Childhood Obesity
By: Angie Frank, BSN,
RN
Education Nurse
Obesity is a major
concern in the United States. - we are one of the most obese countries in the
world. Sadly childhood obesity is also prominent in the United States. September is childhood obesity awareness
month, so what better time to discuss this subject.
Did
you know that 1 in 5 children in the United States are obese? This puts our kids at a higher risk for
diseases more commonly found in adults such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease
and high blood pressure. The good news is that we as parents, healthcare
workers, and educators CAN help prevent this.
Some
factors that contribute to this growing problem are our genetics, metabolism,
how much sleep we get, stress on the body, and eating/physical behaviors. Note that some factors are not preventable.
Some
little changes that we can make to help our young ones with this problem are to:
keep fruits/veggies on hand and easily accessible,
limit cookies, candies, chips, sugary drinks, etc. Limit fast food intake. Take a family walk after your evening meal
and plan fun, active family activities. Encourage
your child to participate in sports.
Limit screen time whether it be the television, gaming systems, computers
or notebooks.
Levels of
physical activity have reduced over the past three decades. The CDC stated
“last year, only 29% of high school students participated in the recommended 60
minutes of exercise a day.” A statement provided by Medical News
Today said “health care experts believe it is
primarily unhealthy diets and lack of exercise that have caused rates of
childhood obesity to soar. Although heredity may explain some of the obesity
epidemic, it does not justify the explosion we've had over the last 30 years.”
We all love our young ones and want
to give them what is best. Let’s set a
healthy solid foundation for them now so they can be the best they can be.
