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[C572]Child Obesity In School

by Peter sams, Pet

Obesity results when too much fat accumulates in the body. A person is normally considered obese when his or her weight is 20% over the normal body-weight for height and age and the Body Mass Index (BMI) measures 30 or more. Now recognized as a serious medical problem, obesity affects about 30% of adults, and about 14% of children and adolescents in the United States.

People who are very active generally have a higher metabolic rate than those who are inactive because they burn off calories faster through energetic activity. For example, a labourer working on a building site may need as many as 4,000-5,000 calories a day to keep an even weight. In contrast, an office worker who uses a car to get to work, and does not exercise, may only need 1,500 calories a day.

Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in the U.S and the U.K. It is a very serious issue which can lead to many health and social consequences which can continue into later life. It is important that we implement prevention programmes and get a better understanding of childhood obesity. However it is not as simple as this as the science behind childhood obesity is highly complex and can vary between individuals. However medical advice and common sense are usually the safest and most effective ways of reducing childhood obesity in your child.

Causes of Child Obesity

Overweight and obesity in children and adolescents is generally caused by lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns, or a combination of the two, with genetics and lifestyle both playing important roles in determining a child's weight.
Overweight and obesity is related to technological, social, economic and environmental changes that have reduced physical activity and increased food access and passive energy consumption.

Environmental Causes of Child Obesity

Insufficient Calorie Expenditure Through Exercise

The average American child spends a significant percentage of leisure time watching TV, or playing computer games. Few calories are expended during this sedentary activity. Not surprisingly, obesity rates are higher among children and teenagers who frequently watch television. In addition, only a small minority of children (1 in 5) regularly participate in after-school sports or extra-curricular physical activity.

Family Behaviors

It's difficult to separate genetic from family-environmental factors as causes of childhood obesity. Although children of obese parents are estimated to have a 25-30 percent extra chance of becoming obese themselves, part of this increased risk of obesity is probably due to eating habits and poor family nutrition, rather than heredity. Parental behavioral patterns concerning shopping, cooking, eating and exercise have an important influence on a child's energy balance.

Low Nutrition As mentioned above kids are not eating healthy food, they are eating processed food and fast food that dont have any nutrients and vitamins. To eat the necessary nutrients that our body needs they have to eat vegetables and fruits.
What can you do to prevent childhood obesity?

Be proactive!

Start by cooking and eating a healthy diet, increasing physical activity and limiting TV watching and game playing to a few hours a day. You can encourage play by finding activities that your child likes to get involved in. Also, get everyone in on helping around the house.

Instilling the value of health consciousness as well as fostering fun and active pastimes, will allow you to keep childhood obesity at bay.

Child obesity is one of the alarming situations in most of the countries in the world. Obesity among children can lead to several health problems. So it is always advisable for parents to take action against child obesity before it's too late. You must carefully monitor what your children eat. The aim should be right food, right quantities; junk food to be restricted or chucked out completely.

Fitness trainers say that the number of obese and overweight children coming in for weight reduction programs is on the rise. In this article you will find some useful dietary guidelines to overcome child obesity.

1. Salads are good to replace snacks. Include fruits and vegetables in salad your child love to eat.
2. Fruits and vegetables must be included in diet. Vegetable soups can be served in breakfast.
3. Milk shakes are healthy substitutes for colas. Try not to keep cakes, chocolates and sweets at home.

Encourage your child to take an active part in sports and outdoor games. To lose all the flab accumulated by eating, sleeping and watching TV, your child needs some intensive weight reduction program. If the family members have high BP or diabetes related to obesity, children should be encouraged more so to lose the flab so that those diseases don't bother them. Strict diet of vegetable soup and fruits must be given, and chocolates, soft drinks, etc., to be completely banned.

Lifestyle measures to combat child obesity:

1.Limit time spent in front of the TV
2.Eat healthy food. Try fruit salads and vegetable soups.
3.Baked foods are a better alternative to fried stuff
4.Try sweets cooked in milk rather than oil or ghee
5.Include more pulses and vegetables in your diet
6.Cut out red meat; try seafood
7.Fix regular times for meals
8.Snack on fruits and fruit juices
9.Go outside and play more. Try jogging at least two or three times a week. Cycling is also a good option.

Parents, teachers or fitness experts can only guide the kids but the initiative and motivation should come from kids. What they need is correct guidance and ideal role models. Parents and teachers should play these roles and the results will be excellent, for everybody to see.

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to provide health advice and is for general information only. Always seek the insights of a qualified health professional before embarking on any health program.

Copyright ? Nick Mutt, All Rights Reserved. If you want to use this article on your website or in your ezine, make all the urls (links) active.

Article Source : how to prevent obesity

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Both Peter sams & Nick Mutt are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Peter sams has sinced written about articles on various topics from Makeup, Allergies and Skin Care. Read about and . Also read. Peter sams's top article generates over 60500 views. to your Favourites.

Nick Mutt has sinced written about articles on various topics from Diabetes, Supplements and Fitness. Get powerful to lose weight naturally. Learn about. Nick Mutt's top article generates over 201000 views. to your Favourites.