The Child Fatness Epidemic Must Be Tackled Urgently All Over The World
ByLately the child obesity epidemic is more and more prominent on the news. If a child is obese it can lead to serious health issues for the child like diabetes, hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular diseases, skeletal disorders, sleep disorders and problems, psychological symptoms and gastro-intestinal problems. These abnormalities will in all likelyhood continue into puberty and adulthood. Recent studies have shown that if a child is obese it is extremely likely that adult obesity will follow.
Despite all the above, parents can easily impact on the lifestyle of their children and guide them to achieve a healthy lifestyle and remain healthy.
What role can parents play to have a positive impact on obesity amongst children? Parents must address the causes of child obesity. Parents must give their children a lot of attention and help them to feel wanted. If your child is neglected by you there is an increased possibility of obesity compared to other children. Your kids should not be pressured into eating more than they want to during meals, you will train your child's metabolism to function at a higher level than what would be healthy for the child.
The amount of food eaten is not what is most important. Of far more importance is that the child should eat properly and then get adequate exercise. Your kid will acquire abnormal eating behaviours if you are going to be constantly fussing about food intake.
The time that your kid spends in front of the television must be limited. You will find that his or her weight is almost directly proportional to the time sitting motionless in front of the tv, watching television is obviously going to reduce physical activities by the child, it then consequently also reduces the metabolism of the body. The junk food commercials on television also affects children, they are encouraged to eat more junk food and drink beverages with high levels of sugar leading to increased weight problems for the kid.
If you can see that your kid weights more than he or she should and is on the way to being obese, consult with a physician as soon as you can, and stop obesity in its tracks immediately. It is a myth that mothers to be have to eat for two people, if you eat too much while you are pregnant there is a good chance that both you and your unborn child will become obese. Your newborn should be breastfeeded for a period of not less than one year. With your infant still very young, a greater emphasis should be on fruits, grains and other fresh produce while closely watching to see if the child is really hungry before being fed.
If the risk that your child will become obese is high, try using low fat milk instead of the richer variety. Sugar and fat containing snacks must be avoided, because they are very high in calories. For kids that are still of school going age, you must enforce rules as to how much time can be spent each day watching television, snacks may only be of the healthy variety, treats can be allowed occasionally and generally good food habits must be encouraged.
The child obesity epidemic is not static, it keeps on increasing with each passing year and, since the early eighties, there has been an alarming increase. The childhood obesity epidemic poses a great risk to our children's children, and it must now be halted in its tracks all over the developed world.
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