Children, Nutrition & Obesity
Because children are growing, they require high amounts of energy. This means a varied diet that is nutritious is essential for their development. However, if a child consumes more energy from food than their body uses up, just like adults their body stores the extra energy as fat.
Sadly, it is estimated that as much as 15% of UK children are overweight or obese and it does not stop there. If a child is obese or overweight, they will grow into an obese or overweight adult. This creates a significantly higher risk of them developing health problems currently and later in life, including serious condition such as strokes, diabetes, bowel cancer, heart attacks and high blood pressure, and the more overweight the child becomes, the higher the risk.
It is not just the clinical risks that an overweight child faces. What about the psychological distress? We all know that children can be very cruel. An overweight child will nearly always as some point experience playground teasing about their appearance that can destroy their self-esteem and confidence for the rest of their life, not to mention the feelings of isolation and depression.
Overweight and obese children are on the rapid increase and this is now a serious health concern. Health experts are now predicting that due to our children's poor diet and lack of exercise, their own parents will be outliving them. Scary thought, isn't it?
It is rare for a child to be overweight due to a health problem, so unless diagnosed by a doctor, this excuse should never be used. They are more likely to be overweight if their parents are overweight. Genetics can play a very small role; however, don't simply use it as an excuse. How about the fact that children mimic the bad eating habits and activity habits of their parents?
Overweight children gain their excess pounds due to their unhealthy lifestyles, exercise and lack of physical activity. In addition, it is becoming easier and easier for a child to become overweight. Fast foods, sweets, convenience meals are all high in calories - full of salt and sugar. They are cheap, available and targeted to our children through multimillion pound advertising campaigns intruding into our living rooms via their TV programmes. We have to admit that physical exercise is not part of every child's day. How many of us now drive their child to school when it is in a walking distance? Were children driven to school 30 years ago? How many times a week does your child take part in any kind of sport? How many hours do they spend sitting in front of the television or playing their games console?
Many parents find it difficult to determine whether their child is overweight or they have 'baby fat.' It is relatively easy for adults to determine whether they are overweight by working out the Body Mass Index, which is not an appropriate measurement tool for children. Charts taking into account a child's rate of growth, age, gender are used instead. Health professionals are able to measure what proportion of their weight is fat. As a rule, a child's weight is generally classed as obese if there body weight is more that 25% fat in males and 32% fat in females.
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