have trouble accurately estimating overweight or obesity in their children.

However, health authorities know that overweight and obesity in children is a worldwide phenomenon: the 2002 National Children's Nutrition Survey found that 31% of New Zealand children are now considered to be either overweight or obese.

A number called the body mass index (BMI) is used to work out if a child of any age (from two years old) is too heavy: the BMI number is calculated using your child's age, weight, height and gender.

At every age, the BMI number that indicates overweight, or obesity, changes.

The BMI number that has been chosen to represent overweight in children is called the 85th percentile BMI, and obesity the 95th percentile BMI.

When you enter your child's weight, height, date of birth and gender, steadygrow will automatically calculate your child's BMI number and tell you whether your child falls into the category of being probably overweight or obese.

What's the problem with being obese as a child?

An obese child is at risk of serious medical and psychological problems, including:

An increased risk of heart disease as an adult.
Onset of type 2 diabetes as a child or teenager.
High blood pressure.
High cholesterol levels.
Psychological and social complications including low self-esteem and depression.
Serious hip disorders principally Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis.
Abnormal bowing of the legs (Blount Disease).
Flat feet.
Skin problems secondary to chafing, or diabetes.
Obstructive sleep apnoea.
Benign intracranial hypertension.
Gall bladder disease and gallstones.
A mild form of liver disease which may predispose to other problems.
Marked stigmatisation in many areas of life.

Further, a child who is overweight or obese is more likely to continue to put on extra weight in the future. The sooner the problem is identified and managed, the better the chances for that child to retain optimum health.

Is my child overweight?

steadygrow requires only a few details about your child to give you this feedback in seconds:

Age.
Gender.
Height.
Weight.

However, steadygrow is most useful and accurate when the information about your child is gathered, recorded and monitored over time. This is because children who are at risk of becoming overweight tend to gain weight more quickly as time goes by: a steadygrow chart will show such a trend clearly.

While steadygrow gives reliable guidelines regarding your child's weight, to get a definitive answer you should have your child assessed by a health professional.

I want to face a weight problem without labeling my child as overweight or obese. How can I do this?

steadygrow encourages you to monitor your child's weight with a clear routine and a minimum of fuss. When you talk with your child, you may prefer to avoid stigmatising words.

Examples: You have been growing bigger more quickly than is most healthy so we need to make sure that we are having the most healthy food that we can, and we get some more exercise each day.

It's good to keep an eye on how we are growing. This is one of Mummy's / Daddy's jobs. It helps us to keep you healthy.

In 2008 steadygrow is bringing in a new way of talking with children, about their weight. Instead of talking about being overweight or obese, the terminology of steadygrow weightzones will be offered as an alternative.

How reliable is steadygrow?

steadygrow is based on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (USA) guidelines on Body Mass Index percentiles in children.

This is an internationally recognised set of data which is used to compare children with the norm for their age and gender. Other data sets have been compiled around the world, but their basic premise is the same: children whose BMI number sits at the upper end of the range for their age are more likely to be clinically carrying more fat on their body than is most healthy.

The higher the BMI number, the more likely this statement is to be true.

The cut off BMI numbers for overweight and obesity are arbitrary, but useful. steadygrow is best used as a guide for the detection and monitoring of healthy and excessive weight gain, rather than as an absolute authority.

The accuracy of the feedback given by steadygrow depends absolutely on the accuracy of the measuring devices and techniques you use and on the accuracy with which you enter the data you have obtained.

Article created: Dec 20, 2004. Last modified: June 22, 2008.