Claudia Cozer Kali, a pediatrician at Hospital Sírio-Libanês, and nutritionist Thaís Cardeal Ramos shared practical guidance on how parents can tell whether a child's weight gain is a normal part of growth or a warning sign of childhood obesity.
The two spoke to Dr. Roberto Kalil on CNN's Sinais Vitais program, which aired Saturday. They said the topic has grown more urgent as childhood obesity rates rise around the world, and that assessing a child's weight should not rely on isolated numbers alone but also take genetic and family background into account.
Cozer Kali offered a simple starting point for parents. She said a child's weight in kilograms should be lower than their height in centimeters, meaning a child measuring 1.39 meters tall should weigh less than 39 kilograms.
She added an important caveat: reaching that maximum figure of 39 kilograms already counts as overweight, so the goal should be to stay below it.
Cozer Kali stressed that the calculation is only a general reference point, and that family context matters. She said some families have a larger body structure, making it unlikely that a child from that family will be very thin, and that this genetic context has to be factored into any assessment.
Changes to diet
Ramos raised concerns about restrictive diets, which she said can create a negative relationship with food. She argued for a gradual approach built around behavioral goals rather than sudden change.
She said it is unrealistic to expect someone to overhaul eating habits built up over a lifetime all at once, but that children have an advantage because they have not had as many years to form those habits.
Among her suggested strategies is involving children in preparing food. She said bringing a child into the kitchen, teaching them to handle ingredients and letting them take part in the process helps build a more positive relationship with eating. She concluded that a restrictive diet really is not the answer.
Family involvement
Cozer Kali built on that point, noting that the difficulty of tackling childhood obesity is real and global. She said that if the problem were easy to solve, obesity rates would not be climbing worldwide.
She also pointed to the role of the whole family in addressing the issue, saying changes cannot just be imposed on the child alone but have to be implemented for the family as a whole.
Cozer Kali warned of the risks tied to weight-related stigma. She said labeling a child as chubby or imposing food restrictions in an authoritarian way does not work.
