Obesity in children: Zdeňka (35) was a “metraček”, she ate a roll with majolica

Zdenka’s weight problems started with the birth of her brother, who attracted more and more attention from her parents. “I started gaining weight around the age of four – when my brother was already an active toddler. The older he got, the more attention he had. I soon discovered that I can attract the attention of everyone around me with food. Sentence: Mom, I’m hungry! she always took” recalls Zdeňka.

Candies on hand and finishing up after my brother

However, her parents did not think at all about the composition of the menu at that time. “I was given cookies, sweet semolina porridge and similar food. I ate a lot and often, more than was healthy. I still had a basket of cookies and candies on hand. I also often finished eating after my brother, who didn’t eat nearly as much and never had problems with being overweight.” he says.

When she started first grade, she weighed 32 kilograms and suffered from obesity of the first degree. She does not like to remember elementary school and describes it in one word – hell. “Where I came, I was the center of attention. The kids made fun of me and I kept gaining weight. In the third grade, I already weighed 52 kilograms,” admits Zdeňka.

Since she grew up in the ’90s, her lifestyle was also influenced by the ‘new’ foods that appeared on store shelves at the time – instant sauces, bagged soups, ready meals or frozen pizza. “I still remember the smell and taste of chicken nuggets prepared in a deep fryer. Chips were the order of the day with us. At the age of ten, the best snack for me was a roll spread with butter, smeared with ketchup and majolica,” describing.

At the same time, she didn’t lack movement, because in her childhood she lived in the village and often went outside, swam in the pond, went to scouts and rode a bike. “I even managed to climb trees. But none of that made me lose weight.” recalls Zdeňka.

Magic preparations and the yo-yo effect

Her obesity was repeatedly pointed out by teachers and a general practitioner. Therefore, in the third grade, Zdeňka completed a stay in a children’s sanatorium, but it did not bring any effect. At that time, freely available defatting preparations began to appear on the market. “Mom thought they would help me and even became their dealer,” describes Zdeňka. She used the drugs when she was twelve, which led to rapid weight loss, but a subsequent yo-yo effect, after which her weight was higher than before the weight loss.

“Today I know it’s stupid. Not only do these preparations not lead to the expected long-term results, but above all they are not for children at all and can harm their health.” emphasizes Zdeňka.

As she got older, she became more and more aware of her weight, the extra kilos were not pleasant for her and she was ashamed of her appearance. She tried to limit the amount of food, eat whole grain bread and more vegetables, but she could not work properly with the modification of the menu. “I often went hungry, and it always ended the same – raiding the refrigerator,” describing. She left elementary school without friends, 32 kilograms overweight and mentally broken.

Calorie charts helped

At secondary school, Zdeňka was accepted by the team in a completely different way. At that time, she was already purposefully searching for information about obesity and ways to adjust her weight. In addition, she had an excellent gym teacher at school, who led her to exercise more often. “Later, I changed secondary schools, because the curriculum I joined after elementary school didn’t suit me, but I calmed down a lot. When I then started studying the field of educational and humanitarian work, I thought I would start a new life,” describes Zdeňka.