Three Steps You Must Follow To Avoid Childhood Obesity by Nana

Childhood obesity has now become a worldwide problem. More and more children these days are suffering the same symptoms and diseases that were once only seen in adults; heart disease, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes, to name just a few. Obesity is becoming one of the serious problems day by day all over the world. Obesity is termed as increase in the body weight of an individual due to excessive accumulation of fats. Where do all the little needles point to when they get hungry? You're the one they look to, when they are young, to buy, prepare, and serve the food they eat. This is when good or bad habits are developed. You set the rules and govern the amount of food and type of food that comes into the house. To battle childhood obesity there are three steps you must follow.

1.Eating dinner at the table more than 5 times a week .

2.Sleep at least 10.5 hours a night.

3.Watch less than 2 hours of TV a day.

It's that simple? In a study conducted by Sarah Anderson, Ph.D, and assistant professor of epidemiology at Ohio State University, 8,550 4 year old from around the United States followed these three steps and were found to be 40 percent less likely to become obese than children that did none of these things.

When you sit down to dinner, as a family, without TV, you can regulate what your children eat , the proportions and the proper amounts. If they are sitting in front of the TV, how are you going to know if they ate their broccoli or the dog ate it? In some families the parents are working two jobs or odd hours and the only time they can see the kids is if they let them stay up late. If they stay up late that means less sleep, more treats and TV. Bad, BAD and more BAD. 10.5 hours a night gives kids the rest they need to be energetic and active the next day. You can't pay attention in school if you stay up late. We have all heard the evils of TV all our lives but what does that have to do with being obese? If you are sitting around watching TV you are most likely, if you 're a kid, not doing any type of exercise. You are probably snacking and your probably staying up late. All together now bad, BAD and more BAD! Less than 2 hours a day of TV is recommended by this study. That gives a kid time to come home from school, play outside, come in and do homework, eat dinner Then see some TV before getting the 10.5 hours sleep they need. It's all about education. You get what you need and then you'll be able to give what they need! Visit:http://affiliatemoneyathome.com/weightloss/ 

Childhood Obesity - Is It Out Of Control? by Gary J Kidd

Nearly 15% of all children in the USA are officially Obese. That is also true for teenagers and that percentage is getting higher each year. The last three decades has seen a huge increase in these figures. What makes it all the more frightening, is that it is not getting better.
Over 25 Million children in the USA are overweight or in danger of being so. Childhood obesity is rising and it is now the biggest pediatric problem in the USA with up to 30% of adolescent children suffering from it.

So who is to blame for this crisis? well, to be honest, the parents are most at fault but alongside that we need support centers and programs put in place to help. Children who have obese parents are 75% more likely to become obese themselves, which means we need to help the parents now to prevent this from getting out of hand. Helping people eat more healthily and control their weight is important in helping to reduce the childhood obesity problem.

It is not just in the USA of course. This is becoming a worldwide problem with Australia having one of the highest childhood obesity problems. It is a national issue and not just restricted to rural and suburban areas.

Schools must also take action as nearly half of the children in school eat school meals. They must be given healthy great tasting food instead of what fits the budget for financial reasons. Too many schools are driven by financial costs instead of realizing that if they fed their children healthy food, it would in fact save them money in the long run.

It is important to understand the cost to the American tax payer is estimated to be between $150 to $200 Billion dollars a year with time lost at work, hospital costs, medications etc. The fatter people get the more it costs the country in lost production and ultimately the lifestyle of the people and the economy itself.

Chronic diseases are associated with obesity like high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes etc. The cost of treating these disease puts more and more pressure on the health system and the overall cost to the nation is huge!

Childhood obesity is becoming an epidemic and soon it will be out of control completely. We need to not just educate these people but the whole nation as a whole. Action needs to be taken now before it really is too late.



About the Author

Gary J Kidd offers a Free Weight Loss Report from his website 10 Day Slim Down Challenge. He also offers help and advice for anyone trying to lose weight but not able to succeed. Visit his website for a Free Report or see his other articles here for more great tips and tricks to help you lose weight naturally.

The Drastic Increase of Childhood Obesity

Roughly 15.3% of children (aged 6-11) suffer from childhood obesity as do about 15.5% of adolescents. The rise in these percentages has been drastic over the past two decades.


Prevalence of Obese Children
(Ages 6 to 11) at the
95th percentile of
Body Mass Index (BMI)
1999 to 2000 15.3%
1988 to 1994 11%
1976 to 1980 7%


Prevalence of Obese Adolescents
(Ages 12 to 19) at the
95th percentile of
Body Mass Index (BMI)
1999 to 2000 15.5%
1988 to 1994 11%
1976 to 1980 5%


The 95th percentile is used as a reference point for childhood obesity. So as you can see childhood obesity has risen over 10% in 12-19 year olds and over 8% in children aged 6-11. In theory at the rate of increases continues then within two decades over 30% of children will suffer from childhood obesity.

Refrence- American Obesity Asociation-http://www.obesity.org/subs/childhood/