A group of doctors put an eight-month-old Colombian child suffering from childhood obesity on a special vegetarian diet program to help him lose weight and dull his hunger.

According to recent scientific studies, in fact, a vegetarian diet against childhood obesity is a choice to be recommended over a traditional diet. However, at the moment the researchers explain that they do not have sufficient data to establish whether a vegetarian diet is suitable for infant nutrition.

For this reason it is absolutely essential that a parent avoids DIY and instead relies on the advice of the pediatrician.

You may wonder: how is it possible that such a small child could already be obese?

From an epidemiological point of view, childhood obesity has been affecting younger and smaller children in recent years. There are therefore children who are already born with problems of obesity and the risk of metabolic syndrome.

The possible explanation for this phenomenon concerns maternal health and nutrition.

For example, gestational diabetes is a condition that is not always diagnosed in the expectant mother.
With the result that the baby is born with a heavier than average weight but also high blood sugar problems.

Despite possible controversy over the use of a vegetarian diet for an eight-month-old baby, the little one had developmental difficulties and a risk of serious cardiovascular health problems. So his mother asked the doctors for help.

Dietitians have developed a special diet for the little one, which contains more fruits and vegetables to induce him to lose weight. The little Colombian is yet another example of obesity affecting wider sections of the population, including South American countries and the United States.

A real plague that undermines the health of children, exposing them to serious pathologies from a young age.

For this reason too, the wife of the former president of the United States, Michelle Obama, had waged a battle to raise awareness against childhood obesity. President Trump then repealed his program.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF A VEGETARIAN DIET AGAINST CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Looking at the results of the experiments of a vegetarian diet for obese children, we note that the benefits of the vegetarian diet are not actually about excluding meat, eggs or fish from the diet.

Instead it’s about including more fruits and vegetables, more legumes and whole grains. These foods provide a greater supply of nutrients than a diet made up of packaged foods, although suitable for infant nutrition. On the other hand, the higher water and fiber content has a satiating effect.

See also: childhood obesity, teach your kids to change.