Most parents just feel helpless. They want the best for their kids, but in spite of everything we know about nutrition and exercise, most parents hope for the best and do little about their overweight kids.
But there are child obesity solutions. It is clear to me that parents don’t understand the pivotal role they play in the solution to a child’s weight problem.
The three crucial mistakes that parents make and the key actions parents must take to get control and start their child on the path to improvement:
Mistake #1: “She’s Not Heavy.” This is plain denial. Many parents refuse to be honest with themselves about their child’s weight. They see the beautiful perfection of their child and turn a blind eye to a problem that is likely causing emotional pain in their child’s life lowering the child’s self-esteem and getting in the way of their child achieving her true potential.
Action Plan: Learn what a healthy weight for your child should be. Compare where your child is to where your child needs to be. Acknowledge this goal openly.
Mistake #2: “He’ll grow out of it.” If only parents knew: Studies show that 50% of obese school-aged children will become obese adults. Children WON’T grow out of their weight problem.
Action Plan: You don’t need to put your child on a crash diet, but you do need to get them on a healthy path with better food choices and exercise activities that will help them as they grow. Losing weight is not rocket science. But changing the habits and lifestyle of a family in today’s busy world is difficult. Especially when the emotional well being of a fragile overweight child is at stake, parents need a plan and they need perseverance.
The good news is that the easiest time to get your child on track is between the ages of 4-12 when they are growing and still totally reliant upon their parents for their food and activity.
Mistake #3: “I’ve Tried Everything.” Most parents simply give up. They may try something but usually not the right things – in the right way. Then they give up.
Action Plan: The secret is that you must put it all together in the correct way and you must commit to being successful. You must acknowledge that you are the only one that can make the difference and you must rally your entire family around your child’s success. You can have a healthy child but only if you decide to make it the number one priority in your life.
I’m sure you’ve seen the dire reports about childhood obesity becoming rampant in America. It’s a scary thing and not an experience any of us wish upon our children. Preventing obesity can be easy and empowering for children. Give them control over their bodies. Teach them to tune in to their real needs and to treat themselves with love and respect. But there is child obesity solutions incorporate these 20 tips to your child’s lifestyle.
The most effective thing we can do to prevent childhood obesity is help children stay in touch with their bodies and honor its needs. It is a fact that people are generally getting fatter in many western societies. This is reflected in the popularity of diet books and fitness equipment. But while most of us realize it would be good to lose a bit of weight, we are only vaguely aware of the staggering levels of “obesity” in our societies. We are even less aware of the impact this is having on our children, and the widespread existence of childhood obesity.
Child Obesity Rates
Generally speaking, a person is considered “obese” when the amount of fat stored in his body endangers his health. Here are some recent OECD statistics that show just how widespread the problem of obesity is:
Percentage of Population (over 15 years of age) who are obese
U.S.A. – 30.6%
Mexico – 24.2%
U.K. – 22.4%
Australia – 21.7%
New Zealand – 17%
Canada – 14.9%
Germany – 12.9%
France – 9.4%
In other words, almost 1 in 3 Americans and roughly 1 in 5 Australians are so grossly overweight as to have health problems because of it.
What Causes Childhood Obesity ?
As individuals we have a tendency to rationalize our inclination to be overweight or obese.
We often blame such things as heredity, or glandular imbalance, and while these things often do make a difference, the primary cause for most obesity is quite simple.
A person gains weight when he or she consumes more calories than they burn.
In other words, there are two important factors involved diet and activity level. And it seems pretty obvious that in countries with a high obesity level, both things are taking a hit.
Western diets are oozing with more fat and sugar than ever before, while people are generally becoming more sedentary and getting less physical exercise sitting in front of computers all day, and in front of the TV all night.
But there hope to curb child obesity. By following the child obesity solutions tips above.
Consequences of an Obese Lifestyle
Obesity has overtaken infectious diseases as the most significant contributor to ill health worldwide.
Illness such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, high blood pressure, obstructive sleep apnea, asthma, heart disease, stroke, back and lower extremity weight-bearing degenerative problems, certain types of cancer, and depression, have been attributed to obesity.
In fact, it has been estimated that roughly 500,000 deaths now occur annually due to poor diet and physical inactivity. If this trend towards obesity is not reversed in the next few years, it will likely overtake tobacco as the leading preventable cause of death.
Even more troubling, when adults adopt an obese lifestyle, they are more likely to pass their eating and activity habits along to their children. This has given rise to a dramatic increase in obesity in children.
