Learn about obesity in children and How to prevent it

Obesity in children is very common. A recent survey in America has shown that 15% of the children are obese and another 15% are getting overweight. So by the time they are adult, one third of the child population is already obese.

Obesity has profound influence in the lives of the child- both physically and mentally. Physically they become prone to diseases such as hypersensitivity, sugar and heart problems, diseases that earlier only grown up adults had. Emotionally, the child has to face bully from his classmates and friends and gets disturbed. He may even be ashamed of his own self and thus shun company even more. Hence obesity is detrimental for the child.

We are in many ways responsible for the poor lifestyle the child leads. We nowadays are very fond of the junk food and hence our children also are aware of it. It is our fault if we have not been able to instil proper food habits in the child. Concentrate more on home based recipes that give the child a balanced diet.

To begin with, change your food habit. Include more of fruits and vegetables in your diet. Instead of eating animal flesh, try replacing them with corn and peas. If you want to give your child milk, then he must drink fat free milk. Yoghurt or curd should also be made from fat free milk. Avoid cheese, and cream in your diet. It is better to eat fruit juices than eat fizzy drinks that children are so fond of.

Encourage physical activity. Let him play outdoor games such as soccer and cricket. Cycling is also a very good exercise to indulge your child in. put him into activities such as skating or gymnastics that will increase his stamina. If the child is already obese, let him do cardio exercises at least three times a weak for half an hour. Jogging or running can also help. Apart from this the child can do aerobic exercises daily.

The world of the internet can be very knowledgeable, but your children should not be glued to the computer. Similarly television is very entertaining but addiction is not correct. Delimit the time of watching TV and playing with the computer. Instead let the child associate with his friends and go out.

Discourage eating in front of the television. This removes his concentration from the food and invests it elsewhere. Do not insist the child to clear his plate. Let him eat as much as he wants. Inform him about all the vegetables and let him count the nutritional value of each. So next time, encourage him to eat a boiled potato salad rather than French fries!

Do not reward in from of food item- candies, chocolate or even biscuits. Instead do something that make him happy, as a reward, like play tennis with him, or go for cycling together.

Get involved with your children; go out for fishing, or camping or even trekking. Let him also explore the hidden treasures of nature under your supervision.