Preventing Childhood Obesity as a Parent

In instantlys club, nipperhood obesity is use uped a serious public health issue and can be classified as an epidemic. In the coupled States alone, one in seven nestlingren ages 6-17 atomic number 18 considered to be obese. In the refinement 40 years in the fall(a) in States the rate of childishness obesity has tripled. The main reason why childishness obesity has become such(prenominal)(prenominal) a serious issue is be constitute children now days live much sedentary lifestyles. Children now days atomic number 18 bombarded with television advertisements urging them to fertilize foods high in fat and calories while staying inside and playing tv games or watching television.Childhood obesity does non nonwithstanding sour children in puerility to a greater extentover can cause a make of health issues in their adult lives too. When it comes to education regarding childhood obesity, the responsibility inevitably to be addressed by the parents, schools and the media. In the following paper, I am going to explain how childhood obesity can be controlled at blank space by the parents. Every affaire can be learned at home and applied to everyday life. I am going to give a brief overview of what the jobs associated with childhood obesity are and what are the main bring factors.I will show also show the long b show effects of the issue and how it can also be addressed by the parents. Childhood obesity is costing the United States millions of dollars I health conduct expenses. In my imprint, I aspect that this can be diverted by primary education from the parents. According to the article Facts ab start Childhood corpulency and Over- leaniness, obese children are statistically not active and consume diets that are high in fat. Most physicians use what they call a carcass Mass Index Scale (BMI) to calculate how overweighting a child is. Children who are over a 30 when it omes to BMI are considered obese. In order to calculate a person including a childs BMI, you would beget to divide their weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters (Mokdad,). When it comes to weight gain among children, you take to factor in many affairs such poor dietary habits, genetic makeup, family lifestyle, socioeconomic status and a childs ethnicity. obesity is much prevalent among Hispanic, African-American and American Indian children, particularly girls (Mayohealth. org). When it comes to children who forgather from obesity most are not overeaters.The main cause of their weight gain is that the majority of the foods they consume contain high amounts of calories. When it comes to consuming otiose calories, just an additional 200 calories a day can cause exorbitance weight gain in children and add up to half a pound of fat a week. Although foods high in calories are partially to blessed, soft drinks and fruit flavored beverages with high levels of sugar content also are a main cause of weight gain in children. In a recent field of operation, it shows the average teenager in the United States today consumes an average of 65 gallons of sugary soft drinks annually.The number is duplicate in elementary school age children and the number in ecumenic has tripled in the past two decades. When it comes to the issue of childhood obesity, diet is not the just factor contributing to the problem. Many physicians and child psychologist also blame the increase television viewing and a childs more(prenominal) sedentary lifestyle. When it comes to watching television it does not require a big(a) expenditure of energy and is usually accompanied by high-calorie foods. The American rawness connector reports that on average, a child watches a total of 17 bits of television a week.This report does not include the time spent playing both moving-picture show and computer games. In one study performed by the American Heart Association, they found that a child who watches more than five hours of televisi on a day have a greater attempt of weight gain than children who watched less than two. (Mayohealth. org) along with sedentary lifestyles, the addition of desist food can lead to obesity in children. As you drive in any town and city located in the United States, the one thing you will notice is that there is a fast food chain on almost every corner.Along with a fast food chain on every channel corner, children watch television that are filled with commercial and advertisement present their newest food selections. Many of these commercials have been geared toward children and can be associated with the aerodynamic lift of childhood obesity. In a recent study, researchers have found out that families that choose fast food as a meal tether or more times a week do run a higher risk of obesity and larger BMIs. When it comes to all fast food chains, the one thing they all have in parking lot is that every kids meal comes with a choice of a boys or girls toy.The other thing they ha ve in common is the absence of unspoilt fruits, vegetables and whole grain. The absence of these anicteric choices can make the effects of the burgers and fries that much more severe. In order to solve the problem of fast food, parents can quietus a burger with regular exercise. With this combination, you can balance fast food with healthy choices. In a 1996 U. S. Surgeon widely distributeds Report regarding fitness, nearly half of unfledged people ages 12 to 21 years of age are not psychically active.The American College of Sports Medicine reports that, due to financial constraints, only one-third of schools now shot physical education classes and many children today finds team sports too private-enterprise(a) or costly to join. (Mayohealth. org) Physical education and organized sports not only provide children with an active lifestyle, but it also teaches them discipline. Although it is important for schools to provide young children with sports and physical education, the main responsibility lies at home with the parents.The effects of childhood obesity does not just end when the child grows into an adult but can cause further health issues in the future. Childhood obesity has been linked to hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Being extremely overweight and not active as child causes the buildup of excess fat which circulates the blood and at last turns into plaque. The plaque caused by this excess fat begins to slowly accumulate in arteries which causes a strain on the veins. The ingathering of this plaque can go past early in childhood and could lead to heart disease or a eart attack as an adult. The distribution of fat in the corpse has an important effect on ones blood obligate.Hypertension is a inveterate checkup condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. Young overweight adults between the ages 20-45 are six times more likely to have hypertension then normal weight peers the equivalent age. This number is increased if an adult grew up as an obese child. An accumulation of fat results in the release of fatty acids into veins which causes an excess of hepatic synthesis of triglycerides, insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia. The Journal of the American Medical Association Volume. 