Keeping our children safe from the Effects of Obesity

April 2, 2015

Keeping our children safe from the Effects of Obesity: The life of our children must come first

Keeping our children safe from the Effects of Obesity is very important in breaking the vicious cycle.

If I may ask “why is it so difficult to keep off obesity and overweight even with the knowledge of consequences that come with it? This is the million dollar question which if we can respond to then the solution will be good health thereafter. The prevalence of obesity is a common phenomenon which has no respect for any one. The old and the young are both at risk of being overweight and any complications that come with it. Therefore to reduce the magnitude of the problem, we want to start from the beginning by making effort in keeping our children safe from the effects of obesity. Doctor Akoury founded a health facility known as AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center where all problems relating to overweight and obesity of all ages is professionally addressed. And because we want to focus on the children, it would be prudent that if you have a child who is showing signs of being overweight or is already struggling with the problem, then this is an opportunity for you to meek your break through with the experts. You may want to schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury today for you and your child to experience the good health that comes with healthy weight.

Ordinarily one may argue that as the children weight increases they are simply growing up and ignore the possibility of overweight and obesity settling in. I totally agree with you that, children needs to grow and part of the growth is increase in weight, however there is a limit to that. When that limit is exceeded and the children become obese, the child will be at risk of all the health problems associated with being obese. While it is known that the limits for overweight and obesity in adult is 25 and 30 respectively according to the BMI formula, this is not always the case. Therefore if you want to be part of the team who are focusing on keeping our children safe from the effects of obesity, then you must talk to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the professional leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury today.

In view of the magnitude of the problem and especially when children are the subject matter, doctor Akoury felt that something needs to be done professionally and immediately. This guided her into making the decision to create a medical center whose main objective is to transform each individual’s life through increasing awareness about health and wellness and by empowering individuals to find their own inner healing power. Doctor Akoury practices focuses on personalized medicine through healthy lifestyle choices that deal with primary prevention and underlying causes instead of patching up symptoms. In her care you and your children will get the best in weight loss and permanently kick out the obesity pandemic. I encourage you that even as we continue with the discussion, you can schedule for an appointment with her and get started. In the meantime let us address some of the worries many people are having about the two conditions overweight and obesity in children.

Keeping our children safe from the Effects of Obesity: Losing weight in children

Losing weight must never be done in unreasonably high speed. It must be a gradual process not just for children but for everyone. Rapid weight loss may come with come unhealthy consequences and therefore when considering losing weight, it is always very important that you create time and consult with a weight loss specialist. Like I have already stated weight loss in children is different from the adults. Ideally when dealing with children who are expected to be growing still, doctor Akoury recommends that the prudent thing to do would be maintaining the current weigh at its level. As a parent it would be necessary to observe the growth and development of your children very closely and ensure that if there is any increment in weight, then it must be proportionately slower than their height gain.

Keeping our children safe from the Effects of Obesity: Treating childhood overweight or obese

It is all about making positive changes in your children’s lifestyle. This is the core treatment option recommended by all experts and regulatory bodies.
Preferably changes targeting the involvement of the whole family are best.
Other family members who are overweight may also benefit at the same time.
Remember that as a parent you act as an important role model for your child and you can help them to stay healthy.
The two main lifestyle changes that are advised are for your child to eat more healthily and do plenty of physical activity.
Small, gradual changes may be best. Your child will then be more likely to stick to these changes with time.

Parents have a duty to ensure that they impact on their children positively in all ways. These changes should be observed in all stages of the child’s life and a proper follow up mechanism should be put in place to ensure that the same is practiced away from home either in schools or when you go out for family gatherings and holidays. But most importantly is the encouragement you give to the children and appreciation when they excel in a given assignment.

Keeping our children safe from the Effects of Obesity: Healthily Eating

Overweight children should be encouraged to eat more healthily and to reduce the total number of calories that they eat.
Parents should to take the responsibility for making changes to their children’s diet, more so when such children are under the age of 12.
It is equally important to involve the child as much as possible and to listen to their ideas and preferences when deciding what changes to make to the food that they eat.
It may also be advisable to keep a record of what your children feed on.

Keeping our children safe from the Effects of Obesity: Prevention of childhood Obesity

The best thing to do in the life of your children is to protect them from any kind of danger. Obesity is dangerous and can be fatal if not addressed decisively. How best can you shield your children from becoming obese? The perfect way is to prevent it from happening. This must begin from the beginning. That is to that at the time of perceiving getting a child in one or two years, you must start planning for that expected child when the time come. There are several causes of childhood obesity and all of them can be avoided if the right thing is done early. For instance you must ensure that what you eat is healthy at all times. You must equally live a very active life where you keep fit by exercising periodically. Drugs are not an option for you going forward, keep off drugs of all kinds. It is very unhealthy not just because you are planning to have a baby, but drugs are health hazardous for everyone.

