Facts About Obesity: Keeping Our Kids Healthy

The facts about obesity can be overwhelming. Obesity is a growing epidemic, not only in the United States, but around the world. Childhood obesity is growing at an especially alarming rate.  As a matter-of-fact, it is said that the adolescent obesity rate has more than tripled over the past 30 years.

Obesity in children is caused by several factors. When a child consumes more calories than they expend during the course of a day, over time, those excess calories turn into extra pounds. Sadly, adolescent obesity can easily lead to teenage obesity and that can lead to obesity in adults. It is also a known fact that obesity causes early death.

If not caught early, childhood obesity can have significant immediate and long-term impacts on a child’s health. Obesity statistics show that obese children have a greater risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, sleep apnea and social and psychological problems.

Preventing obesity at an early age is key to assuring a child grows up healthy. Teaching anti-obesity health habits such as eating healthy and enjoying physical activity can greatly lower the risk of a child becoming obese later in life.

The truth is that we, as adults, are creating a society where obesity related diseases are the top killers of both men and women in many countries throughout the world. We seem to be so busy these days that we don’t think about what we are putting into our bodies and the bodies of those we love. We let our children set for hours on end staring at televisions and video games. Physical Education classes are being cut from schools and our kids are being fed the cheapest meals possible while at school. Our society is failing our children and setting them up for a life of almost certain health problems.

We can turn this epidemic around though. By teaching our children to forgo the myriad of fast food chains, the sodas and candy bars and instead to make healthy decisions about what they put in their bodies from the time they are babies can go a long way in creating healthy adults. It isn’t impossible to raise health conscience kids. But we, as adults, must set the standard of care we are giving ourselves. If kids see us making bad food choices day in and day out, they are going to follow our lead. If they see us setting at our computers for hours at a time, they will think that it is okay for them to do the same. If they notice that we don’t exercise or take pride in our appearances, they won’t want to either.

By making an effort to teach our children to become healthier, we are not only possibly saving their lives, we may just unknowingly learn a little from ourselves and save our own.