4 STEPS TO PREVENT CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Obese children unfortunately become obese adults. And obesity leads to a variety of heart ailments blood pressure, diabetes and many other diseases. Inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle coupled with bad eating habits give rise to obesity. Many school going children today are becoming fatter by the day. These spend more time playing video games with very little or no outside games or view too much TV and of course consume more than necessary for their age and that too, junk food.
As parents it is our duty to monitor the steps that need to be taken for prevention of obesity in our children.

Abolish Soft Drinks
The biggest step of all! Most children love carbonated soft drinks. But it has no nutritional value, just empty calories. But if your child is already into having soft drinks with every meal, it is going to be very difficult to give up.
Elimination of these drinks from your child’s diet may be a difficult process, depending upon age and the amount of consumption. If the child is at an age where he or she does not yet make a choice in what is consumed, then the process is easy. This is where you simply stop giving these drinks to the child, replacing them with more healthy alternatives. Where children are old enough to help themselves, it is important to ensure that no soft drinks are available. Stock your refrigerator with low-fat milk, water, or fruit juices made from real fruit.
Remember, children learn by example. Be a role model for your child by opting for healthier drinks like fruit juices, low fat milk, buttermilk,etc. at home or when ordering in a restaurant.
What we are essentially doing here is just altering the thought processes in choosing healthier alternatives. This step is important in achieving and maintaining weight.

Restrict Fast Food
For children who are already showing signs of obesity, it is best to completely eliminate things such as hamburgers, fried chicken, chips, milkshakes and other fattening products from fast food restaurants. However, if this has been part of the child’s routine, it may be difficult. Although scientific literature gives no specific recommendations, it is believed among nutritional experts that fast food is acceptable on a once per week basis.
It is not necessary to totally eliminate takeaway food from the diet but rather to help the child to make healthier choices. Many fast food restaurants are now listening to public opinion and providing a healthier range of food rather than just the traditional range that they are renowned for.
To totally eliminate fast food would be unrealistic as there is also a social connection, particularly in the older children. Often this is a meeting place for friends and it would be hard for the child to resist temptation. It is crucial therefore, that parents ensure their child understands how the traditional fast foods contribute to obesity.

Limit Television Viewing
It would be unrealistic to think of eliminating television from your child’s life not to mention deprivation. There are many programs on television these days that are beneficial to your child’s development. However, it is important to limit television viewing as well as other technology such as DVDs and internet.
Researchers advocate no television at all for children under two and no more than two hours per day for children over two. This also applies to other media technology though internet surfing for homework purposes could be exempt. Remember also that if your child is spending a lot of time on the internet, it is important to have internet security software for their protection.
Another way of restricting television viewing is to only have a television in the family room rather than allowing your child to have one in the bedroom.
Dinner time is for enjoying the meal and also for enjoying the company and closeness of family. Turn the television off to promote conversation.

Promote Physical Activity
Normally children love outdoor play of any kind. But, some children do not want to engage in any games for a variety of reasons. Parents should encourage such children by taking them for short walks and later enrolling them to be coached in an outdoor game of their choice. Once they make friends with like minded peers, they will learn not just the game, but will improve academically, and learn team play, fairness, and will never become obese. The key here is everything is done in a fun atmosphere and children will look forward to their playtime.
It is therefore in everybody’s interests for measures such as the abolition of soft drinks and fatty fried foods, sweets and chips and any other obesity producing foods to be banned from school tuck shops and in other areas where children frequently purchase foods. Advocating for our children’s health and for the future of this generation is of the utmost importance.

HOW DOES TV AFFECT MY CHILD?

Today's children are adept at handling the remote. On an average a school going child spends between three and four hours a day before the idiot box. On holidays and weekends, it is much more.
Have a part to play in this? Most parents allow the children to watch cartoons or movies, just so they can be free, or will be at work. Channel surfing is a favourite past-time for some. There is usually a fight for the remote among siblings.

What do the health care professionals have to say about Television viewing?
They vehemently suggest to never allow a child that is below two years to see tv.
And to limit those children above two years to a maximum of two hours per day.
The first two years is a critical time for brain development, hence no screen -time be allowed.They have to develop their skills by exploring, learning , talking and playing with parents and others.

Children going to school, can watch channels such as Discovery and National Geographic which are very educational outside of the school textbooks. Imagination runs wild and they learn so much more. Entertaining shows, such as magic show, or a few cartoons could be viewed. Ultimately , parental discretion is advised. No doubt, television can be a source of entertainment and education.

Too much television has its disadvantages.

• Reclining on the couch for hours on end, gives a bad posture especially for a growing child.
• Snacking constantly on popcorn, or a bag of potato chips, leads to obesity at an early age, which gives rise to health complications rather early in life.
• Those that see violence too often may try to emulate them, putting themselves and others at risk, particularly their siblings.Younger children viewing violent events, can get scared that something bad will befall them such as a kidnapping, accidents, or seeing ghosts in the dark.
• Poor concentration , limited critical thinking skills, are also associated with this excessive viewing which will definitely affect their school grades.
• Turning up the volume while viewing affects the hearing, while watching a program too close to the screen, affects the vision.
• Bad habits, such as smoking, drinking are usually picked up a lot faster from the telly, because a favorite character or hero is to be emulated. Bad words are also picked up in due course and used on the sly, and later on more openly.
• Advertisements are usually meant to entice children to buy food products or getting them into coercing parents to buy things.
  

Recommended reading, TELEVISION AND YOUR CHILD

DO YOU ENJOY SPORTS?

It was a great pleasure to watch the World T20 Cup Final at Johannesburg on Tuesday. The new captain, Dhoni and his young team did an excellent job of lifting the trophy.The economic center of India, the city that never stops working ,virtually stopped, just to give the Daredevils, a rousing welcome when they landed in Mumbai two days later. My daughter and myself got a glimpse of Sreesanth who caught the final ball, being felicitated by his former school, Florence Public School at RT Nagar on Saturday just before the match against Australia.

In India, almost every one is a cricket fan. Betting takes place, people take sides, especially when the final is a Pakistan vs India match. Cricket fever is particularly contagious whether you are traveling, working (most try to get access to a tv), at school or college. Those diligently working will make mobile calls to know the latest score and who is batting and who is bowling.

Most children love to play or watch others play.Parents must encourage their children to take up some form of game which they enjoy.Schools and colleges must make it compulsory for every child to play a game of their choice.

Playing games enhances the all-round development of your child enabling him to express himself better on and off the field. He learns to play fairly and in teams, if team games are being played. If the child's interest is in playing individual games, he learns to take good decisions. In either case, he or she learns to enjoy games immensely.

Improving hand-eye coordination, motor skills, physical agility,
mental sharpness, are some of the benefits you enjoy while engaged in a good game with friends. Studies show that a child who engages in some form of music,sport, painting,dramatics, improves his grades in school.

This morning I met a renowned cardiologist , who tells me that a child or adult should engage in some form of physical activity. Fitness is very important from a young age. Obesity has become rampant in many children today. Even teenagers in colleges are suffering from this malady. Too much time in front of the idiot-box,
eating little or no breakfast, practically no exercise, eating junk food outside colleges or in the canteens at no proper intervals all account for this problem.

Playing games right after lunch is not recommended simply because all the blood rushes to aid in digestion of the food eaten and energy is not readily available for any form of activity. At least a half hour gap should be given before swimming or any form of vigorous exercise.