It’s hard to turn on the news or read a paper anymore without hearing something about the obesity crisis in America. Our poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyles have certainly caught up with us. Today’s kids are feeling the effects as well. We have more obese children than we have ever experienced. Years ago, there used to be one or two larger kids per class. In today’s world, it’s not unlikely that half of the class will be overweight or obese.
Even though your child is not likely to be singled out as heavy kids once were, that does not take away from the truly scary things about childhood obesity. Obesity is linked to many, many diseases. If your child is obese, they are likely to have some fairly unpleasant problems in the future such as:
* Increased risk of cardiovascular disease: High blood pressure, Atherosclerosis, Myocardial Infarction
* Type II diabetes
* Joint problems such as bad knees and back problems
* Increased risk of developing certain cancers such as breast and prostate cancer
* Lessened quality of life
It’s important that you help your child now before the health conditions are set in stone. You need to educate yourself and understand the physical and emotional aspects of obesity. You need to figure out creative ways of helping your child lose a bit of weight and grow into his or her weight without adding a bunch of pressure. You need to explore other alternatives such as therapy and fitness camp. Today’s fitness camps are a far cry from the stigmatized “fat camp” of yesterday.
Obesity is something that can be completely reversed if you are willing to work hard and if you are able to empower your child to work hard. Adjusting one’s life to lose weight efficiently isn’t an overnight process, but if you commit to it now, you’ll be giving your child a wonderful gift; the gift of good health!
