On January 17, Dr. Nathaniel Veneziachi, a Brazilian pediatric nutritionist and member of Herbalife’s Nutrition Advisory Board, came to China to discuss the latest developments in the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity at home and abroad. Many parents feel that it is troublesome to make children control their weight, but they don’t think that once children get obesity, the treatment and management will be even more troublesome. The best time to address the problem is not today, or tomorrow, but yesterday.” Breastmilk can be a powerful fight against childhood obesity Dr. Winiski showed the attending journalists pictures of his family, and although there is a family history of obesity, his two daughters have always been in the normal weight range. Children with an obesity gene are not necessarily obese; it is the family environment that is the key factor in determining whether a child is obese, Winiski said. Children with obesity genes are not necessarily obese; it is the family environment that is the key factor in determining whether a child is obese, Winiski said. “When my wife was pregnant, I took her weight and dietary structure very seriously. That’s because our research has found that the mother’s eating habits during the fetal period can affect a person’s habits for life. My children were breastfed for six months after birth, and breast milk is the most powerful weapon against childhood obesity.” Irrational complementary foods are the main cause of infant and child obesity Winiski said that for families who are not in a position to breastfeed, high-quality formula is also a good choice of infant food. Compared to formula, unreasonable complementary foods are the most important cause of infant and toddler obesity. “In many families, grandparents of this generation spoil the child, the child cries with food to comfort, so it gives the child to develop such a habit. In the future, when they grow up, mood swings, will also be the first to think of through eating to regulate.” Venisky said that children should develop good habits from an early age in two ways, one is to guide and the other is to limit. “Parents need to control the length of time children are in a state of inactivity, and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children should not spend more than two hours a day sitting in front of a computer or television screen. It is important to instill a healthy lifestyle in children, just as they are taught to wash their faces and brush their teeth.” Obesity also affects academic performance Winiski said, “Children with obesity have more fat accumulation in their necks, which can easily cause oxygen deprivation during sleep, and children wake up feeling tired. Unlike adults with sleep deprivation, children who develop sleep disorders may not consciously catch up on sleep as adults do, but may show a lack of concentration. In my clinic, some young patients have had problems with academics, and after lowering his weight, his academic performance improves.” In addition, the less sleep children get the higher their chances of developing obesity, and lack of sleep is actually a risk factor for obesity. “If he watches TV or chats online at night and gets up for school after only 4-5 hours of sleep, his body’s endocrine secretion will be disrupted, causing him to eat more and burn fewer calories.”