|
|
|
|
Urge parents to trim down before pregnancy
According to an article published recently on news.com.au, men and women are being urged to trim down even before they conceive a child under new Early Life Nutrition guidelines.
The Early Life Nutrition guidelines are a plan developed by six Australian and New Zealand experts. The guidelines are designed to prevent childhood obesity and allergies, which are also increasing in young children.
The experts claim the right diet in the first 1,000 days of pregnancy (including 3 months before conception and the first three years of a child's life) have a profound impact on the child's health.
These echoes a report earlier in the year by Obesity Australia, that said that pregnant women who are overweight and feed their children a high carbohydrate, high sugar diet in the first three years of life are the cause of increasing obesity rates.
Men and women are urged to lose weight before they conceive and take iodine and folate supplements if they want to have a healthy baby. Most women know that smoking and drinking is not advisable during pregnancy for the sake of both the mother's and the child's health, but the same goes for the consumption of unhealthy foods.
"Most women know what not to eat during pregnancy, but not enough parents recognise the things they can do to reduce their child's risk of disease later in life", says University Sydney's paediatric specialist Professor John Sinn.
The Early Life Nutrition guidelines urge men and women to lose weight before they conceive and take iodine and folate supplements.
Almost two out of three women of child-bearing age are obese or overweight and this increases their chance of gestational diabetes and of their child growing up overweight.
Australia now has a 63 per cent overweight and obesity rate, which has surpassed the predictions made in 2010. Obesity Australia describes the rise as an "epidemic" and says that that a large cause of this increase is women who feed their children a high carbohydrate, high sugar diet in the first three years of life (including pregnancy).
Obesity Australia chief Professor John Funder says, as with smoking and drinking, pregnant mothers must be warned about the dangers of being fat or dieting while pregnant.
Obesity Australia's recent report said that women who are obese should lose weight before considering pregnancy and that if a woman is obese, diabetic, or consumes a diet too high in calories during pregnancy, the tendency towards obesity persists in the offspring, because children who are fed high carb, high sugar foods in their early years develop a taste for them and prefer those weight producing foods as an adult.
Professor Funder says that ideally mothers are urged to try to breastfeed their children for the first six months and then feed their babies vegetable and meat mush rather than baby rice cereal, developing a healthy appetite for healthy foods early on. Prevention of obesity is the key, so instilling healthy eating habits and educating our children about nutrition in younger years is crucial, because as Obesity Australia says, once a person gains weight it is incredibly difficult to lose it and keep it off.
Australians who are overweight should aim to lose between five and 10 per cent of their body weight to improve their health by gentle changes in their diet, Professor Funder says.
The weight loss should take place slowly to prevent yoyo dieting and be accompanied by up to five hours of moderate physical activity per week.
Once pregnant, women are urged to ensure they don't gain more than 9-18 kilograms in weight (only thinner women can gain 18 kilograms).
However, women should not actively diet while pregnant as this can also lead to problems and extreme dieting can be dangerous for the pregnancy and baby. Healthy eating is the key.
Key points to healthy eating before and while pregnant
- Take iodine and folic acid supplements and eat oily fish like salmon or tuna several times a week.
- Do not avoid peanuts or other allergens unless you have an allergy yourself. This will help to avoid having a baby with food allergies.
- Avoid high protein diets (over 20% of total energy) during pregnancy as they may lead to increased birth weight.
- Aim for 8.5 serves of breads and cereals each day and have a fat intake of no more than 20-35 per cent of your total energy intake.
- Avoid excessive weight gain in the first half of the pregnancy, because it leads to babies with higher birth weight and body fat.
- Try to breast feed for as long as possible and introduce solid foods from 17 weeks to help combat the development of allergies.
- Feed toddlers full cream milk only after 12 months of age, but offer a wide variety of nutritious foods.
- Keep as natural as possible. Try to limit sugar, sweetened and fruit juice drinks and processed foods that added salt, sugar and excess saturated fat. If possible just stick to unprocessed, natural foods and make as much as you can at home.
NB: If you are thinking about having a baby or are already pregnant and worried about your weight, you should always consult your GP or obstetrician before thinking about changing your diet or losing weight.
|
|
|
|
|
