What Causes Childhood Obesity?

Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in America. Medical professionals have designated obesity as a disease in itself. There are different categories of factors that contribute to childhood obesity. Some are related to societal changes, others are related to our individual lifestyles and still others are directly related to food products. It is important that we educate ourselves regarding these factors and take responsibility for the health of our children. While some parents are directly negligent, it is far more common that well-intentioned parents simply do not understand risk factors and contributing causes and do not realize that childhood obesity is largely preventable.

Lifestyle cannot be overlooked in its contribution to childhood obesity. Society has placed more of a value on indoor hobbies than outdoor activities, and sedentary occupations are beginning to replace active options. Schools are placing less of an importance on physical exercise in favor of what they believe to be educational alternatives. Very often, children do not get enough exercise. Our fast paced and busy lifestyles have taken some of the control out of our hands as parents, and it is important that we get it back. If the school does not offer enough recess or physical activity, there is rarely time for children to go outside and exercise once they get home, or at least the parents do not recognize this need.

Our lifestyles have also caused us to gravitate toward convenient food options rather than those that are healthy. We have become accustomed to feeding processed foods and not paying attention to the ingredients. The truth is, manufacturers are loading these processed foods full of preservatives and artificial sweeteners that are contributing to childhood obesity. Most processed foods contain much larger amounts of sugars and fats than we would ever consciously allow ourselves or our children to consume.

Children value their parents' examples, so it is important to be a healthy role model for your children. With the busy schedules most of us carry today, families rarely place as much importance on healthy meals as they once did. Children spend less and less time at their own homes during meal time, due to everyone in the family participating in different activities. When children are away from home, we lose control over what they eat. In fact, much of the food the average school-aged child consumes is not eaten at home. We may set guidelines at home for our children's eating habits, but when they eat with their peers at school they are introduced to all kinds of foods and develop curiosity. When our children eat dinner with other families, we cannot control what they are fed. For this reason, it is extremely important that we instill good eating habits in our children early on and explain the importance of healthy eating. Many of us neglect this responsibility, and our children are essentially thrown to the wolves to formulate their own opinions about food choices. As parents, we take responsibility for taking our children for vaccinations and regular check-ups, yet many of us entirely forget to teach our children how to make healthy choices when it comes to food. Although it is true that today's food choices have contributed to the problem, we have the collective ability to end childhood obesity by including it as part of our parenting plan.

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Dealing With Obesity in Children

More and more children are struggling with obesity in today's society. With a prevalence of video games and television luring youth into a sedentary lifestyle, it is no wonder why so many children are facing this issue. However, it is not the children who are to blame for the obesity problem, for children are only a product of their environment. If a child lives in a home where healthy eating and regular exercise are not encouraged, then the child will blindly follow the unhealthy habits he or she sees exemplified in his or her influential adult figure. It is crucial as a parent or guardian, you establish healthy habits to the child in your life through example.

If a child has not been shown healthy practices at a young age, many health issues may be revealed as early as the adolescent years. When children struggle with childhood obesity, the probability of facing weight problems throughout the teen years is great. When adolescents struggle with health issues the problems become not only physical obesity, but psychological issues may arise as well. A neglect of proper heath habits when a child is still young and influential will have damaging effects on the child for the rest of his or her life.

Having a healthy child is not as difficult as many make it seem. Most children have high metabolisms, making losing weight fairly simple. Exercise for kids does not have to be a rigorous routine. Children need stimulation and activity, but not in the conventional ways that adults use. All kids need to do is simply, be kids! Playing outside, going to the park, participating in community sports, are all ways children can receive the exercise they need to avoid obesity. Nature is a child's gym, and it is free!

Healthy eating, on the other hand, is not as easy. Throughout time, children have opposed eating their vegetables. The difference between your generation and the generation you are now raising is, your parents made you finish your vegetables. Today, healthy eating is easily exchanged for fast food, potato chips, and carbonated beverages. The adults claim to not have time to prepare proper meals, and therefore, the kids reap the consequences and suffer from childhood obesity. It is imperative that you instill proper, healthy eating habits for this generation. Without healthy eating practices, you are leading your child down a road of future health problems and adult obesity.

There is no reason for an otherwise healthy child to suffer from obesity. By instilling the ability in your child to make healthy choices, you are not only helping them to be healthy, but you are also ingraining wonderful life skills at an early age. All parents want their children to be confident and successful, not suffering from obesity, and a healthy body is a great way to start pruning for success. Do not doom your child to failure before he or she has the chance to fly. Remember, your kids get to choose your nursing home. You want to make sure they are as successful as possible, so that you can be as comfortable as possible.

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Childhood Obesity

Childhood Obesity and How to Prevent It

The sheer amount of misinformation on obesity in America is staggering. However, far more troubling is the amount of misinformation on childhood obesity and how to combat it. For all the troubling news stories of how people are dying left and right, the latest vital statistics data from the CDC says that we've hit a new high in life expectancy, as we have every year since 1977.

First you have to establish your child is really overweight. BMI has historically been inaccurate in a majority of the population. BMI would have marked Sylvester Stallone as obese in his Rambo days. In fact, BMI is useless for anyone who exercises since it cannot account for muscle mass. There are athletes with 2% body fat classified as "obese". Any doctor that uses BMI as an indicator of your child's obesity or "obesity" is not being honest. There's actually a very simple way of telling if your child is obese: Look at them. We know what stomach fat looks like and that is the indicator of poor health. It's called "abdominal obesity".

Quite frankly, the best advice is to give your child a good healthy diet, moderating sweets and be sure he gets plenty of exercise. Every one is an individual and their body shape is a combination of genetics and proper eating habits and exercise. There is no one cause of obesity in children or adults as a group. Each person is unique and what is good for one may be bad for another. Science has shown that no single factor is the cause and claims of soda or sweets being the factor have been debunked in published scientific journals using proper scientific method.

The best thing to do for you and your child is educate yourself by reading more than the headlines and never listening to another person. No one knows your child better than you and your child should never be humiliated or embarrassed by anyone with regards to their weight. Proper mental health is a large key to anyone's obesity. If you care about your body, you will take better care of it. The emphasis should be on health, not size.

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