Lithuanian children and youth center table tennis coach Jūratė plays with children several times a week. The center offers sports activities where over 6 thousand children spend their free time actively. Its representatives are glad that even beginners are interested in a healthy lifestyle and sports, but a study conducted by Vilnius University researchers reveals sad results – out of 550 participating families, one in four children aged 7-14 is overweight or obese. And the long-running quarantine is to blame for everything.

“It simply came to our notice then. And that food was eaten very often by the screens, ”says Vaidotas Urbonas, a university professor and doctor.

True, the cause of weight loss is not just food and the Internet. Children are not limited to exercising in the gym or going to school, it is only children’s physical activity by walking to the kitchen or soaking up the keyboard.

“It simply came to our notice then. If we recommend a child up to time physical activity during the day, every day, every day. And even every other day and a high-intensity load. Not that standing outside. This has significantly reduced the time of physical activity during quarantine, ”says V. Urbonas.

“When we go to school, it’s already a waste of energy. So we go, we go from one class to another, we Regio sports activities, extra activities, extracurricular activities, it is desirable, but it is definitely optional for her, because what a child gets physical activity is really enough if we combine with the principles of a healthy diet, ”says Izabelė Juškienė, a family doctor at the MediCa Clinic.

However, after losing, they can even walk from class to class and just eating, Lithuanian children took and surprised the researchers. depends on an almost unseen problem – overweight and obesity – the number of children surpassed games. 23 percent of Lithuanian children have this problem, and in the United States, almost 21 percent.

Lithuanians also outnumber children in the United Kingdom, where it is estimated that over 21 percent of children struggle with obesity. So far, the situation is even worse in Spain, where one in three children complains of being overweight. Still, Lithuanians who meet on the street do not hide – they really allow offspring to enjoy sweets or unhealthy food, but they say that we need to set an example

“Sometimes we let or hesburger many and macdonald, but, well, we still try to make vegetables of all kinds, fruits. “

“Well, what a child without candy?”

“What will Grandma be like if she doesn’t pamper me?”

“Sometimes, we eat pizza, we sometimes have burgers, everything happens.”

“My parents would have grown so much that there was as little unhealthy food as possible, it’s just, I think, too.”

It is true that the experts of the research group do not yet dare to sound the alarm bells so loudly – it is quite small to take the research itself. Still, it shows a declining trend that may have consequences for the aid.

“There may be delays in sexual maturation or even too rapid sexual maturation, say hair. Primary, secondary sex can occur as well. As here sooner or later from a child, a sleep disorder, it’s just that children start not sleeping at night and are sleepy during the day, ”says I. Juškinė.

“Complications are very serious when you really need a transplant if you have some kind of obesity that results in inflammation and cirrhosis,” explains Urbon.

Doctors warn that the number of children with metabolic syndrome is at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and other diseases. so early doctors hardly detected this syndrome.

And the specialists are united – the child will not eat properly and will not exercise if his parents do not set a good example.

“If the father and mother lie down nicely on the couch after work and leave the remote, they probably believe that the child will not take the tablet and do the same, it is probably unlikely, because the children probably do not need to be raised, behave well and to those things, ”says Valdas Jankauskas, the director of the center.

Not only children but also families are attracted to the Lithuanian Children and Youth Center.

And while the Center for Overweight and Obesity does not focus specifically on children, its staff must also work with overweight children – parents consult with coaches or club leaders. Too little movement of children affects not only the physical health of children, but also their emotional state, and it is no less important. Because of bullying they are depressed, lack self-esteem and unaccompanied minors.

“It simply came to our notice then. Dough, do not squirt and so on and so on, and if you are hit every day by peers that you are such a child, well, naturally, not everyone can defend themselves, the other closes in on himself, comes home, doesn’t want to communicate anymore, eats a lot because he tries his emotional , it is suitable to treat depression with food and then a vicious circle “, says V. Urbonas.

So to avoid health and psychological problems, parents recommend not only setting a good example, but also clarifying children’s eating routines, giving children as much food as possible, limiting unhealthy foods, carbonated drinks, and, of course, ensure physical activity – children should move for at least an hour. day.