The Scary Facts About Child Obesity and How to Avoid it Pronto

Childhood obesity has dramatically increased over the years. For the past three decades, the percentage has gone up to threefold. Moreover, in 2008, the prevalence of childhood obesity among the 6-to-11 age group rose to more than 12 percent.

Obesity among children is not cute and should never be tolerated. It makes them more prone to serious illnesses when they grow up, such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. They easily get tired or stressed. Obesity disrupts the proper function of the body, and it is not surprising if the kids also suffer from mental issues like anxiety and depression.

Causes of Childhood Obesity

There is a long list of childhood obesity. These include the following:

* Conveniences in life (transportation, fast food meals, devices such as computers)
* Genes (though this accounts for a very minute percentage)
* School (peer pressure, types of food served in cafeteria)
* Personal issues (divorce, illness in the family, relocation, death)
* Addiction (including food addiction)
* Busy lifestyle (parents no longer have time to cook real meals)

What to Do

You should learn to control or eliminate childhood obesity in your home before it gets worse and place your child's health at risk.

Here are some tips:

1. Be a good example. Show your kid that you are eating healthy food and exercising. Sleep and wake up early. Spend less time sitting and more time moving. This way, your child does not make you an excuse to eat well and be fit.

2. Control the addiction. It is a lot harder to help your kid if he or she is already addicted to food. You may require a professional help. Usually, professionals employ behavioral cognitive approaches to modify his or her eating habits.

3. Know the reason for food binging. Your child may be into emotional eating. He or she copes with stress, depression, and anxiety by binging on food. Before you can reduce your kid's caloric intake, you should be able to resolve the root cause first.

4. Boost your child's confidence. A lot of children do not really want to lose weight because they think they cannot do it. They believe it is going to be such a hard battle. If he or she feels this, you need to motivate your.

You can use the different subliminal message videos. The videos will display images and words that can help change his or her present mind-set. Some of these messages may be the following:

I can definitely do it.
I can look forward to a healthier me.
I will not allow myself to be damaged by obesity.
There are a lot of things I can do when I am healthy.

These subliminal messages go through your child's subconscious, altering his or her self-perception.

5. Provide plenty of outdoor activities. The various outdoor activities offer fun alternatives to the boring exercise routines. Some of the best activities are sports, jogging, camping, and mountain climbing. Because they are engaging, there's a huge chance your child will continue to pursue them all the way to adulthood.

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