HGH Forum 

- Thu Sep 08, 2011 1:26 pm #17117 Childhood obesity is a growing problem in western countries. There are many causes--one being that we no longer feel safe letting children roam around playing outside all day the way they used to decades ago. Another cause is the same reason many adults are getting fatter--we have fewer physical chores to do than we used to. When kids were expected to help out with chores, including some that were far more physical than before we had machines to do our work around the house, kids got more exercise. Another reason is schools cutting out physical education in order to make shorter school days and in order to appear as though they are focusing on "important" subjects.
The causes of childhood obesity are numerous, and need to be addressed by entire societies. Some parents have to work long hours, and don't have enough time to take children for long bike rides every day. Some families don't have enough money to put their children in organized sports. Still, they don't have to sit around wondering "why is my child obese?" because there is plenty that parents can do to prevent childhood obesity and set their children up for a lifetime of healthy habits.

Preventing Childhood Obesity

Preventing childhood obesity requires effort. It's more work to chop up some healthy vegetables for your child to snack on than it is to rip open the package of a pre-made snack loaded with sugar and preservatives. And although it is usually cheaper to shop the produce aisle than the packaged aisles, it is far more work to create your own meals from scratch, with healthy fruits and vegetables, than it is to take something out of the box and pop it in the oven. An effort to collect healthy recipes and ingredients in order to serve healthy meals is a must. Healthy food does taste good if it is prepared well!

If you don't have time for special trips to the park, try walking to places with your child rather than driving or taking the bus. You might be surprised at how far a toddler can walk, even though it will slow you down. And five and six year olds have a lot of energy to burn, so try walking to get to their friends' houses. Although it isn't always possible or practical to walk, try it whenever you can.

It's up to our generation to teach children how to live healthy lives, and exercise and good nutrition when they are young will stay with them their entire lives.

- Wed Sep 21, 2011 2:17 am #17711 There are many things you can be doing to help prevent your child from suffering with the long, damaging effects of childhood . It's really not fair to blame the public schools, the school boards, or even fast food restaurants. It's up to us as parents and teachers to teach these young kids about not just diets and excercise, but about a healthy lifestyle and proper food choices. I believe if you can get them started off on the right foot early then they are going to be better off for later on in life. Not only for themselves, but for their children and the future generations. So it's up to you.

You really don't have to feed your children organic products or make them jog two miles everyday. It can be something as simple as taking a family bike ride two nights a week, eating an apple instead of chips as a bedtime snack, or even packing lunches for school instead of buying them. Teach your children that it's okay to indulge in a snack every once in a awhile but every night really isn't going to be the best thing for them. It's also very important to keep them entertained. So instead of watching a movie and eating popcorn, try playing soccer to keep the little ones going. What may now be such a big problem, has such a tiny solution. And it starts with you.

- Tue Nov 15, 2011 4:37 am #20249 It's true: It's way too easy to blame everyone else. But simple little switches to the daily routine will help everyone in the family get healthier and stay healthier!