Prevention of overweight and obesity in young Canadian children /

The role of parents is to offer a variety of nutritious food options in a supportive eating context, and to allow children to decide what and how much to eat of the foods that are offered. [...] The Canadian clinical practice guidelines on the management and prevention of obesity in adults and children (Katzmarzyk et al., 2007), and Canadian health professional bodies (Dietitians of Canada, 2004) recommend that Canada use the CDC BMI charts to monitor the BMI of children aged 2 years or older. [...] B. The problem of overweight and obesity among young children Canadian rates of overweight and obesity among young children The Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS; Shields, 2004) recently provided objective evidence of the alarming rise in overweight and obesity among Canadian children. [...] Global rates of overweight and obesity among young children The global burden of overweight and obesity among children is significant; however, it is difficult to understand and characterize the nature of the problem on an international level due to Prevention of Overweight and Obesity. [...] Indeed, the problem of overweight and obesity among young children may be the most pronounced in the US, where estimates suggest that 27% of 2- to 5-year-old boys, and 25% of 2- to 5-year-old girls are overweight or obese (Ogden et al., 2006).