Why is it important to prevent childhood obesity?

Childhood obesity is one of the most serious problems of the 21st century. In Spain, 21.2% of children between the ages of 3 and 12 are overweight, and 7.1% are obese. To curb this epidemic, prevention is the way you help you lead a healthy lifestyle throughout your life. How do we keep our children habits text link healthy life? How can we prevent childhood obesity? We tell you in PregDream!

OBESE AND OVERWEIGHT CHILDREN TEND TO REMAIN OBESE INTO ADULTHOOD

This is, unfortunately, a reality . Similarly, children of obese parents are more likely to be obese. Children tend to imitate everything their parents do, including the lifestyle they may lead, increasing or decreasing the tendency to be overweight . Leading a sedentary life (watching a lot of television or doing little exercise) and an inadequate diet are lifestyles that must be changed to improve the physical condition and health of children. As a consequence of these bad habits, children will be more likely to suffer from non-communicable diseases at younger ages, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases,respiratory problems, musculoskeletal disorders and certain types of cancer, such as breast, endometrial and colon. being associated with a higher probability of premature death and disability in adulthood.

CAUSES OF CHILDHOOD OBESITY

The diet of children, who are in full growth and development, must be varied and balanced. However, today we find many foods on the market that make children’s meals high in calories, fats and sugars and low in vitamins and minerals. This means that if foods have few healthy nutrients for children, they will considerably harm their health, having irreparable long-term consequences.

Another cause that promotes the appearance of childhood obesity is the decrease in physical activity . Children choose to play video games and watch television, favoring a sedentary lifestyle. For children to change this lifestyle, it must be the parents who begin to change habits, such as walking to places, riding a bicycle more, and using the car or public transport less.

BEING OVERWEIGHT CAN NEGATIVELY AFFECT THE EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

When a child sees himself as fat or obese, and is teased by his friends at school about it, it negatively affects his emotional development, causing feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem . These children may feel rejected and it could be the beginning of a situation of isolation or bullying, developing depressive behaviors and antisocial attitudes. (Although the origin of this problem is clearly not in the victims, but in the lack of social acceptance of obesity). All this causes a sedentary lifestyle and calorie consumption to increase more and more as a result of the anxiety caused by the situation. In some cases, this discrimination can even facilitate the appearance ofbulimia or anorexia. Childhood obesity is a very serious problem that we should not ignore.

WE MUST GIVE HIGH PRIORITY TO THE PREVENTION OF CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Being overweight, obese and the diseases derived from them are largely preventable . But what do we do to achieve such prevention?

First, we must increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts. Similarly, we must reduce fat intake and replace saturated with unsaturated . It is also important to reduce the consumption of sugars and carry out physical activity between 30 and 60 minutes a day with various activities.

Second, we must take into account some basic recommendations when feeding the little ones. We must avoid foods that have excess fats and sugars, precooked foods and fast food, greasy foods, industrial pastries, sweets, etc; and provide those that are rich in vitamins and nutrients , such as fruits and vegetables, pasta, rice, meat, fish, eggs, etc. The excessive use of oil and salt when cooking is detrimental to the health of the whole family, favoring the appearance of overweight. It is important to always cook with virgin olive oil.

At breakfast time , parents should provide their children with a balanced breakfast consisting of milk, fruit or juice, and cereals or bread . In this way, if the first meal of the day is done correctly, we help prevent obesity, giving breakfast as “the most important meal of the day.”

Finally, play and physical exercise should be encouraged instead of staying home watching television or playing video games. This will greatly benefit the health of the whole family!

THE PAPER OF THE PARENTS

Parents are in charge of educating their children with good eating habits from the first years of life. Childhood is the stage of life in which eating habits begin to establish themselves. Starting in adolescence, these habits become more resistant to change. For this reason, it is important that parents act on time , and it is in the childhood stage where customs are acquired in terms of healthy habits. It is important to bear in mind that, between the ages of six and ten , children begin to develop the ability to reason enormously, being very receptive to the arguments that parents may transmit about healthy habits.

It is easier to change negative behaviors in young children, which is when you are structuring their personality and behavior patterns. Bad dietary habits are more difficult to change as an adult. So get to work! Remember that your child will acquire all those habits that he perceives at home. The healthier they are, the better for everyone!