Obesity in Children

Filed in archive Health on September 16, 2005

IMHO, we cannot generalize and blame parents of this generation for overweight children. Yes, some children are overweight due to their inactive lifestlye and poor eating habits. However, genetic factors also play a big role.

Instead of pointing fingers and playing the blame game, I'd rather focus my attention on looking for information on how to keep kids healthy and how to help kids who are already overweight so that they will not become overweight Adults.

If your child is overweight or is in danger of being overweight (or even if you just want to make sure that your kids are on the right track), check out the following pages:

Want to know if your child is really overweight? Calculate his Body-Mass Index and check the results.

The American Heart Association has an Eating Plan for Healthy Americans, based on the latest advice of medical and nutrition experts. Note that this page points to an intro page. The plan itself can be found using the left menu with different sub-categories.

The Surgeon General's Call To Action To Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity from the United States Dept of Health and Human Services. Useful lifestyle suggestions are listed.

Read about the effects of overweight and recommendations for children of all ages at Kid's Health.

Watch this multimedia campaign (health awareness) with your children. Verb: "It's What You Do".However, Lei of Aboutweblog has two interesting points about genetics which we should also take note of. Check out ENPP1 Gene and Risk of Diabetes and Obesity and the Genetics of Metabolism, Appetite and Taste.

Parental support is important -- whatever weight your child may have. It's important to let them know that you want them to be happy and healthy. And to show your kids (by example) the importance of eating well and being active.