Have you noticed that there seems to be more kids who are obese these days?

It is heartbreakingly true.  Especially in the United States as studies have shown the kids in the US are more likely to be obese than kids in other countries.

There are some important questions that need to be addressed if we are to reverse this trend and save our kids from a lifetime of emotion, mental and physical misery.

Here, we will address the causes, the dangers and how to help kids combat obesity while also helping them to become healthier in every way.

What causes obesity in kids?

For some kids, genetics plays a role in obesity. Kids in families with strong tendencies toward obesity will often be obese themselves. Even though it may run in families, obesity can still be combated successfully.

Some factors that are genetic and linked to obesity are diseases such as thyroid disease. Hypothyroidism often runs in families and obesity can result. Any disease or condition that slows down the metabolism can lead to obesity.

There are environmental causes for childhood obesity, too.

• Many schools, under the pressure to cut budgets, have reduced or eliminated physical education classes.
• Many schools only have P.E classes once or twice a week rather than daily due to several schools sharing one instructor.
• Another environmental cause is the barrage of ads for fat and sugar laden fast foods, sodas, ice cream and candy. It doesn’t end there, either. There are ads for cereals loaded with sugar that kids are being told are a healthy way to start the day.  With so much advertising on TV all the time, of course children want these foods.

The advertising of unhealthy fat and sugar loaded food play right into the next two causes – diet, nutrition and lack of physical activity.

With so many families needing two incomes these days, preparing a healthy meal everyday seems impossible. Processed frozen foods that take little time have replaced fresh vegetable, fruits and lean meat for meals.

Eating out, even at fast food restaurants, used to be just an occasional treat. Now, grabbing some fast food on the way home is something that happens a couple of times a week in many families.

For various reasons, kids are not spending as much time playing outdoors as previous generations did. Kids are more likely to spend most of their free time watching TV, playing video or computer games.

The danger to obese kids

Kids who are obese get teased by other children and even some adults.

Though this may seem like not too big a deal to someone else, the kid getting teased suffers a great deal. An obese child has low self-esteem and is likely to suffer from depression.

They’re other dangers from childhood obesity, too. Kids who are obese have a greater risk of developing Type II Diabetes, have sleep disorders directly related to being obese, bone and joint problems and higher risk of high blood pressure.

Many people don’t think of high blood pressure as a problem that kids can have but the truth is, they can and obese kids are the most likely to have it. This is not just unhealthy, it is life threatening.

Why exercising for kids is so important

Exercise does more than just get the muscles working to burn calories and burn fat. It helps to speed up the metabolism, improves circulation and helps bones and joints gain strength and grow.

It also helps to balance the body chemistry so kids are more energetic and mentally sharp. The immune system gets a boost from exercise, which is something many people don’t realize. Kids need plenty of good exercise to grow properly and be healthy and happy.

How should parents encourage exercise?

The bottom line is: kids learn by example. If the parents are sedentary, the kids will be, too. The best way to get your kids to exercise is to exercise yourself and get your kids to join you.

Make it fun

If it is fun, it is easier for everyone to stick with it. Instead of letting the kids play videos games, go for a walk with them, maybe at the zoo or a park. Instead of watching football on TV, play tag football with the whole family. Go swimming or bike riding together.

Exercise does not having to be boring, it can be fun and a great bonding time for the family. You will find your whole family is happier and healthier. Just find the time and work out an exercise program specially for your child.

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You may not consider that that your children need to follow an exercise program but if you want them to grow up to be fit and healthy now is the time to encourage a new lifestyle.

For children, it doesn’t have to be planned like an adult exercise program as it  basically means getting them up, moving and motivated.

Today more then ever, children consider playing to be sitting in front of a TV or computer or using some hand held game player. Back in the day when we were children playing meant you were out of the house after breakfast running and jumping around, skipping, bike riding, and playing kickball with your friends in the street or near by field.

