Consultant Pediatrician: Electronic devices reduce the child’s mental presence while eating

Dr. Jamal Omar, a consultant in general pediatrics and chronic diseases, leader of the general pediatric track in the second Riyadh Health Cluster, revealed that 25% to 35% of the problems reported to pediatric clinics by parents are complaints of children with selective eating, as indicated by some studies.

Dr. explained. Jamal, during his participation in the Present and Future Conference held in King Fahd Medical City, one of the components of the second Riyadh Health Cluster, that the selective child is the product of parents’ skills, the surrounding environment and the strategy used during eating, and compulsion and coercion were the greatest risk factors.

He added that sitting in front of electronic devices and other distractions reduce the child’s mental presence while eating, and thus a selective child may arise. Pointing out that the food-selective child may lead to complications of food diseases that require behavioral, cognitive and nutritional treatment by pediatricians, nutrition, psychological and behavioral specialists.

For his part, the pediatric consultant and head of the endocrinology and diabetes unit at the Security Forces Hospital, Dr. Abdullah Al-Faris, confirmed that sitting in front of television and electronic devices for more than an hour plays a major role in increasing childhood obesity by at least 30% to 40% in the first 3 years of Their seating after that reaches 50%.

He added that 85% of obese children have a severe deficiency of vitamin D, and this leads to osteoporosis in the future, and cortisone is the most important hormone that causes obesity.

He continued, “It has been observed in recent years, especially after Corona, that the incidence of type 2 diabetes in children due to obesity is high.”

For her part, the Chair of the Organizing Committee of the Conference and Chief Dietitian in King Fahd Medical City, Iman Al-Amoudi, explained that one of the objectives of providing the latest scientific evidence in clinical nutrition science in treating patients and developing the quality of therapeutic nutritional care through providing health services to prevent diseases, providing quality medical services and providing Information for health practitioners and the latest developments and challenges in the field of nutrition.

For her part, the clinical nutrition specialist and head of the Clinical Nutrition Division for Diets in the Clinical Nutrition Department at King Fahd Medical City, Ibtihal Abu Rasin, stressed the importance of research in the field of therapeutic nutrition, due to its contribution to increasing the quality of patient service and health care and determining the causal relationship between diet and health outcome measures to achieve specific results.

For her part, Hasna Al-Shammari, the chief therapeutic nutritionist and specialist in ketogenic diets in King Fahd Medical City, advised not to drift around excessive weight-loss advertisements using the ketogenic diet except under medical supervision and continuous follow-up with a nutritionist who has experience in the ketogenic diet to ensure laboratory analyzes and the absence of Heart disease or kidney stones, be careful to take vitamins and calcium periodically, follow up on measuring the level of sugar in the blood, and know ways to prevent in case of low sugar or high fat, and she showed that sugar-free products do not mean that they are free of starches.