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Childhood Obesity Tratment and Preventions and Causes

February 7th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Childhood Obesity

Obesity is fastly becoming an epidemic in the United States alone. However, it is also growing at an alarming rate across the westernized countries in the world. Obesity can have catastrophic results if left unchecked because of the medical complications that can arise from it.The health effects of obesity and morbid obesity can range from diabetes to heart disease, circulatory problems, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis and respiratory problems like sleep apnea.

Childhood Obesity Causes

Experts believe that some genetic factors as well as hormonal factors can contribute to childhood obesity.Having said that, the fact remains that the major reason for childhood obesity is overeating, eating the wrong types of food, and lack of physical exercise. The choices most children make regarding food are those that are high in fat, salt and sugar. Not only do these types of food contribute to the body storing fat, but also can promote overeating.
Some childhood obesity tratment and preventions and causes must be looked at closely.

When Eating is Out of Control

When a person eats without exercising control, the result is childhood obesity because when this happens they lose control the amount of food consumed as well as not knowing when to stop. Tad enough but when coupled with inactivity, the body becomes even more obese. Genetics may or may not be implicated in a particular person’s obesity but nevertheless should be considered. Having a check up with the family doctor is always a wise decision and may help with the implementation of an appropriate tratment program.

Junk food and fast food are major problems for those trying to prevent childhood obesity.If possible they should be eliminated from the diet completely but if that seems impossible, then its important to cut down on the frequency of eating these foods and also making the best choice of particular foods is important. Plus, if these types of foods are important to the child, then compromising and saying they can only be eaten if the appropriated amount of physical activity must occur in order to negate some of the bad things about these foods. Once the child knows there is an additional price they have to pay for these meals, like exercise, they might think differently about having them.

Extreme Dieting

Whereas some diets can be very helpful, when a child or anyone for that matter is sort of forced into dieting and does so unwillingly, then the resentment may build up and cause further problems. Once off the diet they may resort to old eating habits, binge eat, or indulge in everything they feel they missed out on when they were dieting. This only makes matters worse because not only will they most likely gain all the weight back they lost, but in fact, gain even more. When a person extreme diets, really reducing the caloric intake, the body may think it is in fact starving. If this happens, the body responds by storing the food as fat so it protects itself from “starving” in the future. what also may happen is the body in some ways becomes more resistant to losing weight because the physiology of the body has changed from the on again off again dieting.The yo-yo dieting cycle has begun in earnest.This is not a good obesity tratment and prevention.

Even certain illnesses can affect childhood obesity tratment and preventions and causes. However, it is realized that the leading cause of obesity is the lifestyle most of us are living today. In order to prevent obesity, it’s necessary to intervene early so that diet and lifestyle can be controlled and brought under control before things turn too serious.

What to Do

How you address childhood obesity tratment and prevention and causes is as individual as the person themselves. A good place to start is with a visit to your doctor to sort out any medical issues you may have. You might take some time to find some weight loss programs or diets that you feel you can stick to for a long period of time. Increase your physical activity, walk for a half hour a day at least twice a day, or join a gym. The possibilities are endless but the best thing to do is to start today and don’t wait till the situation worsens.So, now you know a bit more about childhood obesity tratment and preventions and causes.

What Parents Can Do to Fight Obesity in Children

December 14th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

What Parents Can Do to Fight Obesity in Children

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re well aware of the huge coverage in the media, especially television, regarding the rapidly growing rate of obesity in children.
Even more painfully obvious is the fact that although our presumed awareness has increased, the actions taken to address this issue have not.

The phrase “you are what you eat” is painfully true, especially when dealing with obesity in children. So, if the assumption is made that as parents or adults, our awareness of the problem is there, then why aren’t we seeing a decrease in obesity in children rather than the reverse?

The truth is, children don’t do the weekly shopping for groceries, and they don’t cook the meals. So where is the food coming from? Who is the person responsible for bringing the food into the home? Children will eat what is available and they will no doubt scream if they don’t get all the fast food and junk food they desire, but who is the parent and who is running the show? Obesity in children is a serious issue that can and will cause health issues for these young people.

Admittedly, kids can wear the best of parents down but at the end of the day, their physical future is just as important or even more so, then their educational and vocational future. So, let’s review some tactics that might help over time.

Control the Amount on the Plate

It’s no wonder that obesity in children is on the rise when you see the servings of food considered normal. Average portions served in fast food outlets and in many family restaurants have more than doubled since the 1950’s. As a result, the public has come to believe that these huge portions are in fact average, or normal. They are not. Portions served in Asia and Europe are considerably smaller and the results are obvious. If you find yourself at a fast food outlet and the kids are screaming, now’s the time for compromise. Get the smaller servings or share the servings between a couple of them. Be sure to avoid the sugared drinks and this includes fruit juices. Even though they are low in fat and sugar does not contain fat, sugar is stored as fat if not burned up with exercise.

