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Childhood Obesity

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Kids eat what their parents eat and what they bring home form the store. If the fridge is full of Twinkies and HoHos, the children will eat them. If they see Dad ordering a Supersized meal, they feel left out if they don’t have the same. Dinner time? More of the same – large helpings of all the wrong foods.

Many Moms won’t let children get up from the table until they clean there plate – and take in way more calories in the process.

This “clean your plate” idea comes from the much learner times of their parents, not today’s reality. Back in the day, a heavy meal was needed to sustain a body that toiled for hours in the hot sun to bring in the crops. Today, many workers are chair bound.

Children are no exception – they often spend the whole day sitting at a desk doing nothing more active than moving a pencil. Walk to school – oh no, that’s what the SUV and the school bus are for. So what if it’s only a few blocks.

How to deal with this problem? Speak up, for one. If you are friends of people who have fat children, say something. They might tell you to get bent, but at least you tried.

For families that are bulging over the belt, don’t wait another day to do something about it. Check out these guidelines to a slimmer family:

Don’t offer dessert as a reward for finishing a meal

Don’t use food to comfort or reward

Offer your child a healthy diet

No more than 30% of daily calories should be from fat

Don’t force your child to eat when they are not hungry

Find out about the right kinds of food to feed your child

Your child should get lots of fiber from fruits, vegetables and grains

Spend time being active with your child

Don’t eat at fast-food restaurants more than once a month and don’t make a big deal out of it – act like it’s a last recourse

Get your child to do something active everyday for at least an hour

Teach your child good eating and exercise habits

Children copy adults – eat right and exercise as part of your daily routine and invite them to join – make it fun

Take them with you to food shops and show them how to choose healthy items by reading the labels

Talk about health and nutrition with them

Help them to identify “bad” foods

Pack a healthy lunch with enough good foods and snacks to last them through the day

Praise them frequently no matter what, but be extra attentive when they make smart eating and exercise decisions

If a fat-loss program is needed, make sure everyone around the child participates so your child doesn’t feel singled out

It’s time to take responsibility and do something today. Either that or accept that we are just pawns in a clever game of fast-food marketing and have no control over our lives. The blame goes on the shoulders of those who are obese and those who facilitate them.

Do your part today: set good examples, say something, and become a focus of change, because if not, many millions will suffer needlessly.

And for god sake, save the children from a life of obesity – they don’t deserve it.

Before you go take a look at this video from Dr Mark Hyman: