Obesity in Children - Tips to Change Habits   by Eduardo Lopez

in Health    (submitted 2009-11-12)

In the United States alone 78% of our children are obese. Those ages are from 2 years of age to 18.

I can think of many reasons why. The first being these are our children. These are the children that were born from the baby boom generation.

If you were born during the baby boom generation you saw color television, movies, fast cars, and you guessed it fast food.

In our generation Weight - Watchers was just beginning. So knowing about good and bad fats, high cholesterol and so many other things. Eating due to boredom was a way of life. In fact, so was skipping breakfast, eating on the run or in front of the television set was our way of life. For some of us it still is.

Most of the households today both parents are working, so kids either get fast food or fattening snacks or a microwave meal that's loaded with salt till the parents come home late from work to tired to cook and swings by the closest fast food place for dinner.

Our children don't play sports, they play X-box. The only exercise they get is moving their fingers and hand to mouth. Stuffing their face with whatever is convenient to snack on. Then there are the commercials, everybody is eating at Wendy's, or Pizza Hut, or wherever.

We really need to monitor our children better. They need fresh air, exercise and a good wholesome diet. But how do we change this?

I don't blame the parents and I will tell you why. It is the society we live in. Although McDonald's is starting to offer smarter meal choices even for the kid's meals, there is still a lot of fat content in these meals.

To change not only our children's eating habits but our own, we have to put some consideration into this. Don't buy potato chips buy banana chips. Buy fruit instead of a microwave snack. When purchasing food at the grocery store "read" the label. Look at the cholesterol content, sugar content, and sodium count. If you can't buy fresh vegetables, buy frozen.

When cooking, cook extra and freeze it in containers that can be put in the microwave for your children to heat up.

Cook more than one meal when you have a day off and freeze it. This way you won't have to stop at the closest fast food place on the way home when you are working late or are just too tired to cook a meal.

You can also use a crock pot. Just through in a roast and some veggies and turn it on and let it cook. When you get home it is ready to serve. You can cook almost anything in a crock pot.

Don't skip breakfast. This is the most important meal of the day. But don't rely on sugared cereals every morning either. Eat a bagel, make some oats and toast. (Also good for reducing cholesterol). Get up 15 minutes earlier if you have to, but always eat breakfast.

You can't change bad eating habits over night. But just these simple changes and watching what you buy can start to make a big difference. I know from experience that children are junk-food-junkies. There is no way you can eliminate all of the junk food from your child's diet all at once. Just simple baby steps and before you know it they are eating healthier.

Also get some exercise. Take you child or children to the park, ride a bike or just take a walk around the neighborhood. You will be surprised how much energy you'll have and plus spending time with your family is very rewarding not only to their health but just having that time with your kids.

Child Obesity did not occur over night and you cannot lose the weight overnight either. Your child or children will thank you later for guiding them to a healthier diet.

About the Author

Eduardo Lopez has been writing articles for years now. Not only Eduardo specializes in nutrition, fitness, general well-being to help people live better lives. You can also check his last website on used file cabinets which helps people find the best used home and office furniture