Encourage the kids to eat slower. Perhaps engage them in conversation over the meal so they slow down. By eating at a slower pace, it give the brain time to get the message from the stomach that it is in fact full.
What About Between Meals?

Let’s face it; kids can be bottomless pits when it comes to satisfying their appetites.
It may seem difficult at first, but keeping the junk food out of the house is a good place to start. If it can’t be avoided, then only have small amounts in the house at any one time and perhaps only allow them once a day or every other day as a treat.

Many people suggest more fat free choices but if they are manufactured food, then what is usually done is more sugar is added o help the flavor and this can in fact be worse than the normal fat.
Natural, unprocessed food should always be the first choice. Fruit and veggies, already cut up and ready for the kids to grab is very handy and kids will get used to it. Even peanut butter on oat bran bread is a much better choice than cookies and candy.When kids are hungry enough, they’ll eat what’s available so make their choices healthier.Obesity in children can impact every area of their lives, including relationships with others.

No More Couch Potato

Activity is the name of the game. Having an electronic babysitter in the form of TV, computer and video games, although sometimes unavoidable for your sanity, really can contribute to obesity in children. If they don’t want to go outside and play, or do sports, then compromise and put in video games that are activity oriented, like learning to hiphop or learn other dances. Even exercise videos can be fun.

Instead of driving to places that are within walking distance, walk. This provides good exercise and gets the children outside in the fresh air.

Obesity in children is a huge problem and requires the attention of those people who are responsible for their care. The physical well being of children is just as important as their education because what kind of future will they have if it is negatively impacted by obesity and the serious medical complications that go with it? What kind of future will they have then?

What Are the Obesity Facts?

December 12th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

What Are the obesity facts?

Any diagnosis requires information and obesity is no different. It is important to know the obesity facts in order to determine the plan of action. The general public is probably familiar with the simplest definition and that is an individual who is carrying an excess amount of body fat. The standard used by many physicians today is the percentage of body fat. For men the range is from 18-23 percent and for women the acceptable range is between 25-35 percent.

What may not be understood by the average person is that being overweight and obese are different. Being overweight can be reflected in the muscles, bones, and water in the body. People have different body structures, some have more muscle weight and muscle weighs more than fat. So, a man for example, may weigh more than is considered normal, yet not be fat or obese because the weight is in large measure due to the weight of the muscle. Bodybuilders are a good example in that their goal is muscle gain. The more muscle they put on, the greater their weight, however, this does not mean they are obese. In fact, their body fat is usually very low.

Another obesity fact occurs when someone consumes more than they burn off. In other words, they eat more calories than what their body can utilize and then the body stores the excess as fat. Contributing factors in obesity is overeating, not exercising or not exercising enough, and eating foods that are high in fat.

Nutritionist and dietitians are available for consultation should you have the need for further education regarding the significance of fat in the food. Learning how to read the labels on food packaging would be a great advantage in the fight against obesity.

One of the most significant of obesity facts is that obesity puts the individual in a higher risk category for serious medical complications like heart problems (cardiovascular disease), and diabetes.

Making the Diagnosis of Obesity

BMI (body mass index) is used by doctors to help determine if a person is actually obese and not just overweight. This is only a tool but is a basic measurement that is used to see if the person is at higher risk for the many physiological complications related to obesity. The BMI is derived by performing a calculation using the measurements of height, and weight. Having a high BMI is a significant obesity fact.

Currently the waistline measurement holds some significance in the determination of the diagnosis of obesity. obesity facts indicate that health conditions like Type II Diabetes and heart disease can be predicted by the measurement of the waistline. Carrying the extra fat around the waste is a prime indicator of this. So, in men, the waist should be smaller than 40 inches and in women the waist should be smaller than 35 inches. In general, the higher the measurement, the greater the risk.

obesity facts suggest that the higher the BMI, the greater at risk this individual is for these health problems.
Health Risks-obesity facts

High blood pressure can be one result of obesity. The heart is a muscle and its function is to pump blood out to the body and to do so it has to push against the pressure within the blood vessels. People who are obese often have fat in the blood vessels so the amount of pressure required by the heart to get the blood needs to rise to push the blood through. Hence, high blood pressure as well as the possibility of stroke. Sometimes, due to the excess fat in the blood stream, clots can for and block off an artery and cause a stroke if its in the brain or heart attack if its in the heart..

obesity facts indicate that because of the higher level of fat in the blood of the obese, that their risk of developing heart disease is greatly increased. Cancer, another major concern today, can also be affected by obesity, most significantly in the colon, breast, and gallbladder. Another common complication that can develop is osteoarthritis.

In conclusion, if you think you or someone you care about has obesity, be certain to visit your physician to get the obesity facts as they relate to you. The earlier you work to correct the problem, the sooner you can reduce the risks of obesity related medical complications.

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