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Children who are overweight and obese have been increasing for the past two decades. If a child weighs 20 percent more than the average weight for that age, they are considered obese. Why are children becoming obese and what can we do about it?
Studies have shown that only 7 percent of the children born to normal weight parents will be obese. But, if a child is born to an obese parent their chances of being obese are 60 percent. Is this obesity hereditary, or is it bad modeling or programming from the obese parents?
Additional studies are have found that if you are obese as a child, your chances of being obese as an adult are 75 percent higher than normal. Family eating habits play a big role in whether a child will be overweight.
Overeating or simply eating junk foods that are full of empty calories, are the major contributor of obesity in the United States. Foods with empty calories are those that supply hardly any nutritional value compared to the amount of calories they impart.
Usually these foods are full of fat. They are also the foods that are advertised on TV during children’s shows. Children who are always watching TV will see junk food commercials more and will go and get a snack even when they are not hungry.
Just because a child is fat does not mean they are healthy. In addition, just because your child is thin does not mean they are healthy either. An obese child can actually be undernourished due to the lack of vitamins and nutrients in the foods he consumes. Fast food hamburgers and french fries and most of the convenient foods that children are consuming offer little in the way of nourishment and lots in the way of fat calories. Our
diets are ruining our health!
Another reason children are becoming obese is even though many children may be eating the correct amount of calories they are supposed to, they are not exercising enough. The body will turn the extra calories that were not expended through exercise into fat. Video games, TV, movies, computers have all added to the sedentary lifestyle that children and adults are leading.
Healthy exercise is important in boosting your metabolism. Your metabolism tells your body how many calories it needs to keep going. Children who never seem to sit still burn 10 % more calories an hour than children who sit around. Exercise also decreases the chemicals in the body that trigger hunger pains. After exercising less of these chemicals are released your appetite will actually decrease. Sometimes kids won’t get hungry until several hours after a strenuous activity and this is a good thing.
If your child is overweight motivating them to get off the couch and begin exercising can be difficult. Help your child realize that exercise is a healthy habit and is fun. This can be done by being a good example yourself. If you begin exercising or doing things as a family that burn calories, such as hiking, taking walks, playing active games, playing tennis, family bike rides etc. you will see a change of health in the whole family. You will no longer have to force your child to exercise, they will want to because it is fun.
There is no easy answer to losing weight, but the biggest factor is self control. Helping a child learn self control with out losing self esteem is not easy, but can be and needs to be done. A parent with an overweight child needs to approach the subject with sensitivity and compassion. Behavior modification programs are available for children to help them learn healthy eating habits. Setting goals and destraction techniques are helpful for everyone to learn, especially those with weight problems.
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