Health Center

Child obesity is believed to be a growing epidemic in this country. Children overall, are less active and spend more time watching TV and playing video games then they ever have before. An estimated 80% of overweight children will grow up to be overweight adults. They will struggle with weight their entire lives. They will be more susceptible to diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and high cholesterol. Obesity can also lead to joint and back problems. Obese people tend to have shorter life spans and a lower quality of life as they get older.

An essential way to keep your children from being overweight is to keep them active. The more time they spend up and moving the better off they will be. Get your kids involved in sports and other outdoor activities. These can include gardening, skating, camping, canoeing, swimming, and the list could go on forever. If your child plays an organized sport, go to their events and practices. Cheer for them and offer them constant support and encouragement. Never make your children feel bad if they play poorly because that will discourage them from paying future sports. Encourage your children to use the stairs instead of elevators, walk or ride their bike places instead of getting a ride. Lead your children by example by walking with them. Read more…

Overweight children need parental guidance in establishing a nutritious diet combined with a healthy level of physical activity. Controlling weight in children can be challenging and often frustrating, but here are four steps to weight control that are highly effective and very doable.

Be patient and persistent but not overly stern or dominating in your approach. It’s not army boot camp.

Make it fun!

1. Be the Leader and Role Model

You can’t expect your child to follow a healthy diet and exercise regularly if you are glued to the TV munching on a jumbo sized bag of potato chips. Be motivational and provide a good dose of positive reinforcement to make exercise a fun activity for the whole family.

It is important to eat as many of your healthy meals as possible together, as a family, without distractions such as a blaring TV. This approach assures that the overweight child does not feel singled out and is not the main focus of attention.

An additional benefit to this approach is that it allows the family to interact much more closely, leading to strengthening of family bonds and resulting in a better understanding of each other. Read more…

How to eliminate childhood fat should be a concern for every family that has fat children. If you take a look around as you drive down the streets or as you take a walk in the park it is plain to see that there is a serious epidemic of obesity. If we as a society don’t address the problems that cause early obesity, then we are going to have a new generation of chubbiness that will continue to grow.

Imagine for a moment, a world where overweight, obese children out number the children who are fit and healthy. Now think about it, if nothing is done now, that would be a complete tragedy and a sign that we have failed in our war against childhood corpulence. But as you read every word of this article you are going to learn about ways to eliminate fat, and then you will discover the number one techniques to eliminate those unhealthy pounds for good.

Get moving- turn off the televisions, and put down the video games. Get your children active, the more active they are, the more fat calories they will burn. Read more…

We know it for adults: the risk of obesity increases drastically by consuming sugary drinks regularly. However, we love sugary drinks and on average we quench 2/3 of our thirst with such drinks.

Motives for this strong desire to drink these beverages are numerous; mother’s milk is sweet and maybe leads to an early association between sweet taste and a pleasant feeling of comfort and security.

Sugary drinks are a hazard, because they supply pure sugar and therefore a high contingent of calories as well as a high glycemic index (GI) (The glycemic index is represented by a score between 1 and 100. It helps to judge carbohydrate rich foods in its effect on the amount of blood glucose and the release of insulin in your blood.) These calories are taken in additionally, without your being aware of it. Read more…

Here in the United States alone, obesity affects 1 in 5 children.

Eleven percent of the children and adolescents in America are overweight. Also an additional fourteen percent are at risk of becoming fat. So how to trim childhood fat is a big concern for parents who have obese children.

You probably already know that as your child gets older; keeping them lean becomes more difficult. As a responsible parent you will have less control over what they eat at home and especially away from home. You will always be competing with your kid’s peers and TV as models for eating habits. But you are still the biggest and most encouraging influence on your child’s behavior. You as a loving caregiver hold the key to showing them how to trim childhood fat. I’m going to give you proven ways to have a healthier, fit and happier kid.

Trim television time – preschool and school age kids watch an average of 24 to 36 hours of television weekly. This contributes to childhood obesity because of a lack of fat burning exercise.

Monitor snacks – children like and love to eat. Since they get a great percentage of their calories from between-meal snacks, encourage them to eat fruits, veggies and low fat foods. Read more…

There are a lot of options to increase a child’s physical activity levels, and those of the family as well, in a fun and enjoyable way.

Here are 3 fun ways to increase children’s physical activity levels that can be tailored as you deem best for your family.

