Fighting Obesity Starts At Home!!
April 14th, 2009 -- Posted in Fitness and Nutrition | No Comments »I was just doing a little reading and I am just simply appalled and amazed at the stats I uncovered about childhood obesity in this country. 16-33% of children and adolescents are considered obese. Those kinds of numbers really make me wonder what has happened to us all. I grew up during the 70’s and 80’s in a small town in Georgia and my best memories are being outside running and playing. We would ride our bikes to our friend’s houses and have killer games of football or baseball. We were constantly active. There was never any sitting around inside all day. My parents would have never had any of that.
Here are some more startling stats, did you know that obese children ages 10-13 have an 80% chance of being obese as an adult that is truly disheartening.
These facts are very alarming and what bothers me the most is that it can all be prevented, starting at home. A lot of the time the child really doesn’t have a choice simply because he doesn’t know any better. The first line of defense lies with us as parents to set proper examples and to educate.
As parents we need to get our children involved in sports or other physical activities. Don’t allow your child to spend a Saturday in front of the TV or the Playstation all day long, get them outside. Do things with them; allow them to go play with their friends. Take them to the parks. It’s up to us to show them and expose them to more in this world.
Inactivity is just one factor towards obesity, another is improper nutrition. In today’s world it is much easier to order out or run by the local fast food restaurant. You know what, it is just as easy to have fresh fruits and veggies in the house for children to snack on when time is tight.
Well, so far in this article I have ranted about how the children in this country are becoming obese at an alarming rate and I have pretty much blamed it on the adults, well, after thinking on it, I feel I am CORRECT!!! Now let me tell you why.
Our children are a product of their surroundings. You hear this day in and day out. We as parents need to slow down and take a look at what we are doing and start leading by example. Most of us get so caught up in our everyday lives that we don’t ever think about eating right or exercising. We grab whatever we can eat and when we get home we are so exhausted from work we just sit in front of the TV and that has become our “Quality” family time. What is this teaching our children who will be our adults of the future. We need to take a step back, slow down, and really see we need to make changes in our lives, if not for us, for our children. We need to set the example for our children. Here is another fact for you; if 1 parent is obese there is a 50% chance that the child will be, if both parents are obese that number just rose to 80%.
Start making time to do some sort of exercise at least 30 minutes a day. Go for a walk, take your kids with you. Teach you child how to workout at home and do a workout with her. Spend that family time at home with a healthy dinner and keep portions down. Don’t stock the pantry full of cookies and candy, stock up on fruits or granola snacks.
I understand times are tough right now and it may be hard to slow down or spend the extra dollar or two on eating right at home, but think about it, if you don’t do it now, you may never get the chance. Risks that you may encounter due to obesity are increased rick of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and breathing problems. Any of these problems can affect you or your children, so take the time and act now.
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Till next time, remember your child watches and learns from you!!