Keeping our children safe from the Effects of Obesity: The life of our children must come first

The Prevalence of Childhood Overweight and Obesity

March 4, 2015

The Prevalence of Childhood Overweight and Obesity: The time bomb in waiting

The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity is worrying. If we don’t correct things now, we may be passing the wrong mantle to the next generation

In the resent past the available statistics about the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity has been on the rise. Yet there is very little indication that it is soon going away, at least from the statistics available. Even though it is a global problem, US is one of the country that is most affected with records showing that in just three decades the problem has tripled. Currently it is estimated that one in five children in the US is overweight. Despite this worrying trend, experts are reporting that even the already overweight children are further becoming heavier every day. And as if that is not enough, there is fear that the overweight or obese preschool going children are 5 times more likely than normal-weight children to be overweight or obese as adults. It is because of this that childhood overweight is regarded as the most common prevalent nutritional disorder of US children and adolescents, and one of the most common problems seen by pediatricians.

For how long are we going to keep making reference to the statistic that does not appear to change in the right direction? Like minded professionals like doctor Dalal Akoury are among those who are doing all it takes to bring a difference. In her effort to impact positively in people’s lives Dr. Akoury founded a medical center (AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center) whose main objective is to transform each individual’s life through increasing awareness about health and wellness and by empowering individuals to find their own inner healing power. Our children should not be allowed to go through this. We are all aware of the health complications associated with being overweight or obese. I pose a question to you do you want them to face the chronic diseases associated with overweight and obesity? I can guess your answer is NO and that is why Dr. Akoury’s practice focuses on personalized medicine through healthy lifestyle choices that deal with primary prevention and underlying causes instead of patching up symptoms. If you could start by scheduling for an appointment with her to get her professional input in all this, then you will be taking the first relay line towards eliminating the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity.

The Prevalence of Childhood Overweight and Obesity: Consequences of Childhood Overweight

The consequences of being overweight or obese are not anything you would wish for your worse enemies. Both the short term and long term effects of overweight on health are of concern because of the negative psychological and health consequences in childhood. We are often told that we have this life once and we can only live it that way. If we are in agreement with that then I want to pose a second question. Why do we allow the following negative psychological overweight outcomes to ruin the life of our children?

Depressive symptoms
Poor Body Image
Low Self-Concept
Risk for Eating Disorders
Behavior and Learning Problems

The negative effects are not just psychological but also come with negative health consequences. The following are some of the health consequences we are subjecting our children to if we don’t make a complete overhaul of our attitude towards obesity and overweight:

Type 2 Diabetes
Low HDL Cholesterol levels in the blood
Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (fatty infiltration and inflammation of the liver)
Asthma
Hypertension
Sleep Apnea
Insulin Resistance
Early puberty
Orthopedic problems such as Blount’s disease and slipped capital femoral epiphysis
High Total and LDL Cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood

Besides this if nothing is done then the communication we are passing on is that, this is a problem to be passed to the next generation and the vicious cycle continues. Nevertheless, obese children are more likely to be obese as adults, hence they are at increased risk for a number of diseases including: stroke, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and some cancers.

The Prevalence of Childhood Overweight and Obesity: Contributors to Childhood Overweight

Food Choices – diets higher in calories (including fats and simple sugars) and lower in fruits and vegetables are linked with overweight

Physical Activity vs. Sedentary Activity – less physical activity and more time spent participating in activities such as watching TV results in less energy expenditure

Parental Obesity – children of obese parents are more likely to be overweight themselves. There is an inherited component to childhood overweight that makes it easier for some children to become overweight than others. There are a number of single gene mutations (“genetic alterations”) that are capable of causing severe childhood overweight, though these are rare. Even children with genetic risk for overweight will still only become overweight if they consume more calories than they use. Parental obesity may also reflect a family environment that promotes excess eating and insufficient activity.

Eating Patterns – skipping meals or failure to maintain a regular eating schedule can result in increased intakes when food is eaten.

Parenting Style – some researchers believe that excess parental control over children’s eating might lead to poor self-regulation of kid’s energy intake.

Diabetes during pregnancy – overweight and type 2 diabetes occur with greater frequency in the offspring of diabetic mothers (who are also more likely to be obese)

Low Birth Weight – Low birth weight is a risk factor for overweight in several epidemiological studies.

Excessive weight gain during pregnancy – Several studies have shown that excessive maternal weight gain during pregnancy is associated with increased birth weight and overweight later in life.

Formula Feeding – Breast feeding is generally recommended over formula feeding. Although the exact mechanism in unknown, several long-term studies suggest that breast feeding may prevent excess weight gain as children grow.

Parental Eating and Physical Activity Habits – Parents with poor nutritional habits and who lead sedentary lifestyles role model these behaviors for their children, thereby creating an “obesigenic” home environment.

Demographic Factors – Certain demographic factors are associated with an increased risk of being overweight in childhood. For example, there is evidence that African-American and Hispanic children 6 to 11 years old are more likely to be overweight than are non-Hispanic white children of the same age. Asian and Pacific Islander children of the same age were slightly less likely to be overweight.

The Prevalence of Childhood Overweight and Obesity: The time bomb in waiting

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