282) Along with heart disease, diabetes is another health issue associated with early childhood obesity. Obesity increases the risk of non-insulin dependent diabetes and causes two different forms of the disease. One form of diabetes is the increased demand for insulin the other form is the resistance of insulin in an obese individual. Obesity causes a resistance to insulin that increases the insulin production to compensate the excess of glucose circulating in the blood.This excess causes damage to beta cells in the pancreas, producing insulin. (The Journal of the American Medical Association Volume. 282) Along with physical and health issues, mental issues are also associated with childhood o besity. In todays society a lot of speech pattern has been placed on physical appearance. This is made evident in the media which portrays what they consider the ideal image of a person. These images make overweight people observe unattractive and unwanted. Many people in todays society assume that obese people are lazy, fat, gluttonous and unattractive.It is because of these prejudices that cause children to disembodied spirit rejected, shame and depression. Like health issues, psychological issues can also be carried over from childhood to adulthood. When it came to the treatment of childhood obesity, many thought it could be achieved through strict dieting and exercise. This was found to be unsuccessful in most cases due to the fact children did not have the nominate in order to run this goal. A new treatment involving a family-based approach shot is now being introduced as possible treatment for childhood obesity.These programs are more successful because they maintain or slowly second a child lose weight as he/she grows (Mellin). These programs focus on the entire family, promoting physical and emotional well being and not diet. In order to perform this type of treatment, medical professionals have to first do a bio-psychosocial assessment to see if there are any medical or psychosocial problems. (Mellin) Once this is established, they can then address the symptoms of obesity and the causes of the weight gain. When it comes to the issue of childhood obesity, it is important to involve the entire family in treating this problem.Children train motivation and support from their family preceding to the involvement of dieting or exercise. With a strong support structure, it allows children to feel they can accomplish anything. In my opinion childhood obesity is a serious problem because it affects all areas of todays society. Childhood obesity affects a persons health, psychological well-being, the medical field and the family. I feel that in todays s ociety they many consider exercise, dieting and medicinal drug a expeditious fix in solving the problem.I feel that the problem of childhood obesity can be resolved at home with seemly education and support. All health problems in children that can be prevented starts with the parents prior to the involvement of anyone else. As a parent of an overweight child, the first thing you must do is set possible goals. The most important thing is you have to learn how to walk before you can run. The benefits of setting attainable goals are that when an overweight child accomplishes the goals you have set it provides them with the motivation to accomplish more.If you set the goal to high and the child does not accomplish them, it makes them demoralized and will make it harder for them to achieve more. I feel along with support and motivation, an overweight child needs proper education regarding proper diet. I feel that many parents today feed their children what they want because they fee l it is make them happy. What parents have to understand is just because it makes them happy doesnt mean it is true for them. When feeding children full meals, a healthy diet containing less than 30% fat calories is considered sufficient in raising healthy child. Moran) Parents should also only offer snacks when the child is hungry. The most important rule when offering a child a snack is to make the snack healthy. Parents should offer their children fresh fruit, raw vegetables and water rather than sugary soft drinks. I feel that now days many parents use food as a satisfy rather than for nutritional purposes. In my opinion children should be praised verbally and not given snacks like dogs when they do something well. Verbal praise I feel works well especially when a child makes a healthy choice options.Another way a parent could help children maintain a healthy body weight is to encourage the child to participate in sports for at least a half an hour a day (Levine). Parents sho uld encourage children to be active and go exterior to play. Parents should also participate and encourage their children to play organized sports. When parents are confused in their childs active lifestyle, children tend to see it all the way through. Parents should also limit children watching television and playing video games. Television and video should be used as a reward rather than a parenting tool.When it comes to childhood obesity and many other childhood diseases, parents now days are more anxious to throw medication at it or go for the quick fix. In my opinion, before a child can even talk they learn from everything you teach them as a parent. The issue of childhood obesity is never going to go away but it can be curved with a simple lifestyle change. All the learning starts at home and all habits whether unspoiled or bad starts at home too. When it comes to the issue of childhood obesity, parents have to learn that they are the key to their child living a healthy lif estyle and growing into healthy adults.