Are Your Children at Risk for Obesity?
Posted on September 3, 2008
Filed Under Depression |
There are countless articles written about weight loss and hundreds of weight loss programs available. Yet few address the fact that our children are also overweight.
This is very sad considering that the number of obese children and teenagers has tripled in the last twenty years and those numbers are increasing.
The number of overweight children from 6-11 years old has increased from 4% in 1974 to 17.5% in 2004. The same statistics can be found for teenagers. From 6% in 1974, overweight children between the ages of 11-19 increased to 17% in 2004.
As of today, children who are overweight is at an all time high of 32%. Of the 32%, 16% are considered obese, but an alarming 11% are considered extremely obese.
Children are under even more peer pressure about their weight than most adults can imagine. Adolescent girls, as young as 13 years old, are begging for, and some are actually having, gastric surgeries to reduce their weight quickly. Some see bulimia or anorexia as their only solution.
The biggest threat of childhood obesity is that these children are the ones more likely to become obese adults. And instead of dealing with health issues at a later age, they are dealing with these health issues at a much younger age.
It has been foreseen that the children of this generation will be the first in history to have a shorter life span than their parents.
It is futile to talk about the reasons why we’ve let our children get fat. We all know the reasons, and we should take responsibility for it as adults, not the children.
Our children are fat because we feed them junk instead of healthy, nutritious foods. Too much sugar laden cereal and not enough oatmeal for breakfast.
They eat too many overly processed, nutritionally lacking, calorie-laden snacks instead of fruits and vegetables. There are also too many fast food, too much and too often.
On top of that, we’ve ceased to insist, or even encourage our kids to be active. It’s too easy to let them spend one mind-numbing hour after another in front of a TV screen or a computer monitor.
They’re becoming too sedentary, and to them playing outside is no longer fun. What have we done to our children?
If you have a child struggling with weight issues, it’s time to step up and take responsibility for it. The damage is not only being done to their physical body, inside and out, but it’s wreaking havoc on them emotionally.
At their age, children should not be dealing with depression and low self-esteem brought about by obesity. They shouldn’t have to suffer from the constant teasing and rude comments of their friends and classmate which lowers their self-image.
It is not fair to let your children’s body struggle with the added demands of carrying around excess weight when they are just starting to develop. I am asking all parents and grandparents who have overweight children to do something about it.
Get active with your child. Find the time, make the time to prepare healthier meals and offer healthier, wholesome snacks. And try my program Weight Loss Breeze to bring your child’s weight back to a normal, healthy level. It’s a natural, sensible approach to weight loss. And best of all, it works.
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