About childhood obesity
A sufficient energy intake is important for your children while they are growing, and a diet containing all the essential 
nutrients is essential if they are to develop in to healthy adults. However just like me and you if they take in more energy than they use up any excess energy will be stored as body fat.
Recently studies have shown that the rate of increase in cases of childhood obesity has started to reduce, but with the International Obesity Taskforce estimating that 1.3million European children a year will become obese the future for increasing numbers of our children looks worrying.
Childhood Obesity: The Numbers
Here are some statistics about UK children gathered by the Independent newspaper
- 160,000 are at risk of heart disease
- 1 in 15 are obese
- 36% of girls are overweight
- 4,000 display signs of diabetes
- 37% walk to school
- 150,000 have high blood pressure
- 28% of boys are overweight
- 60,000 are glucose intolerant
A very high proportion of these children will grow up to be obese adults.
What’s causing childhood obesity
- An unhealthy diet
- Lack of exercise
- High-calorie foods such as chocolates, sweets and fast food
- These foods being cheap and readily available to children
- Physical activity is no longer a part of most children’s day
- Many children spend as much as 4 hours in front of a screen each day
- Lack of role models, many overweight children’s diet and activity level reflects that of their parents.
What can we do to help our children
The answer is quite simple, “help ourselves”.
If you are a parent you will be well aware that the best way to get your child to do something is not to tell him/her what to do. As always the best way is to set the example in everything from the things you eat, having an active lifestyle and taking regular aerobic exercise. How does someone gain our respect, not by telling us what to do, not by telling us what’s good for us, no, people gain our respect by daily acting out what they say they believe. Then when we observe those daily actions producing positive results subconsciously our actions will start to become more like theirs.
Involve your children in your activities from a young age. Whatever your children see you doing as part of your regular routine there is a good chance they will begin to do similar things as they develop. If you spend your spare time watching TV and eating pizza what do you think your children will aspire to? Bart Simpson doesn’t have a good future, it’s probably only air brushing that stops us seeing him as a victim of childhood obesity.
How do you reward your children? At times when they achieve great results in any area of their lives and as a result feel really good about themselves. How we reward this achievement may have a bearing on how they try to regain this feeling at times in the future when they are not feeling so good. If the reward is a fun day of activity they may turn to exercise to feel good which is proven to have this effect. If the reward is sweets or fast food we know what will happen.
For more info on your healthy eating and lifestyle click here.
