How to Overcome Obesity in Children – Causes of Childhood Obesity

Reviewed by: | Author: Manoja Kalakanti

Childhood obesity is one of the serious problems that are on the rise. The statistics show that obesity is not commonly observed in aged persons, but also in the children and youth. In the incidence of type-2 diabetes, it is the obese children and adolescents who showed their number in large. Obesity can go hand in hand with other diseases like diabetes and thyroid and is also a common threat to heart risks in future because of overweight and cholesterol problems. Obese children also suffers from other well- known problems like sleep apnea, orthopedic problems, asthma etc., Because of this children gradually loses concentration which affects learning and memory problems.

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How would you know that your children are obese or not?

All children necessarily need good height and weight to do well, but what if your child is putting some extra pounds of weight in his/ her body. This kind of growth and development is certainly abnormal. Doctors do say that when a child’s BMI exceeds 30 or in other words say if your child’s BMI is greater than 95% of the children of their age, and gender, then they are said to be overweight. So the child’s health must be taken care from time- to- time and this is primarily in the hands of parents.

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What are the primary reasons that result in childhood obesity?

There are several factors that lead to childhood obesity. One cannot escape, but however if they try to control them they can cut down if the problems do arise in budding stages.

Hereditary Factors: Genetic factors are the compulsive reason to create obesity problems in children. These may affect the child at a very early age or in the adolescent age. A child falling victim to obesity under this factor may suffer a lot in future. They inherent much of other diseases like diabetes, blood pressure, liver problems, thyroid problems etc., Lack of physical factors, endocrine disorder and improper food habits may also lead to obesity in this case.

Unhealthy Lifestyle: Adapting to unhealthy lifestyle where a child is more likely to eat beyond limit, over stress in academics, watching television and lack of proper sleep may be some of the reasons for your child’s obesity. Instead if you make your child involve in more physical activity, make them eat good healthy diet make them adapt to good behavior and attitude. Following these guidelines help in reducing chronic diseases.

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Anorexia Nervosa: This is a condition where your child eats beyond limit. This increases the caloric content in your child’s body which in turn increases the fat content thus making your child look overweight/oversized. This kind of diet is usually followed in case of nutritional deficiencies and the child tends to eat more and more without quitting.

Is Parental Care Necessary?

Yes of course a parental care is much necessary to maintain the height and weight of the child in a balanced manner. There are certainly many ways that help your children overcome weight.

  • First and the fore most initiative you need to take is to provide your children sufficient diet. Sufficient here means that your child gets enough nutritional value from the food he/she takes. Yes, I agree that this includes giving healthy food and most of the children do not make an attempt to eat healthy food as they live in an illusion that healthy food does not seem tasty. But trying different kinds of flavors along with healthy diet and making children understand the importance of eating healthy food in breakfast, lunch and dinner tries to solve the problem to some extent.
  • Involve children in more physical activities. Teach them activities they would like to excel in other than studies. This shifts the child’s interest from eating to other daily activities which is another alternative to curb their hunger. So, that they don’t eat too often. This also has certain impact on brain which helps to increase their memory power.

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  • Teach them healthy food habits; help them in practicing how they eat. Eating food in a right manner helps in the growth and development of child’s body in a right manner. Make them involved in choosing their own foods but don’t dictate them what kind of food they should eat. Help them in better understanding what the ill effects of taking wrong diet are.
  • If possible try to change your family eating habits. That’s the best method one could implement to improve their child’s health condition. That’s not just good for child’s health but for the entire family. Try to cook healthy recipes, intake of low fat food, avoid fries and other food that is rich in caloric content. The other simple ways to reduce fat in your family’s diet include non- fat dairy products, lean meats, and poultry without skin, fat- free breads and cereals. Remember to eat foods rich in good fats like walnuts, almonds, and avocados.

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  • You need to keep in mind that smoking and intake of alcohol would impact your child’s brain in deeper ways negatively. As it is an age where children learn anything quickly, there is a possibility that they get addicted to such noxious food items at a very early stage which proves to be very bad in the near future.
  • Avoiding candies, ice creams, fried chips, pizzas, soft drinks and other junk food once in a while would also fetch good results. Instead working on some delicious salads, fruit juices, squashes, and other healthy drinks helps in maintain body balance in children.

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  • Encourage children in niche workouts like walking; help them in learning a new sport that boosts their energy levels, or some other fun exercises which help them to restore energy for the rest of the day actively. This also helps children in reducing other sedentary activities.

Following these simple guidelines and by promoting good healthy lifestyle one can help their children in overcoming childhood obesity soon or within no time. You can share your views via the comments section.

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