How to raise a he althy child? First of all, remembering that we work with our lifestyle and what we instill in our children for the he alth of our children. He althy eating, exercise, and following the doctors' guidelines, although it does not give us a 100% guarantee, brings us closer to what every parent wants, that is, to a long and he althy life of our children. Prof. Piotr Hoffman, president of the Polish Cardiac Society.

How to raise a he althy child- parents would like to know the answer to this question from the moment the information about pregnancy appears. Many people have visions about the proper upbringing and education of a child. And although everyone has their own idea for the future of their children, everyone has one idea - that the child should be he althy. How to achieve this goal is discussed by prof. Piotr Hoffman, president of the Polish Cardiac Society.

  • The he alth of our children is influenced by many factors - a proper diet, lifestyle, and even stress, to which we sometimes expose them. What can the consequences be?

Prof. Piotr Hoffman, president of the Polish Society of Cardiology:Modern civilization and lifestyle are stressful, which means that in many cases the cardiovascular risk increases. As a result, we are more likely to develop atherosclerosis, and therefore heart attack, stroke or other diseases resulting from the narrowing of the arteries.

  • So, there are many elements of educating a cardiac patient. Sometimes, not fully consciously, we expose our children to civilization diseases in adulthood …

The lack of activity and diet contribute to this - we eat too much carbohydrates and although they are tasty, unfortunately they have a negative effect on our he alth. We are talking about an increase in body weight, malfunctioning in the absence of physical activity, diabetes, arterial hypertension. All of these are factors that can lead to death and heart attack and stroke.

  • A significant part of us is preoccupied with trends that show that a he althy diet not only has a positive effect on our body, but also on being "up-to-date". And although you should not often follow fashion blindly, this one shouldhe althy eating is probably the most justified?

There is a trend that can be called increasing parental awareness of he althy eating. A lot of information that is available in the media convince parents that it is worth nourishing children in a he althy way, i.e. limiting sweets, junk food, i.e., not always as the children would like it.

  • Unfortunately, it still happens that parents go the easier and faster way. The pace of life means that eating out is becoming the norm, and family trips are limited to fast food restaurants. At least it was like that a few years ago.

    • A family trip to McDonald's is a thing of the past. This food promotes overweight, obesity, metabolic disorders that lead to atherosclerosis in the future. My observations show that more and more parents are properly educated and try to live a he althy life, avoiding threats. Fast food offers saturated fatty acids, promotes obesity, just look at the plague of obesity caused by this diet in the US.

  • It has been known for a long time that childhood has its own rules. This elementary law is pranks and constant movement. Until recently, a huge problem was the fact that many parents ordered their children to "stay still", which was to prove their good upbringing.

    • There is no substitute for physical activity. We see a trend among parents for their children to be active; swimming pool, bicycle, etc. It is worth choosing a kindergarten with physical activity programs. What we observe, especially in large cities, is heartening. The data, which also includes Poland, shows a favorable trend when it comes to smaller children, while older children, unfortunately, do not belong to the groups that like to move - they sit in front of the computer more often. You have to be very reasonable with the latter, which is not easy in modern times, as they offer a lot of attractive technological novelties and gadgets.

  • Moving, staying fit, and returning to natural treatments are not always going in the right direction. Recently, antibiotic and anti-vaccine movements, which are often based on superstitions, are very visible. Unfortunately, this trend may become very dangerous to the he alth of not only individuals, but also the entire society.

    • - Polio, measles and other infectious diseases are coming back again, which means that there is something wrong with our knowledge and confidence in modern medicine. The turn towards superstition and superstition is not good for your he alth. Even classic angina - a purulent diseasefeverish caused by streptococcus leads to serious consequences - to rheumatic fever. If the doctor finds purulent lesions on the tonsils, an antibiotic must be given as soon as possible. Diseases that have been under control for a long time must not be allowed to suddenly become a problem again. We go back to the 19th century when it comes to epidemiology. There are clearly defined situations in which an antibiotic is needed, these are purulent lesions on the tonsils which we call purulent angina.

  • Not always everything, especially children's he alth, lies only in the hands of their parents. A lot depends on genetics. We have no influence on genetics, on which high cholesterol can often depend: 1 in 250 people in the entire population has a genetically determined lipid disorder, which in many situations leads to heart attack, heart failure and premature death. There are also many other risk factors that could define cardiac problems in the future.

    • Let's put genetics aside, male gender predisposes to atherosclerosis more often than female, but we have many modifiable factors: smoking, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, called cardiovascular risk factors that can be controlled through eating habits, physical activity and a pro-he alth attitude, building awareness of fit life. Added to this is the issue of controlling emotions, not giving in to stress.

  • It is also worth remembering that appropriate habits instilled from a child may be binding for an adult's life. During the first years, the only role model for our children to follow is us - the parents.

    • Parents must set an example about physical activity, diet. Their inner and deep conviction that these pro-he alth behaviors make sense is important.

  • A he althy lifestyle is not only about physical activity and proper food products, but also stimulants. If a child is brought up in a family of smokers, he or she has a much greater predisposition to become a smoker in adulthood, and has already started smoking much, much earlier.

    • - More and more girls from big cities are using cigarettes, this problem is also visible among boys from small centers. Here too there must be an example from the parents, the interaction between children, parents and even grandparents is extremely important. Grandparents aged 50-60 can still be active and promote activity, animate movement in the family, take over the parents' responsibilities in this regard. These can be joint activities. This could be a way of parenting.The responsibility on them and on their parents is huge. "What the shell will soak in when you are young …" - is a very current proverb. Parents must be authorities. It is impossible to expect something from children that we do not require from ourselves. Whether a child will have risk factors by the age of 20-30 is largely up to the parents.

  • However, is it not only the role of parents and grandparents, but also the role of the education system?

    • The education of preschool children has changed many times. And the disease is not only a patient's problem, but also a question of financing these diseases. We have to start with prevention and we should start with the children. Parents would learn from them the habits that they would bring from kindergarten - they would stop smoking, lose weight and stay cheerful. It is also worth remembering that mom and dad cannot impose too many obligations on children. Let us let the children live a he althy life. Let's prevent.

    Category:

    Child's he alth