For the last year or two the child obesity rate 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, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular diseases, skeletal disorders, sleep problems, psychological symptoms and gastro-intestinal problems. These abnormalities will in all likelyhood continue into puberty and adulthood. Research has unfortunately shown that obese children has a much higher risk than other people to turn into obese adults.
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 is the role needed from parents to make a contribution to the prevention of obesity in their child? Parents must address the causes of childhood 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. If you worry too much about your child’s weight you are going to encourage eating behaviours that are abnormal.
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. Children also watch the commercials on television and it affect them, 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 are thinking that your child weighs more than his or her ideal weight and that there is a risk of obesity, consult with a physician as soon as you can, to ensure that obesity is halted quickly and effectively. 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, there should be strong emphasis on fruits, and vegetables and grains while all the time monitoring to see if the youngster is really hungry before feeding it.
If you note that there is a high risk that your child may become obese, try using low fat milk instead of the richer variety. Sugar and fat containing snacks must be avoided, because they are high in low nutritional value calories. If your kid is still at school, put in place steadfast rules as to how much they are allowed to watch 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 child obesity epidemic will pose a huge threat to the future of our children and their children, and it must now be halted in its tracks all over the developed world.