Steps to Avoid Childhood Obesity

Fight the problem of childhood obesity by the following:

How you live: What kind of lifestyle does your child lead? Do they spend their time after school out playing with friends in the yard or park, or do they sit in front of the television or computer? On weekends do you go out and find something physically invigorating to do, such as playing in a softball game, or going to a kid’s jump facility, or do you go out to eat and to the movies? How you live is going to determine how at risk your child is for obesity. If your family is active, there is a less chance for obesity. If your family spends most of their free time in front of the television, however, the chances for obesity go up. The two are closely linked. Study after study has shown a correlation in weight to how much television you watch. So, live healthier, go to bed earlier, etc. and you will have a healthier lifestyle, which means a healthier body.

Lifestyle can determine fitness.

Eat as a family: Eating as a family helps reduce the chance of obesity if you eat right. The reason eating as a family helps is that most of the time when a family eats together, more of the meal is home made and thus often healthier. In addition to that it means having meals, instead of having your child fill up on sugary and unhealthy snacks. It also gives you, the parent, the opportunity to monitor what and how much your child eats. If your child is heading in the direction of obese, but you feel they eat relatively healthy, eating as a family can help you see that they maybe have a problem with portion control, or they are not eating at dinner because they are filling up on fattening snacks (chips, soda, candy, etc.) between meals. This gives you the chance to regulate this, dish them up, get rid of the snacks in the house etc.

Teach young: The sooner you start the fight against childhood obesity the better. Children who establish healthy eating and lifestyle patterns from a young age will have less trouble staying at a healthy weight then those who wait until their weight is out of control to teach these principles. Of course children learn from example, so your job as a parent is to be a good example of healthy eating and lifestyle so that your children have positive examples to follow. If they see you drinking soda, filling up on Twinkies, and watching television the second you get home until you go to bed, you can’t expect much else from them.

Get active: Get moving daily and your chance of having an obese child will drop. Obesity often follows a sedentary lifestyle. So, make a point of getting moving as a family on a daily basis. This means that your family should spend fun time together that is active. This can mean taking a nature walk after dinner and feeding the ducks, or it can mean going to your local YMCA or swimming pool and splashing around. It does not matter much what the activity is, as long as you get moving as a family. If your family has an odd schedule and it is difficult to get moving together, encourage your child to by having them play out of doors after school for an hour, or have them ride their bike to school if it is close enough.