Fat Camp Articles
3 Ways to Curb Childhood Obesity
By Leslie Davis
Changing your household routines can reduce the chances that your child will struggle with obesity.
A new study in the journal Pediatrics found that three routines can curb the rates of childhood obesity by nearly 40 percent:
- Eating dinner as a family at least six times a week
- Limiting time spent in front of the TV to less than two hours each day
- Making sure your child gets more than 10.5 hours of sleep each night
Doing just one of these in your home can reduce the risk of childhood obesity, and doing all three reduces the risk even further.
"The routines were protective even among groups that typically have a high risk for obesity," said Sarah Anderson, assistant professor of epidemiology at Ohio State University and lead author of the study. "This is important because it suggests that there's a potential for these routines to be useful targets for obesity prevention in all children."
Among children ages 6 to 11, rates of childhood obesity are around 20 percent. Childhood obesity is often attributed to poor diet, lack of exercise and maternal obesity. Obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer, as well as other health complications.
The prevalence of childhood obesity and its associated health concerns inspired First Lady Michelle Obama to launch a nationwide campaign to fight the epidemic and teach children about better health and nutrition.
"Let's Move operates under the principle that every family wants the same thing for their kid. So we're going to figure out how to make it easier for them to get it," Obama told USA Today.
The Let's Move campaign encourages physical activity for children, more nutritious food in schools, and making healthy foods more affordable and accessible for families. The campaign also aims to get parents more informed about nutrition and exercise.
"I have set a goal to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight," said President Barack Obama in a presidential memorandum. "The first lady will lead a national public awareness effort to tackle the epidemic of childhood obesity. She will encourage involvement by actors from every sector -- the public, nonprofits and private sectors, as well as parents and youth -- to help support and amplify the work of the federal government in improving the health of our children."
While the government works on such tasks as better labeling on food products and educating pediatricians, parents are encouraged to start the fight against childhood obesity at home.
Eat Dinner as a Family
Research has shown that eating dinner as a family can encourage healthier eating, increase communication skills, and decrease the chance of your child using drugs or alcohol. All of these sound like good reasons to make family dinners a priority.
Though the weekly schedules of everyone in your family are likely to get busy, you can find at least one hour during the evening to sit down together, talk about your day and eat a healthy meal. Make sure family dinner is quality time by turning off the TV and ignoring your cell phones.
Children eat what their parents eat, so make a point of eating well-balanced, nutritious meals at dinner so that your children get in the habit of eating healthy. Serve vegetables and healthy grains, and stay away from fast food dinners. Only drink water or juice at dinner, not high-calorie sodas.
Limit TV Time
Television, the Internet and video games have replaced going outdoors to play with friends, leading to a more sedentary lifestyle that makes it easier for kids to gain weight. A study in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine also found that too much TV time can lead to higher levels of blood pressure in kids.
Instead of giving your children unlimited access to the TV, restrict their daily viewing to two hours a day. Don't allow them to have a TV in their bedroom, and keep the TV in a room where you can more easily monitor when it's on.
Encourage your child to instead use the time they would have spent watching TV to go outside and engage in some type of physical activity. That can be a team sport, going on a bike ride or taking the family dog for a walk. What's important is to get them moving doing an activity they enjoy so that it doesn't seem like a chore.
Ensure a Restful Sleep
Children who do not get enough sleep each night tend to load up on foods filled with sugar and caffeine. As a result, they often feel more stressed, have problems learning and lose their ability to concentrate.
Making sure your child gets at least 10.5 hours of sleep each night can be difficult, but it's not impossible. Help them maintain a sleep schedule by enforcing bedtimes, limiting the amount of sugar and caffeine they have during the day, and making their bedroom a calming place to sleep.
Whatever steps you ultimately take, put the health of your child first. Teach the merits of proper nutrition and exercise, and lead by example. Putting effort into your own health can show your children how important it is to put effort into theirs.
If your child is struggling with obesity, you may want to consider a weight loss camp that can help them change their behaviors and adopt a healthier lifestyle. Through therapy, peer support and family involvement, teens can learn to have a better relationship with food and exercise so that obesity does not plague them through adulthood.
