Ways To Rid Child Obesity

Everyone from politicians to parents talk about fighting the war against childhood obesity. Strangely enough in relatively wealthy countries such as the US and Australia improving children's health, weight and fitness is a problem that is growing day by day.

Childhood obesity – a matter of lifestyle

Childhood obesity in developed countries like is essentially a lifestyle issue. Children are overweight because they eat inappropriate amounts and types of food and they don't exercise enough. To put it simply many children are stacking on the weight because calorie intake is higher than calories burned.

Children's lifestyles are generally a reflection of those who raise them so parents are largely responsible for any strategies put forward to improve the health and wellbeing of their children. Children' health and well-being is an issue that parents should take prime responsibility for. Parents can beat childhood obesity rather than leave it up to schools to fix or politicians to meddle with.

To prevent child obesity a change in lifestyle is required. A simple, fool-proof lifestyle plan that parents can adopt will ensure their children grow up healthy and fit rather than overweight and unhealthy

Switch from television viewing and computer games to outdoor sports

Very little physical exertion is needed to watch TV or use other electronic equipment so for the sake of fitness their use of these needs to be limited. Send children outside, suggest they walk or ride to a friend's house or even suggest they have a friend or four over to play. Most children prefer to play computer games rather than play outside so parents may have to be assertive and, at times, over-zealous but so be it.

Encourage children to walk or ride a bike to school each day. Most children would get their required minimum two hours of exercise a week by walking or riding their bikes to school. This may mean that parents may have to walk to school with younger children or ensure they are adequately supervised. Bike riding is not safe for every child but more bike tracks in the vicinity of schools would be a great start to preventing child obesity.

Get creative with a healthy menu

Keep unhealthy food out of the home and fill the fruit basket instead. Parents have the main say in what food goes in and what stays out of the shopping trolley. Encourage children to eat fruit after school rather than sweet biscuits

Serve healthy meals at the table on a regular basis. The humble ritual of a family having a meal together on a daily or at least regular basis has a lot going for it. Far from being a refueling stop mealtime is an opportunity for everyone to catch up and to share good healthy, well-prepared food. Everyone is busy, but letting a busy schedule get in the way of this healthy ritual is inexcusable. As parents it is about getting our priorities right.

Play together and stay slim together

Parents can set a good example by playing with their children or joining them in a physical activity. The family that plays together stays thin together could well be the motto of our times. It should be easy for adults to impress their children on the virtues of playing physical games outdoors as play comes before work in most children's dictionaries. Fathers tend to be the kings of play but work and other lifestyle factors can get in the way. Encourage children to be involved in at least one organized physical activity each week. Some parents may need to be insistent but many children say they enjoy sport so getting children motivated for physical activity shouldn't be hard. There is no shortage of options for children these days as there are activities and sports that cater of a diverse range of interests, abilities and body types.

Model a healthy lifestyle for children to follow

Do as I do not as I say is the idea here. It is little use parents telling their kids to go out and play as they tuck into their second wine or they slump into the couch. Modeling is the most important tool in the armoury if we want children to develop sustained healthy eating and exercise habits. A healthy lifestyle is one where people talk to each other, one where food and alcohol intake occurs in moderation and physical activity is a natural part of the day.

Getting rid of child obesity need not be frustrating. All that is needed is to follow a simple plan. It is cost-free, easy to use and places the responsibility where it lay – with parents. It also has the added bonus of promoting healthy relationships as if they follow this plan parents and kids should spend more time together which can't be a bad thing.