Depending on the age of your children, you don’t really have to explain to them why you are encouraging them to get up and get moving, but if they are older then you should.

Children are amazingly receptive and most of the time all it takes is for you to explain it to them and they will get on with it on their own. Let them know the benefits of exercising or playing physically:

• Stronger muscles and bones.
• Leaner body, less body fat.
• Reduce the likelihood of being overweight and even obese.
• Decrease risk of type II diabetes.
• Better controlled blood pressure and cholesterol.
• Happier kids with a lot more energy
• Better sleep
• Can handle stress better

In other words the benefits are similar to those of an adult. Speaking of which if you are truly planning on putting together a schedule of exercises for your child, I hope that you have a plan for your own exercises as well.

As I stated earlier, children are receptive, if you aren’t getting up and getting moving why should they? I have a friend who runs with her daughter everyday before her child goes to cross country practice. They do three miles together and then her daughter goes and does another 2 with her team. She is only 12 years old.

Children would rather exercise with someone, and you may be surprised to find out that the person they want to exercise with is you, their parent. So, let’s get this started with the planning.

There are three important components that need to be present in fitness exercise routines for children.

• Endurance
• Strength
• Flexibility

You can see these three components in practice on kids playgrounds and you don’t realize it. Watch the way they run during tag, see if they can do the monkey bars and play hopscotch or even as they bend down to tie their shoes. We need a balance of all three in the activities we are going to set up for the children.

Endurance will increase with regular aerobic activities, which will make them breathe harder and the heart beat faster. The following activities will strengthen their hearts and improve the efficiency of the body’s ability to get oxygen to the cells.

Basketball, soccer, tennis, walking, jogging, running, and jump rope are all aerobic exercises and there isn’t one of those that you as a parent can’t participate in as well.

Strength is the next element we need to work on. This doesn’t necessarily mean weight lifting, though if that is your preference as well as the child’s that is great. Make sure though that weight lifting is the child’s choice and is NEVER left to do it alone.

There are excellent exercises that can be done to improve strength without weights such as push-ups, stomach crunches, chin ups on the monkey bars. Strength is also improved with handstands, tree climbing or just wrestling around with friends.

Suppleness and agility is very important as helps in avoiding or lessening any damage to our bodies that might occur. Stretching is the best exercise for this. This can actually be a game with you and your child to see who can reach the farthest from various positions.

Remind them to never stretch to the point of pain. Stretching is probably the one activity that even the most sedentary of people have to do whenever they need something and have to reach for it.

To help encourage your child to get more physically active find out what sports they like and look in your local area for camps or clubs that they can join. Most places have soccer, basketball and football camps or leagues that children can play in and judo classes are popular with most kids.

Find one that is not competition based to start off with. This way, your child works on a team, learns techniques and is encouraged to keep trying even if they aren’t perfect at first.

The leagues, camps and clubs can be a lot of fun and depending on where you live will dictate cost. It is worth looking around to see what’s on offer as costs can vary from free to quite expensive. Your local gym is another place to visit and find out what they can offer to children. One gym I belonged to had a program specifically for kids. The sessions lasted for forty five minutes three days a week with trainers taking them through aerobics and weights.

My kids loved it, they worked out with other children and made a lot of new friends of their own age and interests. Because I could see them while I was working out it was great.

Some gyms encourage the children work out with their parents. This is a great way of bringing the family together and encouraging each other as turns are taken on the various fitness machines.

You can try to encourage your children all you want, but you do have to lead by example. Sitting in front of the TV and expecting your children to get on with exercising while you laze around will quickly disillusion them. After all if being a couch potato is good enough for you then why shouldn’t it be good enough for them?

My advice is to work out a regular activity program that you will do with them. Ride your bike while they run next to you. Go for a family walk before dinner together and talk about your day’s activity. Another idea is to offer awards and treats for progress in their exercising.

Competition is healthy but beware of overdoing the winning at all costs and pushing them to be the best. Children need positive reinforcement for what they are doing or they will quit, so quiet and patient encouragement is the answer.

