Childhood obesity is a very common issue in this modern life style, especially in developed countries, where all kind of junk food and tinned food is very easily available.
Childhood obesity is a very common issue in this modern life style, especially in developed countries, where all kind of junk food and tinned food is very easily available. Right from the time a small baby is born, a working mother has no time (or is not able to) to breast feed the child so it is given powdered baby milk, tinned cereal and all other readymade food available in the super market. This is tasty and the baby enjoys it but parents are not aware about one of its biggest side effect: it helps in increasing the weight of the child and thus we are on our way to raise an obese child.
Becoming a teenager, it often happens that overweight kids try to reduce their weight by shortcut methods and in extreme cases such shortcut methods can result in serious conditions like anorexia. The most important thing is a healthy nutrition and fixed meals that are eaten by the whole family.
Another big factor of gaining weight during childhood is non-existent physical activity. Kids that have never indulged into sports or outdoor activitites are likely to gain more weight than kids who attend regular karate lessons or similar. Of course there are kids who don’t like doing sports or kids who feel that they are not good at sports and made negative experiences during school sports or similar. Parents should not force those children or teenagers into a certain sport but should try to plan outdoor activities like hiking or cycling or swimming with the whole family. Furthermore parents should introduce several kinds of activities to their child – for sure there is one activity that your kid will love. Probably it will take some patience and some trial and error but in the end it will be worth the effort. You can also start slowly in telling your kid to use the staircase instead of the elevator etc. As a mother or father you should be a role model and do the same, so your child will find it easier to follow those “rules”.
If your child suffers from childhood obesity it is important to give it nutritous food and introducing it to fruits and vegetables instead of fast food or other calorie-rich junk.
Sleep is also a necessity and helps in the process of weight loss. Children should have a proper rest for the body, so that it can digest food properly.