“Severe diets are completely wrong for children, it makes them feel deprived, and makes them feel that they have no willpower. It also creates a negative relationship with food,” says Mireille Medhat, Child Nutrition Specialist and Founder of ‘Beet It’. “Tying weight loss with body image is also wrong. For children to develop a healthy self image, your conversation with them should always be about being healthy, not looking better.” Seeing parents force their children to diet and talk negatively to them about their weight, Medhat realized that parents are often misinformed, and so they tend to handle obesity in the wrong way. Founded in 2018, Beet It is an Instagram account which aims to raise a healthy generation and “beat” childhood obesity by raising awareness. Their services include tailored meal plans and coaching sessions for parents and children, variable according to the children’s age. On the occasion of World Obesity Day, on March 4, Egyptian Streets is shedding light on the prevalence of obesity among Egyptian schoolchildren, and ways to tackle it. Parents wonder why their children are obese without considering genetics, unhealthy habits at home, and keeping sugary…
World Obesity Day: Guiding Egyptian Schoolchildren to Healthy Habits
March 3, 2022