1. Household Chores

The mere mention of household chores sends everyone scurrying for cover. Believe it or not household chores can be fun. Here’s how:

On small pieces of paper jot down a chore and an exercise associated with it. Throw them into a bag or hat and have everyone pick one.

For example, if I get the bathroom, I may have to do four jumping jacks every few minutes, or if Johny gets to sweep or mop the kitchen floor he has to run in place for a minute every five minutes or whatever interval you decide on. The combinations are endless.

2. Family Workout Night

Pick an evening as the family workout night. Then each week have a different person put together a workout that the whole family will do together. Depending on the age of the child you may have to provide some guidance for coming up with a workout that covers the major muscle groups. Read more…

The issue of children’s eating habits and their effects on obesity is constantly researched and discussed by food scientists.A nutritionally well balanced diet develops growth and can also reduce / prevent the risk of developing diseases such as heart disease and some types of cancer.

Low fat diet

High-fat diets are linked with increased hazard of several serious medical conditions consisting of obesity, cancer, and heart disease. As a result, current public health recommendations highlights the importance of reducing total fat consumption to no more than 30% of total calories, or 60 grams of fat per day in an 1800 calorie diet.

The type of fat is also very important. Saturated fats in foods such as meats products raise cholesterol more than unsaturated fats, which are found in olive, peanut, canola oil or polyunsaturated fats in safflower, sunflower, corn, soybean and cottonseed oils. Consumption of saturated fats to no more than 10% of daily calories is recommended.
Although cholesterol is important for rapid growth, children over age 2 should consume it in moderation.

Meat products provide protein, and vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins, iron and zinc.

General recommendations to achieve a healthy diet in meat products are:

* Basically one serving of meat per day is suitable for normal growth and development. It is suggested that serving meat more than twice a day is inappropriate / excessive.
* Choices with the least fat include lean meat, poultry without skin, fish, and dry beans and peas.
* Serving more fish and poultry and fewer red meats is recommended as red meats contain highest extent of cholesterol
* Serving bacon, sausages, spareribs, pastrami and some other high content fat meat products should be avoided / reduced. Read more…

Childhood obesity is becoming more and more of an issue in every developed country all around the world. Lots of information about childhood obesity will quote that one out of every five children is overweight. However in America the real figure is much closer to one out of three children. The large number of obese children and teenagers is sparking a demand for weight loss camps.

Overweight children often have low confidence because they get teased on a regular basis. However being overweight also has some very serious health implications. Obesity related diseases are on the increase. One of the most common risks for children who are overweight is that they can develop diabetes, or specifically Type II diabetes. There has been a marked increase in the number of young adults who suffer from this disease.

Many people still think that type II diabetes is a disease that only affects adults. However in recent times it often affects people during their teens. It is possible to control and manage the disease however there can be some serious effects over a long time. This can lead to kidney failure, blindness, limb amputations, damage to blood vessels among many others. Diabetes type II is very common at fat camps up and down the country.

Carrying around extra weight will also put extra strain on your body. This puts strain on all of your joints which can lead to muscle pain and joint problems. Even young children can suffer from cartilage damage because of the extra load. Many obese children struggle to sleep because they can’t get comfy when they go to bed. Many obese children also suffer from breathing difficulties which will cause problems when sleeping. Read more…

Childhood obesity and heredity, does that really mean that fat parents produce fat children? Statistics say yes.

Children whose parents suffer with obesity are at higher risk of suffering with obesity themselves. Studies found that for kids age 9 and under, having a fat parent more than doubled the child’s risk for becoming obese in adulthood. Genes may actually be a more powerful determinant of obesity than diet. But in some cases genes, do not always predict future health. Genes and a person’s behavior may both be needed for a person to be fat.

So when it comes down to looking at childhood obesity and heredity, in some cases multiple genes may increase someone’s susceptibility for fatness. Other outside factors such as overeating along with little to no physical activity also contribute to overweight children. When you look at the fact that heredity plays a role in one being overweight, it’s a good reason why as parents we should learn how to make our loved ones healthier. Even if heredity did play a part in you having obese kids, wouldn’t you want a healthier life for them?

For kids who are predisposed to gain weight due to heredity, their level of physical activity has really dropped, and they are spending more of their leisure time doing things that don’t burn any fat calories. This is a serious health risk and as you know prevention is critical in controlling the dangerous epidemic of obesity. Read more…