Be careful that you do not enter them into competitions that are above their capabilities as they will realize that they are not living up to your expectations and to avoid disappointing you will turn away from that activity.

In particular satisfy yourself that they really enjoy and want to participate in the competitive activity and are not doing it just to please you.

Exercise is good for the whole family and should always be fun for everybody and not a chore.

With the increasing concern over the alarming rise in the levels of obesity amongst the young it has become essential that parents, teachers and child carers recognize the importance of regular daily exercise in maintaining the health of their charges.

In today’s busy world where so many families are dependent upon the contributions of both partners to the household budget, together with the change in a wife or partners´ role from dependent to independent, it is their children that have become deprived of the attention that past generations took for granted.

It is now so easy to give a child a ‘play station’ where he or she can quickly become absorbed in the intricacies of a computer game and will not require mum or dads attention for hours.

The big picture that must be recognized by parents is that keeping the kids occupied and out of their hair this way is more than likely to lead to long term, and often short term, serious health problems.

These are, of course, related to the fact that sitting in front of a screen is a completely sedentary occupation and the child is getting no physical exercise or burning up any of the surplus energy that the young are blessed with.

The early signs are the onset of obesity as the unused energy is converted into body fat leading in later years to overweight related health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and many others.

Responsible and loving parents recognize the dangers and take action, as should all those involved in childcare.

Anybody that has responsibility for a child, even if it is for only the occasional hour or two once or twice a week should try to encourage some form of physical activity.

Ways To  Keep Exercise Interesting

At any age between pre-school and fifteen it is important to make your childs exercise program fun and interesting, after all that is the attraction of computer games, nowadays the main competition for a child’s attention.

Starting with pre-school, health practitioners acknowledge that exercise at this young age is unlikely to contribute one way or another to health problems in later years but consider it of importance in establishing a healthy foundation and mindset to continuing physical activity throughout childhood and adolescence.

It is from around the age of 7-8 until 15 years old that the groundwork for a healthy future can be laid.

It is also between these ages that obesity can become established and the seeds of potential future health hazards are sown.

Types of activities for children

• Unless a young child has a fear of water, swimming and other pool activities are fun and excellent exercise.
• Simple gym exercises such as dancing and tumbling mat work, stop and start competitions, just use your imagination, change the routines constantly and try to keep it going for 1 1/2-2 hours daily.
• If alone with one child get down to the recreation area in your local park.
• If the weathers bad then think up some stay at home activities that require constant walking, running or jumping to burn up energy, and bones and build up stamina.

Bear in mind that active play with other children is important in developing social skills as well keeping fatness at bay.

Even with both parents at work every day finding an hour a day to devote to having some physical fun with your child should be a rewarding pleasure to look forward to. As they get older and better able to coordinate their movements introduce ball games, football and basketball are the easy to play in the back yard.

Keener parents might want to encourage an early interest by involvement in short tennis, maybe competitive or distance swimming, or ice-skating.

There is hardly a limit to the number of beneficial physical activities to encourage your child to take up, one of which might become an all-consuming passion leading to sporting fame and wealth.

A word of warning, do not impose or persuade them into a physical activity against their will, encourage them in what they enjoy, be it ballet for boys or all-in wrestling for girls!

Current medical research suggests that 9 year olds will gain the greatest health benefits from 2 hours moderate to vigorous continuous physical activity every day and by the age of fifteen 1- 1 ½ hours daily should suffice.

Keeping the kids to a nutritious and balanced diet, avoiding excessive consumption of any food but particularly sugary candies and drinks, crisps and other snacks high in fats, is also as much a contribution to a healthy adulthood as exercise.

Childcare experts will tell you that it is the encouragement, involvement and good example of the parents in the everyday life of their kids that leads to healthy and happy progress as they get older.

Has anybody told them about dealing with the emotional problems of teenagers!!