Posted on July 9, 2007 in Uncategorized
Obesity in children has recently become an alarming concern. Have you heard about the adult-onset diabetes, commonly known as type-2 diabetes? Obese children are suffering more from this diabetes. They are also facing heart disorders with high cholesterol level and high blood pressure. Was this the situation even a decade back?
All work and no play is the root cause of child obesity. Extreme pressure on the young souls in the rat race to achieve more has deprived them from innocent joy and fantasy of childhood. What would sitting in front of computer, television or at the study table really make them? Computer games after all can’t help in burning calories. Moreover, these kids yuck at nutritious stuffs and salivate at the very sight of crispy and yummy junk foods. In this way nobody can stop them from accumulating fat and becoming obese.
Definition of childhood obesity
When to Call your Child Obese?
- Normally, deposition of fat in the body causes obesity. But, for children, the calculation is done by taking the ratio of height to weight. If the weight is excess in comparison to the height the child is obese.
- The thumb rule of counting excess pounds is different for boys and girls. For the boys, the body weight has to exceed 25% of fat deposition and girls can go ahead a bit more till 32% of fat deposition to be identified as obese.
Roots of Childhood Obesity
Is it simply overeating? The root cause of child obesity is not that simple. Yes eating more than shedding off the calories is one probable reason of putting on weight. But the major causes of child obesity have both the physiological and genetic aspects involved. Then of course there are nutritional factors and physical inactivity.
- Obese parents have obese kids. This is a common formula to portray the hereditary cause of obesity. There is a direct connection of obesity between the mother and the baby.
- Baby fat is something an infant carries right at the stage of birth and in most cases this remains a lifelong asset. But in the latter stage, through diet and physical exercises, the weight can be brought under control but with rigorous effort.
- Recent researches have figured out an interesting aspect of child behavior. Today’s kids, on the average, spend around eight hours either at computers or watching TV. This psychological stress has a deep impact on their health. They turn obese in spite of consuming low-cal food. They are actually weak from within and fatty from outside. The medical world has concluded this to be the biggest cause of child obesity of present times.
Cure for Child Obesity
There is a difference between weight control measures of the kids and the adults. Dear parents just remember one thing. Your kids should get a balanced weight and not lose excess pounds, therefore grow weaker.
- Balanced diet and physical exercise have to be clubbed together. Introduce more proteins and vitamins and reduce the amount of fats and carbohydrates. But see to one thing that your kid is not deprived of energy.
- There should be a bar on consumption of junk foods, soft drinks and chocolates.
- One hour free-hand exercise with aerobics and warm-up jogging are enough.
- Above all insist your children to play and have fun. Why make those tender years burdensome?
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