The two primary causes of child obesity are inadequate diet and insufficient exercise. There’s a simple rule to gaining or losing weight although there are other factors that influence it too. If your intake of calories exceeds what you burn, you gain weight. When children sit for most part of the day, they end up consuming more calories than they can burn. If the child leads a sedentary lifestyle over a period of time, it eventually leads to child obesity. When there are a great number of indoor entertainment options like computer games or video games, today’s children hardly ever go out and play. This means that they miss out on much-needed exercise in the process.
Children need regular exercise or a sports regimen to keep them healthy. Organized sports and outdoor activities provide opportunities for kids to burn more calories. These activities also serve to keep them away from home for longer, which means they do not eat as much as they do when they are at home. Passive indoor entertainment activities like watching movies or playing computer games are too common today, unlike in the earlier years, when kids used to get all the exercise they needed naturally. This is why obesity is a growing problem in recent years.
Obesity could have other reasons besides overeating and lack of exercise. Problems like hormonal imbalances can cause obesity too. Hormonal imbalances cause the metabolism to slow down, leading to inadequate burning of calories. This can be a genetic problem, predisposing the child to obesity. Diseases or syndromes like Prader-Willi syndrome and Cushing’s syndrome may also be causes of child obesity. However, these causes are seen in a small number of cases. The prime reasons remain lifestyle related ones.
To prevent child obesity, family participation is necessary. If you find your child gaining weight rapidly, you should take him to the doctor to ascertain the reason for the weight gain. After confirming that there are no serious issues or hormonal imbalances, you should keep a check on your child’s food intake and exercise routine. Make it a point to take your child to the doctor every year to ensure he is growing well and in a healthy way.
Parents need to set an example for their children in food and exercise habits. They should expose their children to family activities and physical exercises. This will result in physical exertion becoming a way of life. Following an organized, scheduled family activity like that goes a long way in ensuring that you not only do away with the main causes of child obesity, but also maintain your own health in the bargain.
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