Childhood Obesity: Ways of Prevention

One of the main health issues with children are obesity and almost 15 percent of children all over the world are suffering from this disease. There are many reasons for child obesity and some of these reasons include, change in eating habits. This means that these days child are getting less of nutritional food and more of fatty foods. They tend to be away from fresh food, vegetables and whole grains and are attracted more towards foods that are high in fats and additive sugars. One of the other reasons for obesity in children is that they are physically less active. This is mostly because of much exposure to Television and online games. Children forget to have their own physical activities or playing physical games like cricket, volleyball, basketball and are more hooked towards their television screen or computer monitor for their satisfaction of game play.

These lacks of physical exercises and more of sitting games, make these children more obese. Third, reason for obese children are that there are parents who are working and hence they tend to spend less time with their children. Hence a child is away from normal tend of knowing what is good or bad for him or what is healthy diet for him or her. Parents are the one who is responsible for inculcating good eating habits in a child and if they are not present in their child's initial stage then this makes a difference in the upbringing of their child. Moving ahead from the causes of obesity in children, let us look at some of the bad effects of obesity in them. Obesity has mental as well as physical effects on a body and it can cause depression, diabetes, hormonal imbalance and the joint problems. In fact, if a child is obese since initial stage then it can effect him in his later ages too with issues like, arthritis, heart attack etc.

Let us now, have a look towards different ways of preventing childhood obesity. One of the ways given by medical doctors is like losing weight through long lasting lifestyle changes. Healthy changes like eating smaller portions of healthy foods, going through exercises and avoiding any kind of weight loss program are good way of prevention. Another way can be from good parenting. Parents are the responsible person who should inculcate good eating habits in their child since initial stages by making them understand what is good and healthy food, what is the importance of having balanced diet, educating them to be more active with intake of fresh fruits and vegetable juices, etc. Parents should also teach their children the correct way of being responsible and looking after their weight loss programs themselves.

There are many international and national programs for obesity control and both parents as well as child are welcomed to participate and know about the various methods and strategies to control obesity and live healthy life. Parents can include their child in more of physical activities; they can also include them in preparation of food in kitchen so that they start knowing what food is good or bad for them. Avoiding high sugary and fatty foods and including more of fresh fruits and vegetable juices is the first step towards preventing obesity.

1. Prev:Dealing With Obesity in Children
2. Next:Battling Obesity With Bariatric Surgery San Antonio