How to Get Combat Childhood Obesity: Get the Entire Family Involved

When a child is young, they are impressionable. How the family eats will pass down to the child. It is, for that reason, the family must be concerned with their diet as a whole, especially if the child is obese or overweight. It's not uncommon for a child to have overweight/obese parents or siblings. A child cannot combat his/her obesity problem on his/her own; they must have the support of their parents and siblings. The entire family must be willing to change their lifestyle and eating habits. A way to get your child back into shape is to use a weight loss camp that can assist them into forming a new diet plan.

It's thought the reason behind the rise in numbers for childhood obesity is based on children choosing the foods they want to eat. 20 years or so years ago, parents would make the family supper and children would eat what they wanted from it and eat little of the food they didn't want. Children were more likely to choose smaller portions of their food but they never had a say so in what was being served.

Over 18,000 questionnaires were sent home with results showing that four in five families allow their child to have a say so in what they eat. This study showed a strong link of children who have a healthy eating habit and parents who choose their meals. The more families ate together, the less chance the child would become obese.

Other studies done showed children who have a low self-esteem were prone to becoming obese. Many medical professionals have challenged this theory. Was low self-esteem the cause behind obesity or was it obesity the cause behind low self-esteem? The focus behind weight loss summer camps is to take a practical look at the connection between a child's self-esteem and their overeating.

It cannot be questioned that childhood obesity is a growing problem that's exploded in the past 20 years, which is why there is a vast number of fat camps in the United States. It's a burden not just for the obese children but the health care system that must care for them, as they become adults. After all, the number of adults who are now being diagnosed and suffering with the different types of diabetes has grown significantly.

It is believed that 10 percent of the United States children population was classified as overweight/obese in 1980. In 20 years, the numbers tripled and now stand at 30 percent. It is these staggering numbers that has brought much discussion to the childhood obesity crisis.

Since parents are a big reason to their child's obesity problems, it is them who must help the child get past it. This means telling them what and when to eat and getting them off the couch to exercise. It's going to take much more than just one person egging them off; the entire household has to follow suit. If a child is unable to have sweets, it's only going to be tempting for them to sneak these foods if he/she sees them under the counters.

The best thing you can do for your child's weight loss diet is to throw out any food that doesn't conform to the child's nutrition plan. Since junk food isn't healthy for anyone, it's not a crying shame to get rid of it from the home entirely. If your child loves to demand food while at the grocery store, you would be better to leave him/her at home. If you have a teenager in the home, taking them with you so that they may understand labels and ingredients might serve a good purpose.

Make sure to establish a family meal plan that doesn't include fried or sauced over foods. Start a low fat diet for the entire household. If you can change the eating behaviors of the whole family, the overweight child has a higher chance to succeed in their weight loss attempt.

Don't let the child sit in front of the television all day and night. Instead, go walking with him/her. If your child is driven to school, consider dropping him/her off at the school's curb rather than the front door. Put together some weekend activities that involve a lot of walking, swimming and more but make sure it's something he/she be willing to do so that they don't drag behind... not wanting to join in on the fun.

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