In this free Medical Spanish lesson you will learn how to talk about weight loss and management anticipatory guidance in Spanish: Orientación temprana para controlar peso y evitar obesidad.
Last week, we started this “Orientación temprana” topic talking about anticipatory guidance for diabetes. This week, we talk about weight loss and management but focused mostly on kids, so this lesson is for you to learn how to talk to parents about their kid.
In this free medical Spanish lesson you will learn how to discuss the following in Spanish:
- Body Mass Index
- Obesity related diseases
- Diet and physical activity to control weight
- Important tips for parents
- Ways to make suggestions
Here is the Usted Commands for Medical Spanish lesson that I taught on YouTube and to our Facebook group:
Índice de Masa Corporal – Body Mass Index
¿Qué es? – What is it?
El índice de masa corporal es una medición de su talla corporal. Es un cálculo de su altura y su peso. Básicamente mide la grasa corporal.
The body mass index is a measure of your body size. It is a calculation between your height and your weight. Basically it measures your body fat.
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Cuál es el rango saludable para mi hijo? | What is the healthy range for my child? |
| • Entre 5 – 95 percentil en la tabla de crecimiento | • Between 5 – 95 percentile in the growth chart |
| Lo importante es el crecimiento promedio de su hijo. No hay que preocuparse por un punto específico. | • The important thing is your child’s average growth. No need to worry about a specific point |
Related Lesson: Talking About Growth Charts in Spanish
Más sobre Índice de Masa Corporal
Now lest’s talk about explaining this “índice” to your Spanish speaking patients.
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Qué es percentil? | What is percentile? |
| • Percentil es una comparación con otros niños (niñas) de la misma edad de su hijo (hija). | • Percentile is a comparison with other children of the same age as your son or daughter. |
| Por ejemplo, si su IMC es 80 por ciento, significa que 80/100 niños tienen un IMC menor que su hijo y que 20/100 tienen un IMC mayor. | For example, if your BMI is 80 percent, it means that 80/100 children have a lower BMI than your child and that 20/100 have a higher BMI. |
| Si su IMC es 10 por ciento, 10/100 niños tienen un IMC menor que su hijo y que 90/100 tienen un IMC mayor | If your BMI is 10 percent, 10/100 children have a lower BMI than your child and 90/100 have a higher BMI |
| ¿Por qué es importante? | Why it is important? |
| • Obesidad en el futuro: La mitad de adultos obesos eran obesos en su juventud | • Obesity in the future: Half of obese adults were obese in their youth |
| • Otras enfermedades: Los hábitos de dieta y actividad física que se establecen en la niñez tienen consecuencias a lo largo. | • Other diseases: The habits of diet and physical activity that are established in childhood have consequences in the long run. |
Enfermedades relacionadas con obesidad – Obesity Related Diseases
Here you have a list of obesity related diseases with a simple explanation that hopefully you can use with your patients.
| Spanish | English |
| Diabetes tipo 2: su cuerpo ya no puede procesar la glucosa en su sangre. | Type 2 diabetes: your body can no longer process the glucose in your blood. |
| Ovarios poliquísticos: cuando las hormonas reproductivas no están equilibradas. | Polycystic ovaries: when reproductive hormones are not balanced. |
| Enfermedad hepática grasa: La función del hígado es suprimida por la cantidad de grasa en su hígado. | Fatty liver disease: The liver’s function is suppressed because of the amount of fat in your liver. |
Hipertensión: presión (sanguínea/arterial) alta.  | Hypertension: high blood pressure. |
| Apnea del sueño: “dificultad para respirar” mientras duerme. Sus respiraciones no son tan fluidas como deben ser. | Sleep apnea: “difficulty breathing” while sleeping. Your breaths are not as fluid as they should be. |
| Enfermedad de Blount: causa piernas arqueadas. | Blount’s disease: it causes bowed legs. |
| Deslizamiento de la cabeza femoral: cuando la cabeza del femur desliza hacia abajo y causa dolor, dificultad para caminar, etc. | Slipped capital femoral epiphysis: when the femoral head slides down and causes pain, difficulty walking, etc. |
Dieta y actividad física para controlar el peso – Diet and Physical Activity to Control Weight
This is the easiest way to explain the 5 2 1 0 diet in Spanish, so that your patients and the parents could apply this advice right away after your visit with them.
| Spanish | English |
| 5: Hay que comer 5 porciones de frutas y verduras (crudas, frescas) por día. | 5: You have to eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables (raw, fresh) per day. |
| 2: Es importante limitar el tiempo de pantalla a 2 horas por día. Es decir, tiempo frente al televisor, la computadora, el tablet, etc. | 2: It is important to limit the screen time to 2 hours per day. That is to say, time in front of the TV, the computer, the tablet, etc. |
| 1: Los niños necesitan por lo menos una hora de actividad física por día. | 1: Children need at least one hour of physical activity per day. |
| 0: Cero bebidas azucaradas (refrescos, bebidas para deportistas, jugos, etc). | 0: Zero sugary drinks (soft drinks, sports drinks, juices, etc.). |
Note: “Screen” in this case is “pantalla”.
Note 2: “Televisor” is the TV device, whereas “Televisión” refers to the TV technology and programming.
Related Lesson: Explaining the 5 2 1 0 Diet in Spanish
Consejos importantes – Important tips
These tips could be useful for parents who want to start making changes to their lifestyle in order to control the children’s body weight.
| Spanish | English |
| 1. Es importante amamantar a sus bebés por lo menos un año. Después de los 6 meses es bueno empezar con comidas apropiadas para bebés también. | 1. It is important to breastfeed your kids for at least one year. After 6 months it is good to start with appropriate foods for babies also. |
| 2. Es mejor preparar las comidas en casa en vez de comer en restaurantes | 2. It is better to prepare your meals at home instead of eating in restaurants. |
| 3. Es buena idea cenar juntos como familia en la mesa 5-6 veces por semana | 3. It’s a good idea to eat dinner together as a family at the table 5-6 times a week. |
| 4. Hay que empezar el día con un desayuno saludable. | 4. You have to start your day with a healthy breakfast. |
| 5. Los cambios de estilo de vida para la familia son mejores cuando toda la familia participa en las decisiones | 5. Lifestyle changes for the family are best when the whole family participates in the decisions |
| 6. Si usted prepara una comida balanceada y le sirve una porción sana, no hay problema si su hijo no quiere terminar toda su comida. | 6. If you prepare a well balanced meal and serve a healthy portion, there is no problem if your child does not want to finish all of their meal. |
Su tarea – Your Homework
There is a list of ways to make suggestions using unconjugated verbs in Spanish, you can explain easily the next steps to follow.
- Review the notes & highlight the vocabulary you want to use right away
- Identify other vocabulary phrasing you need/want
- Keep it simple:
Es buena idea… (It’s a good idea) + unconjugated verb
Es mejor… (It’s better) + unconjugated verb
Es importante… (It is important to) + unconjugated verb
Hay que… (You have to) + unconjugated verb - Give it a try with your patients!
Now it’s your turn! I packaged all of this vocabulary in Spanish into some flashcards for you to study.
I packaged all of this into easily downloadable .pdf notes–Get your copy for free today!
Free Medical Spanish Terminology Test
If you want to do a free Medical Spanish terminology test head over to certified Spanish, we are currently building a certification platform where you can practice this test for free. You just have to create a free user account here and start practicing your Español Médico 🙂
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