Containing Childhood Obesity – Using Diet, Nutrition and Exercise

Protecting your children from obesity and weight related problems beings on your wedding day. the choices you make today will impact positively or negatively on your children.

I don’t know if there can ever be any gift better than the privilege of being blessed with a child. To me of all the gifts under the sun children is a priority making them the most valuable assets that you cannot attach any value on? These priceless children must be protected at all cost and by all means. In careering for the children we must ensure that we start this exercise before they are conceived, during pregnancy, on delivery and their entire childhood through adolescence into youthful stages of their lives until they become adult.

Childhood obesity is a serious problem affecting children not only in your country but also in many nations around the world. Many children are suffering from weight related problems in the process of struggling to stay at a healthy weight. Regrettably obesity affects people’s overall health and can cause real life complications with heart disease, diabetes and other issues. It is necessary that when making effort in containing childhood obesity, several considerations needs to be looked into critically. For instance:

• Children need to eat a healthy diet so that they can get the nutrition they need.
• They also need to exercise on a regular basis.

This is an enormous task that needs the participation of all stakeholders at different levels like schools, health professionals and individual families pooling together to help stop childhood obesity and guarantees good health for our children.

Containing Childhood Obesity – Diet

Much as we all need food for the supply of energy and food nutrients in the body, it is important to know that this is one area that when look properly checked may become a real cause of childhood obesity. Therefore when feeding your children special attention should be taken on ensuring provision of a healthy diet as this will help them remain in shape and lose weight when necessary. Impacting the knowledge of consuming only the right quantity of food is crucial as this enables the children comprehend the distinction between healthy food options and the unhealthy ones. Getting right this knowledge of different food options enables individuals to hold onto healthy diet. Embracing healthy diet in no doubt paramount but then again parents and all other people taking care of children whether in children’s homes, schools or hospitals have a duty to ensure that they build confidence in the children so that the children do not feel bad about themselves or do not suffer stigmatization.

Containing Childhood Obesity – Proper Nutrition

The children will always mimic at what their parents do in almost everything they do, meaning that if you choose to feed wrongly then your children will do exactly that and if you feed on healthy foods then they will follow on your steps not just when they are young but even when they grow up to have children of their own. It is therefore important that we create healthy eating habits in our families and this will impact positively to our children and by extension contains the possibility of weight gain and obesity. Collectively we must make it a hobby feeding right in all families. Can imagine how life would be when each family is bringing up their children with the right kind of food stuff? We will not only bring up healthy children and kick out obesity from our homes and society but our children will not have to learn wrong feeding habits from the neighborhood, what a community it will be! What do I say; leading by example is a great way to get our children eating healthier.

Containing Childhood Obesity – Exercise

Physical activities are very essential in fighting obesity not just in childhood but even with the adults. It is important to engage our children in activities that make them more active. For example if you are planning taking your children out, it would be good for them to go camping or light hiking depending on their age or go in an open park where there are several sporting activities taking place than taking them to the cinema for movies. Regular exercise helps children stay healthy you may not achieve this by buying your children expensive toys every day and every week try buying then children’s bicycle and you shall definitely have them engaged physically and actively daily. If you are still reading this article then I want to believe that you are following and developing a mind set to wards your role as a parent in preventing obesity and the problems associated with it from setting foot in your family and in particular your children.

Today we have an opportunity to keep our children from being obese because if we don’t, then the consequences of childhood obesity which has both immediate and long-term effects on health and well-being of our children will take the driving seats in our homes.

Containing Childhood Obesity – Immediate health effects

• Obese children or youths are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure.
• Obese adolescents are more likely to have pre-diabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels indicate a high risk for development of diabetes.
• Children and adolescents who are obese are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem.

Containing Childhood Obesity – Long-term health effects

• Children and adolescents who are obese are likely to be obese as adults and are therefore more at risk for adult health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis.
• Overweight and obesity are associated with increased risk for many types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder, thyroid, ovary, cervix, and prostate, as well as multiple myeloma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Containing Childhood Obesity – Prevention

• Healthy lifestyle habits, including healthy eating and physical activity, can lower the risk of becoming obese and developing related diseases.
• The dietary and physical activity behaviors of children and adolescents are influenced by many sectors of society including:

a)    Families

b)    Communities

c)     Schools

d)    Child care settings

e)     Medical care providers

f)      Faith-based institutions

g)     Government agencies

h)    The media and

i)      The food and beverage industries and entertainment industries.

• Schools play a critical role by creating a safe and reassuring environment with policies and practices that promotes healthy behaviors. Schools also provide opportunities for students to learn about and practice healthy eating and physical activity behaviors.

Like I said in the introduction we all have a duty to containing obesity and this can be done if we partners with professionals who are more experience in matters obese. It is important that we make reference from medical doctors in this discipline. A visit to AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury’s care will certainly give you more insight on obesity and so if you are or any member of your family or friend is obese then rich out for doctor Dalal Akoury and together with her team of experts they will help you out of this condition in the most natural way living you much healthier and full of life for many years to come.

Containing Childhood Obesity – Using Diet, Nutrition and Exercise