Child Obesity Facts
Obesity in children has become commonplace in many countries. For instance, it is estimated that obesity in children and adults in the US has increased by more than 30% over the past 10 years alone.
The reasons are obvious. Children are subjected to the obese lifestyle from all sides. Many families have substituted high fat, high sugar junk food and soft drinks for regular well-balanced meals. Or they have simply stopped preparing meals in the home the proportion of foods that children consumed from restaurants and fast food outlets increased by nearly 300% between 1977 and 1996.
Children are also the targets of a constant barrage of advertising that promotes highly processed junk food.
And in many cases the normal physical activity that has been a part of childhood for many generations has been restricted by concerns for safety, or completely replaced by sedentary activities like playing video games or watching TV.
But the 20 tips below has child obesity solutions.
Consequences of childhood obesity
Obesity is never a good thing. But obesity in children is especially bad.
Once fat cells are created in the body they cannot be gotten rid of by normal dieting or increased physical activity.
So an obese child normally carries their obesity through into adulthood. On the other hand, if a child learns good habits for diet and exercise as children, they will very likely carry these habits and this knowledge into adulthood as well.
What Can be Done about Childhood Obesity?
It is up to parents and other adults to teach responsible alternatives to the obese lifestyle. Parents must first become aware of the problems with their own personal and family eating habits and activity levels, and then they must make adjustments that will have a positive lifelong impact on their children.
One effective way is to adopt the “AKA” approach — AWARENESS of the problem. KNOWLEDGE of what to do about it, and ACTION designed to bring about lifestyle changes. Children have an innate thirst for knowledge, a deep desire to improve their self-image, and will love the attention you give them as you develop a plan for a more healthy lifestyle for your entire family.
Follow the 20 tips for your child obesity solutions.
1) Allow children to be in charge of which foods they eat.
2) Make all foods equal and teach kids to check in with their bodies and choose foods based on what their bodies are asking for.
3) Encourage them to know when they are full and to stop eating at that point.
4) Let them eat according to their own hunger patterns rather than according to external schedules.
5) De-emphasize body shape and weight. Encourage kids to love and accept their bodies unconditionally.
6) Help them find fun ways to move and play so they get plenty of enjoyable exercise every day.
7) Love them unconditionally and don’t make derogatory comments about their looks or weight.
8) Be sure they never get started on the damaging cycle of dieting and bingeing.
9) Let food just be fuel for the body. Don’t turn it into a reward or save certain things to be special treats.
10) Teach them to honor other people and not tease or make fun of others who are fat.
11. Replace regular soda with plain water, or flavored water. Dilute fruit juices, half fruit juice and half with water. Encourage them to drink 2 glasses of 1% or fat free milk every day. You would be surprised to see how many calories you can drink in a day!
12. Make salads more flavorful by adding fruits like grapes, dried fruit, nuts, sections of mandarin orange, chunks of pineapple and sliced peaches. This is a great way to fill up without all the calories and fat that a second helping of your dinner might have.
13. Make fruit fun by freezing grapes, slices of banana and berries. Serve the frozen fruit topped with low-fat Cool Whip or dipped in a low-fat Chocolate pudding for dessert or a treat.
14. Keep a variety of low-fat yogurt, light cheese strings, veggie sticks like carrots, celery and peppers at the front of the refrigerator so the kids can grab them when they want a snack. Kids are more likely to choose these low-fat options if they are visible and readily available.
15. Keep a bowl of fresh fruit on the kitchen table where the kids can see it and reach for it without thinking. Kids tend to eat what they see!
16. Children tend to model your eating patterns, so set a good example by eating healthfully. Make sure you sit together at meal times and make food part of fun family time.
17. Make sure your child eats breakfast. Whole grain cereals, low-fat milk, yogurt and fruit it is easy and nutritious. Encourage your child to get his/her own breakfast from an early age and provide them with healthy options and a variety of food so they automatically make healthy choices.
18. Don’t use food as a reward for good behavior and don’t restrict food as a punishment. For example, don’t say to your child “If you clean your room you can have an ice cream sundae” or “No dessert if you don’t finish your homework”. Using food as a reward or punishment can set your child up to have negative associations with food that can cause problems later in life.
19. Limit time spent watching TV – you’re own and the kids. There is overwhelming evidence that too much TV promotes obesity! People tend to eat more when in front of the TV and have less activity – a weight gaining combination!
20. Get active and have fun with your kids. Take them to the pool, play ball, bike riding, fishing, or hiking. Being active as a family will improve you and your child’s health.