Yumin Hospital in Nantou County’s Caotun Township (草屯) on Monday said that 80 percent of obese children consulted by the hospital’s nutritionists had abnormally high levels of uric acid, blood lipids or sugar, or high blood pressure.
Two years of medical data from 288 obese children were analyzed, hospital nutritionists Chen I-en (陳苡恩) and Liao Mei-yu (廖美俞) said.
The medical issues are linked to unbalanced diets that include excessive calories and refined sugar, they said.
Photo: Chen Fong-li, Taipei Times
One of the children, a six-year-old girl who is 119cm and 33.8kg, had a uric acid level of 7 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), higher than the healthy level of 6.6mg/dL or less, they said.
Two boys — a 113cm, 42.8kg five-year-old and a 142cm, 51.6kg 11-year-old — had high levels of low-density lipoproteins, 141mg/dL and 151 mg/dL respectively, they said.
Excessive levels of uric acid could trigger metabolic conditions including joint inflammation, metabolic arthritis and chronic kidney disorders, they said, adding that children with the condition should drink at least 2 liters of water a day to help expel the substance, Chen and Liao said.
The five-year-old likes sweetened bread and cakes, the girl enjoys juice and sweetened fermented milk and yogurt, while the 11-year-old likes pork knuckles, braised pork bellies and processed meat, Chen said.
Childhood obesity could lead to the early onset of cardiovascular disorders, Liao said, adding that parents should help children control their weight by discouraging the consumption of sugary foods high in calories, such as cookies, bread and cake.
Unsweetened milk, soy milk and yogurt should be served instead of the sweetened alternative, Liao said.
Children should eat four servings of full-grain staples per day, and each serving should fill four-fifths of an average-sized rice bowl, while meat, fish, eggs, beans or other protein dishes should be limited to three to four servings of 30g per day, she said.
Proteins could be substituted with soy products, she said.
The consumption of vegetables, milk and fruit should be limited to three, two and two servings per day respectively, she said.
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