Childhood obesityis a serious problem! Actual and global. Rdrivers, as a rule, do not dream of having a normal child or teenager with izbytochnogo ozirenie. But the paradox is that most children gain weight at the hands of their moms, dads and grandparents.
In this article we will talk about how parents unconsciously make the baby plump why childhood obesity is such a serious problem and, most importantly, how to help your child grow healthy.
Why is childhood obesity such a serious problem?
Childhood obesity pay so much attention not just. Because of the overweight or obese child is obviously a disadvantage for many reasons. Here are some of them:
This can cause a wide range of health problems
Excessive weight is associated with many health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, joint pains and even sleep disorders. Having excess weight, your child has a higher chance to get any of these conditions.
This increases the risk of obesity and mortality in adulthood
Studies have shown that obese children have a considerably higher probability of overweight in adult life. And unfortunately, obesity is also associated with increased mortality, which means that people who are overweight have a tendency to reduced life expectancy.
This can lead to low self-esteem and social stigma
The overweight children are often subjected to bullying at school, and this experience can be very traumatic.
As they grow older, negative experiences from childhood and the associated social stigma can lead to low self esteem and even depression. There were also cases of suicide.
As the unconscious actions of parents lead to obese children?
There are so many normal things that parents do on a daily basis that have a direct negative impact on weight and overall health of their children. Specifically, parents can:
To be a bad example
Parent is a hero for your child! This means that the child is watching every move that you make. If you are a parent are overweight, you send your children a simple message: being fat is good. And because they want to be like you, they also begin to gain weight.
Similarly, children copy the behavior of their parents around. So if you rarely exercise and I love junk food, your kids will likely follow your example. Unfortunately, this lifestyle leads to the accumulation of fat that end up causing health problems.
To be too busy to cook
Yes, the world in which we live, moves too fast, so many people consider cooking a waste of time. Some parents would rather order a pizza than to spend 1 hour on cooking healthy food. But the problem is that fast food does not benefit your child. And if you feed your kids pizza, French fries and ice cream, be sure of one thing: in the end you have children with excess weight!
Entertain your kids with a TV
If your child all day watching TV or playing games because you are too busy to watch him, he is likely to be overweight. TV has a negative impact for many reasons. First, it encourages sedentary lifestyles, which directly reduces the amount of time spent on physical exercise.
In addition, watching TV for long periods of time stimulates the uncontrolled eating of unhealthy foods, copepodit to weight gain. A recent study also showed that in addition to the sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy snacking, exposure to advertising of unhealthy food also plays a huge role in increasing the craving for overeating and consequently overweight.
To offer unhealthy foods as rewards for good behavior
When you promise your child to buy ice cream as a reward for eating vegetables, his mind is formed by the following logical chain – ice cream is good, and the vegetables are only a means to achieve the goal. And as your child continues to live with this conviction, the love of unhealthy food continues to grow, and this eventually leads to excessive accumulation of fat.
To encourage children to spend more time at home
Of course, no one recommends you to leave your children on the street unattended but keep them on your home is equally a bad idea. The promotion of home gatherings encourages them to be inactive which can cause weight gain.
How to help children grow up healthy?
We offer you to leave all the negativity behind me and move on – here are some practical tips that will help you maintain the health of their children.
Be a good example to follow
As we said earlier, parents ‘ influence on the lifestyle choices of their children is enormous. So, if you want to help their children maintain a healthy weight, you need to start with yourself. Go for walks and take the children with you. Eat healthy foods and encourage them to do the same. When they see you (their hero) lead a healthy lifestyle, they will follow your example.
Provide them proper nutrition
You are what you eat! The same is true for your children. Proper nutrition is a step that should not be missed, if you really want your children to be healthy.
Follow serving sizes
It is equally important to pay attention to how much food you are giving your children. Children should eat as much as you can no longer piece! You don’t have to force their children to lick their plates because it can increase the craving for food as they grow older and, of course, lead to problems with weight.
Refrain from junk food
First you need to clean your pantry and refrigerator to completely get rid of junk food in your house. In addition, you also need to encourage their children to eat at school when you give them money for snacks.
Exercise regularly
If you are seriously interested in the health of your children, you should encourage them to exercise regularly.
Noticed that your son loves athletics? Write it in the sports section. Is your daughter interested in volleyball? Talk with the school coach, so he invited her to the team. Together, make evening walks, run in the morning, Just do your best to stay active! This habit will help your children throughout their lives.
Limit TV viewing
Try to limit time watching TV as possible. Children are encouraged to spend no more than one hour watching television each day. The same applies to video games.
Set clear bedtime
You may not know this, but sleep actually helps in weight loss. So set a specific curfew hours for your children and make sure they stick with it. As a rule, children are advised to sleep seven to nine hours a day.
Regularly check the BMI
Your eyes can deceive you, so do not rely on them when trying to evaluate the appearance of your child. More reliable option is to regularly check the body mass index of your child (BMI). This can be done with the help of special calculators or local clinic.
In conclusion
Start using these tips today and soon you will see positive changes. To start, measure the BMI of a child, to understand if everything was okay with his weight. Then throw out all unhealthy food from your home, switch to a proper diet and start to train together in order to save or prevent a child from obesity.
You also have to remember that you, as a parent, have a huge impact on the lifestyle of your children. Be a good example to follow, and the end result will be improved health and happiness to not only your children, but also the family as a whole.