You’ve probably read about it or seen it on the news: the number of overweight children and teens has continued to rise over the past two decades, according to the CDC (Center for Disease Control). As a parent or other concerned adult, you may be asking yourself what steps you can take to help prevent our children from becoming overweight?
Why is childhood obesity considered a problem? According to the CDC, doctors and scientist are concerned because being overweight may lead to various health problems, such as heart disease caused by high blood pressure or high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, asthma, and sleep apnea. As if that isn’t enough, the CDC says studies indicated that obese children are more likely to continue being overweight into adulthood.
Children can’t change their exercise and eating habits by themselves. They need the help and support of their families and other caregivers. This is why successful prevention and treatment of childhood obesity starts at home.
Change family behaviors
The Mayo clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.com) suggests behavioral changes to combat obesity in children. Many behaviors contribute to childhood obesity, such as spending too much time watching TV or on the computer, or the types and amount of foods your kids are eating.
First, don’t make changes too quickly. It takes time and dedication to unlearn unhealthy behaviors and to develop new, healthy ones.
Make small, gradual changes and incorporate those into your daily lives. For example, turn off the TV during dinner, switch from soda to milk or water, or take a walk after dinner once a week.
Set achievable and specific goals for each member of your family and for your family as a whole. For example, one goal could be to eat fresh fruits and vegetables for afternoon snacks, and the family’s goal might be to eat out at a fast-food restaurant only once a month.
The new changes might take some time getting used to. But stick to the plan as best you can and evaluate your progress. Sometimes goals need to be adjusted if they don’t work for the family. It’s better to create a new plan than to stick to one that isn’t working.
Create a healthy-weight environment
In order to help your children stay healthy, it’s important to create a home environment that supports your efforts as a family. Make sure healthy foods are readily available, and serve fruits and vegetables with meals. Be sure to remove high-calorie, high-fat foods from the home, buying them just occasionally.
Encourage physical activity that is built into the day’s routine. Encourage your kids to play outside - simple activities include bike riding or shooting hoops with their friends. Organize family outings that involve physical activity, such as walking to the library or playing at a park.
The Mayo Clinic also encourages parents to set rules the home that help reinforce the healthy lifestyle. Limit time spent watching TV, playing on the computer or playing video games. This will help your kids find more beneficial activities.
Other ways to create a healthy-weight environment include removing sugar-sweetened drinks from the home, offering more whole-grain foods with meals and snacks, reducing the number of meals eaten out at fast food and other restaurants, sitting together for family meals and have that meal last at least 30 minutes, removing TVs and computers from children’s bedrooms, and including children in active chores, such as washing the car or walking the dog.
When you make the commitment to create a healthier environment for your family, it’s important to stick to the plan. This includes you, the parent! If you take the TV out of your child’s room, consider taking the TV out of your room as well. Be a positive role model! And be consistent. The best way to get your child to commit to a healthier lifestyle is to commit to the changes yourself. Your actions teach your child what to eat, how much to eat and when to eat. You also encourage your child to be physically active every day if you make it a priority yourself.
Reward successful changes
Rewards for successful behavior changes keep your family motivated. Keep track of the improvements that have been made and what your kids have accomplished, and then celebrate! Rewards should be consistent with the goal and be given regularly, such as on a daily or weekly basis. Plan an activity the family likes to do together. Don’t use food as a reward or punishment, however. You might unintentionally lay the groundwork for food-related power struggles.
The changes can be challenging
Making changes can be challenging, especially when today’s families juggle busy schedules, time and money constraints, and other stressors and demands on daily living. But if your family works together and supports each other’s efforts, then success is more likely.
Eventually the new changes will be incorporated into your family’s everyday life and will be just the way things are done. Not only will your child lose weight and stay healthy, you will also be improving the health and well being of other members of your family!
For more information, log onto http://www.mayoclinic.com or http://www.cdc.gov.
