How To Battle Childhood Obesity
So, What Can Be Done?
Obesity among children has reach epidemic proportions in many countries around the world. The World Health Organization says that worldwide an estimated 22 million children under the age of 5 are overweight.
A survey in Spain showed 1 out of every 3 kids is either overweight or obese. In only 10 years (between 1985-1995),in some western countries childhood obesity tripled. In fact in the last three decades, obesity in children aged 6 - 11 has tripled in the USA.
Child obesity is also reaching out to developing countries. The Obesity Task Force (International) has stated that some areas of Africa children are more affected from obesity than malnutrition. In 2007 Mexico had the dubious position of second in the world for childhood obesity, just behind the United States. In Mexico City 70 percent of their children and adolescents are either overweight or obese.
SO, what are the complications arising from this situation?
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Heart Disease
These are health problems that used to be considered characteristics of adults. According to the United States Institute of Medicine, 30 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls born in the USA in the year 2000 have a risk of being diagnosed with obesity related type 2 diabetes.
Trends among children show climbing rates of obesity leading to climbing rates in high blood pressure. The two run hand in hand, unless this trend is addressed we could be responsible for an explosion of cardiovascular disease cases in our children and young adults.
What Are The Contributing Factors?
While genetics can be a predisposing factor, the alarming increasing rate in obesity recently appears to not only be a change in genetics. Nobody is pointing the finger at genetics as the cause of this epidemic, there is no way we can change our genes in such a short amount of time (30 years).
Although there are some genetic and hormonal influences most cases of childhood obesity are as a result of kids eating too much food and exercising too little.
2 examples Show the changing the trend in eating habits
- As working parents have far less time and energy to spend preparing meals fast food has become the choice for feeding the family. These fast food outlets ever so eager to receive the business have sprung up everywhere. Studies have revealed that a third of the children in the United States between the ages of 4 to 19 had eaten fast food every day. These foods are typically high in sugars and fats with portion sizes being oversized.
- Soft drinks have replace milk and water as the beverage of choice among children. Mexicans for example spend more each year on soft drinks than on the ten most basic foods put together. Just one 600ml soft drink a day can result in a gain of 11kg in one year.
The lack of physical activity among the children is also playing a large role in creating the overweight children. Studies suggest that the average 3 year old child engages in only moderate phsyical activity for only 20 minutes a day. The increasing sedentary nature of children around the world is being seen commonly.
What is the solution
Putting children on a restrictive diet is not recommended by nutritionists as this may compromise their growth and health. One of the best strategies to combat the excess weight is to improve the overall diet and exercise levels of the entire family. Make healthy choices a family commitment. If you do the entire family will benefit as a result, these changes can become a way of life for the children which will carry through into adulthood.
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