Sunday, September 6, 2015

Preventing Childhood Obesity

More than half of American adults are clinically obese. Worse yet, an increasing number of children are obese. This isn’t simply a matter of being “chubby” or having “a little baby fat” either – I’m talking about kids who are getting diseases because of excess body fat that was previously only seen in adults.


In the movie Philomena, an English woman comes to the United States in her search for her now-grown child whom she was forced to give up as a pregnant young girl many years earlier.

Philomena worries about many things. Will her son think she rejected him? Will he wonder why she took so long to find him? Will he even want to meet her?

She wonders what her son will be like and who he has grown up to become. Suddenly, in a moment of panic she asks, “What if he is obese?”

This is a small scene, and it causes laughter in the audience, but she points out that American portions are so large that obesity is a very plausible result.

The sad truth is that obesity is a major health challenge for many countries in the world. While the percentage of obese children is lower than that of adults, the rate of increase for obesity is actually greater in kids than adults in the US.

There is a social stigma in being overweight and even more so for those who are truly obese. Fat kids get teased more and have more issues with depression and isolation. In addition to the emotional and social issues obese kids face, they face severe physical health challenges now and in their future.

Children who are obese are much more likely to become obese adults. Unfortunately, the social, emotional, and physical challenges faced by kids don’t go away just because they grow up.

The best time to prevent childhood obesity is early in your kids’ lives.  It’s important for you as a parent to be actively involved in your children’s health. This doesn’t mean that you lecture your kids about eating healthy foods or exercising -- kids don’t listen to words as much as they follow your example.

That means you have to walk the walk before you talk about it. You have to make healthy food choices for yourself as much as your kids and you have to exercise. In order to get your kids interested in the latter, you may even have to come up with fun and creative ways to get them to join you.

And not every person is a natural athlete. That’s okay -- the good news is that you don’t have to be and neither do your kids.

All young animals play and your children are the same in that respect. You can encourage that physical activity over sitting in front of the television or computer. Rather than shooing your kids out the door to get some fresh air and play, you may need to take a more proactive role if your kids have developed a habit of not moving.

Check out opportunities in your area where your entire family can get moving. Consider enrolling in a class or joining the local pool. Go for walks in the neighborhood or hikes in local parks. Try rock climbing or gymnastics. Try a variety of activities so that every family member can discover some things they enjoy and are good at. More importantly, let every family member choose an activity so they know they have a say in the matter.

Talk about healthy food too. Let your kids help with making the meals. If you have a yard, planting even a small vegetable garden may be the trick to help kids eat more veggies.

And don’t skip out on the vegetables either -- eat healthy meals with your kids. This doesn’t mean that you have to have a “perfect” diet. It’s okay to let yourself, and your kids, have some treats now and then. Use the 80-20 rule for food: if your family eats healthy foods in healthy proportions 80% of the time, then you can have pizza and ice cream (or whatever your favorite less-than-healthy food choice is) 20% of the time.

With a background in moving their bodies and healthy eating, your kids are more likely to retain at least some of their healthy habits as they get older.

That in mind, they’ll no doubt rebel at some point and may turn to more junk food than you’d like, or they may take up a sedentary hobby that makes it more challenging to get in exercise. When this happens, continue to be the healthy example without preaching to them.

Show them that you make time to get in YOUR exercise and talk about how good you feel as a result. Help them to tap into how their body feels when they’re being active versus when they’re not.

The best gift you can give your kids is their health. It isn’t entirely up to you, but if you follow the suggestions I’ve outlined, your kids have a better shot at being healthy children and adults. Not only that, but by being active together as a family, you’ll have a bond that is more than skin deep.

For more, please visit www.SharonBallantine.com.

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