{"id":46978,"date":"2025-12-29T06:00:45","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T05:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/semmelweis.hu\/english\/?p=46978"},"modified":"2025-12-22T10:32:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T09:32:34","slug":"top-5-semmelweis-tips-for-childrens-health-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/semmelweis.hu\/english\/2025\/12\/top-5-semmelweis-tips-for-childrens-health-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 5 Semmelweis tips for children\u2019s health education"},"content":{"rendered":"
What are the most important things we can do as parents to teach our children healthy lifestyle habits from early on? How can we make healthy eating and adequate physical activity part of their everyday lives? In the latest installment of our\u00a0series<\/a>,\u00a0Dr. Zs\u00f3fia G\u00e1cs, Head of the Lifestyle Outpatient Clinic at Semmelweis University’s Pediatric Center, and Kinga Gangl, the clinic’s dietitian, share advice on how we can use lifestyle choices in childhood to prevent many common diseases that develop in adulthood.<\/div>\n

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It is estimated that one in four children in Hungary is overweight, and this ratio could double within ten years if current trends continue. Experience shows that in most cases, overweight children \u2013 if their excess weight is not treated \u2013 continue to struggle with this condition into adulthood. Being overweight and obese is a chronic disease in itself, but it can also lead to numerous complications, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver dysfunction, respiratory disorders, reflux, musculoskeletal complaints, and even psychological issues. In the vast majority of cases (95-98 percent), genetic predisposition and lifestyle are responsible for obesity, so conscious parenting choices can have a huge impact on our children’s health and preventing adult-onset diseases.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

1. Watch out for the risk factors that can predict a child’s predisposition to obesity even prior to birth.<\/h5>\n

\"\"<\/a>The likelihood of a fetus becoming overweight or obese later in life can be partially predicted before birth based on genetic predispositions, i.e., the body types of the parents and grandparents. In addition, research suggests that children whose mothers gained significant weight during pregnancy or developed diabetes or glucose metabolism disorders are more prone to obesity and diabetes, points out endocrinologist Dr. Zs\u00f3fia G\u00e1cs, Head of the Lifestyle Outpatient Clinic at Semmelweis University’s Pediatric Center. This means that as soon as a baby is born, you can already know how much you need to protect them from becoming overweight later in life. However, Dr. Zs\u00f3fia G\u00e1cs emphasized that it is important not to view awareness as an oppressive burden, but rather as a tremendous opportunity to actively work toward prevention. By having an appropriate lifestyle, parents teach their children important life skills, thereby protecting them from developing various diseases.<\/p>\n

2. Nowadays, we live in an obesogenic environment, surrounded by numerous factors that promote weight gain. Let’s take conscious action against them!<\/h5>\n

In today’s Western societies, we typically live in an environment that pushes both children and adults toward obesity. Eating habits have changed significantly; we consume more processed, semi-prepared, and ready-made foods. Due to our busy lifestyles, we try to save time by driving our children to kindergarten or school instead of walking or cycling. Advertisements encourage us to consume almost every minute of the day, and they don’t necessarily offer healthy options. As part of this, supermarkets offer tons of colorful sodas with an exciting flavor; it’s really hard to find a healthy drink that is sugar- and calorie-free. Although this requires a lot of effort on the part of parents, it is advisable to opt for water or homemade fruit tea, points out Dr. Zs\u00f3fia G\u00e1cs. It is also important to know that 100 percent fruit juices aren’t as beneficial as many people think. Fruit contains sugar, and these drinks often have a high calorie content.<\/p>\n

3. Don’t let sweet be the norm! As parents, we can do a lot to help our children develop healthy taste preferences.<\/h5>\n

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From the very beginning of weaning, it is important to offer your child as many different flavors as possible, providing variety in terms of texture, color, and nutritional content. If your child does not like something, do not force it on them, but try again in a few days, emphasizes Kinga Gangl, dietitian at the Lifestyle Outpatient Clinic. Drinks and foods containing added sugar should be avoided completely under the age of one, but they are not recommended in early childhood either. It is worth checking the ingredients and the amount of added sugar or glucose-fructose syrup per 100 grams on the product labels, which should ideally be 0 gram. Keep in mind that brown sugar (which is refined sugar colored with molasses) has the same carbohydrate content and absorption rate as granulated sugar, and honey also contains a high percentage of natural sugar.<\/p>\n

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For example, if a three-year-old drinks tea with honey for breakfast, eats a curd snack in the morning, drinks 200 ml of apple juice for lunch, has a fruit yogurt for an afternoon snack, and even adds ketchup to their grilled sandwich for dinner, they will consume more sugar than recommended, even if they did not eat any chocolate or candy during the day. This is important because added sugar can greatly influence the taste preferences of young children, who are naturally inclined toward sweet flavors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>Parents have the greatest influence on shaping taste preferences until the age of three, as this is when eating habits that affect our health begin to develop. It is key that children get used to natural flavors and do not consume processed, pre-packaged foods and baked goods. To develop healthy eating habits, it is important to introduce children to vegetables, fruits, meats, and grains. This can be achieved through shopping and cooking together \u2013 in the latter case, children can help relatively quickly with peeling and chopping, using children\u2019s knives, the dietitian points out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Smart plate and microbiome
\n<\/strong>Meals should be balanced, i.e., include vegetables, fruit, protein sources, and grains. In most cases, the problem is not what children eat, but what they do not eat, experts point out, noting that vegetables and fruits are often left out. The more varied and diverse the ingredients in our diet, the better the effect on the composition and diversity of our microbiome, which plays an important role in our immune system and overall health.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

4. Change starts with you: Nothing helps more than parental example in developing a healthy diet and an active lifestyle.<\/h5>\n

Rather than reiterating the health benefits of carrots, allow children to observe how adults around them eat, discuss food, and enjoy eating vegetables. If a child grows up in a household where everyone eats vegetables and fruits without any fuss, they are much more likely to eat these, too.<\/p>\n

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Setting an example is equally important when it comes to physical activity. If children see that their parents still have the energy and desire to go for an evening walk together after work or to take part in physical activities at the weekend, then this will become second nature to them, too. Parents play a very important role in regulating spontaneous movement, especially at a young age. This includes what kind of leisure activities we provide for them, whether they can go to the playground after kindergarten or school, whether we come up with indoor games for rainy days (e.g., playing with balloons, dancing), and whether we make time to walk or let them ride a toddler tricycle on the way to the store.<\/p>\n

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It is a warning sign if a child avoids spontaneous physical activity at an early age, complains of leg pain, or gets tired easily. Orthopedic deformities, motor development disorders, or neurodevelopmental disorders may also be underlying causes, which are important to detect and treat in a timely manner to prevent limited mobility.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

5. If signs of weight gain are already apparent, let’s reconsider the magic \u2018four pillars\u2019 and make changes if necessary.<\/h5>\n

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The health visitor and later the school doctor may alert parents if their child’s weight gain is higher than optimal and lifestyle changes are required. In this case, it is necessary to consider the four pillars that form the basis of the work carried out at the Lifestyle Outpatient Clinic, points out Dr. Zs\u00f3fia G\u00e1cs.<\/p>\n