Health & Fitness Blog

Take a quick look around and you’ll observe the costly obesity crisis that is slowly overtaking our nation. How bad has it become you may say? Consider the idea that we are now seeing individuals parking in handicap parking spots to avoid having to park just a few extra feet away from a building.

In reality we can all agree that having excess body fat would work to your advantage if you lived in Siberia. Why? Because there, you have to work for your food, brave the cold and brutal weather conditions just to survive. Today in America you almost don’t have to work to do anything. With the advent of remote control entertainment systems, pizza delivery and wireless telephones, the average American never has to leave the sofa.

We must not allow our children to become victims of an over active appetite. If you pay close attention to the dietary counselors, you’ll discover that a slightly overweight child soon becomes an overweight teen. As you may have already guessed, this teen now becomes an obese adult. Unfortunately, abnormal weight gain is the least of the problem. The major issues center around the many diseases associated with childhood obesity, including asthma, diabetes and some cancers.

This is troubling because young people are most impressionable during their teenage years. Think about it, going through puberty was hard enough when you were approaching puberty at a normal weight. Just imagine how difficult it must be for kids these days that now carry an additional 45 to 70 pounds around. What is really startling is the enormous growth taking place within the dieting industry. Teens are quickly become the best potential customer bases before they are able to vote.

Fortunately, this can be prevented. And it can be prevented easily and early on, and the solution is surprisingly retro:

Look back at your younger days and remember what you did as a kid before the electronic babysitters came on the scene. If you recall this time in your life, you will more than likely remember going to the park with friends, playing kick ball or soccer.

If you felt tired or felt dehydrated, you immediately reached for a glass of water or milk. Sweets were a treat for good behavior rather than your main course. Snacks did not come prepackaged but rather apples, oranges and bananas were your choice.

Contrary to the popular belief, it is possible to training children to eat healthy foods. Caffeine laced drinks are a prime example. Researchers have uncovered an alarming link between drinking diet sodas and consuming high fat luncheon meets with cases of certain brain cancers. If you gain nothing else from this article, at least follow this one tip, please, do not allow your kids to drink soft drinks. Remember, water first before any juices or milks.

Another simple trick is to schedule snack times along with family style meals. As an example, rather than Johnny eating a snack whenever he is bored, you establish certain times during the day when he will have a snack and what his choices are. By doing this early, it minimizes the impulse eating and helps children make proper choices.

When it comes to leisure activities, encourage your kids to play sports – soccer, baseball, softball. Not all kids will have an aptitude for them, and some aren’t ready to socialize in large groups when the rest of their age cohort is. For those kids, make time out every week to go on a hike for a mile or two. If you get in the habit of walking for a mile as a family every day after dinner, everyone will be healthier, and you’ll be staving off the perils of the obesity epidemic.

The key to providing life long health for your kids is inculcating these habits early in life, so they become habits. Explain why you’re doing it when they ask, but don’t preach. Your kids will adopt the behaviors they see you doing – you’re their parent, their role model, and these are the habits they’ll stick with as they get older.

If your teen is overweight, what options do you have? Author Dorthy Weatherbush has taken the guess work out of figuring out if your teen would benefit from a doctor recommended meal replacement diet. Learn more about her suggestions at http://www.StephensonandCompany.com

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