Causes Of Childhood Obesity

The two most common causes for childhood obesity are unhealthy eating patterns and a lack of exercise. Children who do not move around, sitting in front of a computer or TV, and consuming more calories than what they are using, will become overweight, and even obese.

The passtimes of choice for today’s children are computer games, and that takes away from them the physical activities children enjoyed in earlier years. Parents need to make an effort to schedule exercise into their children’s lives by means of organized sports, swimming, cycling or any physical activity the child may enjoy. Outdoor activities allows the children to get the exercise they need, and prevents them from snacking in between meals on foodstuffs that are readily available in the house.

Problems

A small percentage of children become overweight through other factors like genetic predisposition or hormonal imbalances. Prader-Willi syndrome or Cushing’s syndrome could also cause childhood obesity, but these cases are rare. Two of the most important causes of childhood obesity is overeating of unhealthy food and under exercising, causing the child’s body to store excess calories consumed as fat.

Solutions

To prevent and solve the problem of childhood obesity the whole family needs to be involved. If the child has gained excessive weight suddenly, a doctor needs to be consulted to eliminate serious health issues. A child should be taken for a Well-Child assessment once a year to ensure appropriate weight gain and growth.

A healthy eating plan and exercise routine should be planned for the whole family. Parents should take responsibility for the family’s eating habits by providing only healthy, fresh, nourishing food in the house. Set an example to the children by choosing food that are low in fat, sugar and flour, and dense in nutrients essential to health and wellbeing.

Parents should plan family activities that are physical in nature to teach the children to incorporate exercise into their lives. By setting an example of exercising, parents will encourage children to incorporate exercise as a way of life and fight one of the causes of childhood obesity.