Child obesity is a problem that continues to get worse. It may not be the easiest subject to tackle. It might even be an uncomfortable subject. However, if you want to be a part of the solution, it’s important to find ways to reduce the risk of childhood obesity within your family.
5 ways to help reduce your child’s risk of child obesity
Not sure where to start with battling childhood obesity within your own family? No worries, we’re here to help you with these five suggestions:
1. Starting With Diet
A child’s diet could be helpful or contribute to the problem. In today’s day and age, it’s hard to control a child’s diet at all times. It’s challenging trying to make sure your kids eat a healthy diet. Cooking your own meals means controlling the ingredients. However, it’s difficult for busy families to cook high quality meals every night.
A good way to go about this is to reject foods that contain processed sugars or oils. You want natural alternatives for your child. It’s also important that your child eat fruit, vegetables, and lean meats. You can prepare meals on the weekend and freeze everything. Then, you can easily cook for your kids during the week.
2. Fighting Today’s Issues
One thing you have to actively fight is the modern challenges your child is going to face. Some are easy to fight like smartphone usage. All you have to do is limit smartphone use to get children to be more active throughout the day. A harder thing to fight is laptop or computer use.
Many educational institutions ask kids to do most of their work on a computer. As a parent, you can’t tell your kid to stop using the computer if work needs to be done. The good thing is you can get your kid to stay active by using a desk riser. These force your kid to stand up while working, and that’s a good thing for the body.
3. Rethinking Food Portions
Kids and adults don’t always eat the right way. For one, most people don’t understand the right food portions. It’s a good idea to give your kids smaller portions of food and wait 20 minutes before giving them more.
That’s usually the amount of time it takes for the brain to figure out you’ve eaten enough. Try to ensure your kids and everyone in your family take their time when eating. It should take around 20 minutes, which should help everyone stop over-eating. It’ll be tough at the beginning. You’re not familiar with how long it SHOULD take for meal consumption. Just be patient with your kids and everyone in your family.
4. Promoting Exercise at Home
It’s important to promote exercise at home. Your kids might be living a semi or full-on sedentary life, and that’s no good. This could be happening because they watch TV or because they play on their smartphones all day. If you want to protect your kid from obesity, then make sure he or she exercises every day.
There are a few ways you can do this, but just make sure it doesn’t feel like a chore. Kids don’t normally react well to bossiness. One way to incorporate exercise into your child’s everyday life is to do so when shopping. You can walk around the store for some time. You could also involve them in physical clubs like a soccer or football team.
5. Water is a Big Deal
Water is so important, yet many kids aren’t drinking enough. Maybe this happens because a kid can easily drink juice or some other sugary drink instead of water. You don’t want to give your kid only sugary drinks that end up contributing to obesity. Encourage your child to drink water whenever possible.
It’s going to be hard for your kid to switch to water. Try to lead by example if your kid refuses to drink water. Eventually your kid will get used to drinking water. You’ll be helping your child maintain his or her weight.
Consider sharing this information with other parents. You never know who else might be worried about child obesity and how much they might need a helping hand.
About the Writer: Regina Thomas is a Southern California native who spends her time as a freelance writer and loves cooking at home when she can find the time. Regina loves reading, music, hanging with her friends and family along with her Golden Retriever, Sadie. She loves adventure and living every day to the fullest.
