Childhood Obesity Epidemic
The key to preventing obesity is to teach children healthy patterns of living at an early age. Obese children have a high percentage of becoming obese adults; if one is obese as a teenager, then those chances are even greater. And children who have obese parents are also a lot more likely to encounter the problem themselves, whether in adolescence or in adulthood.
It is not the parent who should determine whether their child is overweight or not, but a physician. This is because young children tend to grow in spurts, which might have an effect on the individual child's body structure and growth pattern. A qualified doctor should be able to assess the child's proper body mass by evaluating his or her weight and height in relation to the child's previous history of growth.
Parents should keep in mind that weight loss is not a healthy or proper method for young children to employ, as their bodies are still developing. Unless a doctor assigns your child to be put on a diet for specific medical reasons, dieting should not be encouraged in young children, as it could deprive them of the nutrients and energy they need to grow.
Rather, the aim should be for the child to maintain their current weight while waiting to grow in to their normal height. By reducing fat and increasing physical activity, the vast majority of overweight children will eventually grow in to their normal weight.
The key to combating obesity seems to lie in energy balance - that is controlling the amount of calories that are consumed versus the amount of calories that are expended. So in other words, when we talk about fighting obesity, we have to talk about both eating and physical activity. This might seem pretty simple, but the fact is eating and physical activity are caught up in a number of complex social and environmental forces.
In the last three decades that have seen the epidemic of obesity balloon out of proportion, the society has undergone major changes. Children now spend more time on activities such as watching television and playing video games rather than playing sports or exercising. What's more, in a society that is increasingly "on the go," children rarely eat at home now with their parents, and when they do, fast food is often the solution for those who are time challenged.
Related Tags: child, overweight, fat, childhood obesity, child obesity, obesse
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