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6 Ways to Begin to Tackle the Obesity Epidemic

By Tim Baird

Australia has now topped the US as the fattest nation on earth, with some 3.9 million of us (26%) now in the clutches of obesity and 9.3 million of us classified as overweight!

The average ages for the onset of the various chronic lifestyle diseases are dropping, with children as young as 5 are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, once solely the domain of adults.

The obesity problem and the resulting 'secondary' disorders are now the major health concern of our nation, and in fact of much of the western world!

To really deal with this issue (in a way that makes a lasting and sustainable difference on a society wide level) we need to start with the kids (and we need to start young) in developing a healthy lifestyle, before they start to develop these problems or childhood obesity. Prevention is after all much better than cure.

How to do prevent childhood obesity (and obesity in general) is one of the greatest health challenges facing us as parents and fitness professionals.

Whilst the answer is by no means this simple, here are some good places to start:
  1. Control the formation of dietary preference.

    There is an old saying 'Give the boy until he is seven and I'll show you the man.'

    Psychologists may debate this, but it is a pretty good bet that the dietary preferences kids pick up before 7 will influence them for the rest of their lives. The good news is parents still have significant control of their kids before 7, so parents please keep the kitchen and school lunch boxes full of healthy food choices and limit the processed, high fat, sugary 'junk' foods.

    If we can develop kids dietary preferences into healthy ones before they start to get control of their diets, they have a much better chance of making good choices when they are older.

  2. More Physical Activity - Energy In Vs. Energy Out

    Yes there are other factors to obesity, but the primary paradigm for weight management is still to have more energy used through growing, physical activity, and the bodies metabolic function than is consumed through food.

    To tackle childhood obesity and obesity in general we need to tip that balance away from more energy coming in than going out, toward more going out than coming in.

    Our primary focus for kids, (except in cases of compulsive overeating, binge eating or significantly unbalanced diets) has to be increase 'energy out' rather than significantly reducing 'energy in'.

    Kids need a full and balanced diet to give them the nutrients they need to grow properly, they will use all the energy provided in a full and balanced diet if they are physically active.

    So get them playing more sport & running round outside more. Get them doing anything that gets their body moving and stimulates the 'energy out' side of the equation.

  3. Limit TV (electronic entertainment) time.

    The great enemy of physical activity is of course electronic entertainment. Television, gaming consoles & computers all enthrall kids and even become compulsive, leading kids to spend hours, whole days even, sitting sedentary in front of a machine instead of being active. Ultimately a parent has to be prepared to say NO, and find other, active ways to entertain the kids.

    The challenge here, particularly with little kids, is that it can be so easy and convenient to plonk the kids in front of 'the box' to keep them entertained so the parents can get on with their hectic lives. You know the routine…. 'there is a report due at work tomorrow, the house needs vacuuming and I need 10 minutes to myself… I can't possibly take a half hour to play back yard cricket or go kick a ball round with the kids, I'll just put the Wiggles on.'

    It really has to become a priority and time management issue. Use 'the box' occasionally when you really have to, but most of the time you are just going to have to say that the welfare of my kids is more important than whatever other demands are being placed on my time, and go get them doing something good for them instead of staring at a screen.

  4. Reinforce good messages, not bad ones.

    Don't be negative or focus on kids being overweight. A major cause of overeating & binge eating is dealing with poor self image and other negative emotions, don't stimulate these emotions in kids by focusing on them being 'fat', for the same reasons don't isolate them from their piers with restrictive dietary regimes.

    Rather build them up, make them feel good about themselves so they don't feel the urge to binge to control their emotional state. Encourage, reward and build them up for positive behavior like playing sport, being active & eating healthy food.

  5. Lead By Example

    Not surprisingly, the strongest influences on children in their early years are their parents (or guardians), they grow up seeing the way their parents live as being normal and emulate that way of life.

    If they see parents that are fit, active, eat well, at a healthy weight and in great health generally, the kids will have a much better chance of learning to live this way themselves.

    Obviously kids who grow up watching their obese parents binge on junk food and do nothing but watch TV, have very little chance of ever learn how to live an active & healthy life.

  6. Build Awareness

    By maintaining a high awareness of the obesity issue ourselves and then trying to keep the awareness of those around us high, we can keep this issue central in our lives, and have it influence the choices we make on a day to day basis.

    When your awareness drops it is easy to fill the kids up with a quick and easy snack say from McDonalds. Yes it may be quicker & easier now, but it is anything but quicker & easier 5 or 10 years from now! By maintaining awareness we will be more likely to make a healthy choice instead.

Conclusion

Whilst the ideas presented here are not 'the answer' to childhood obesity they provide a really good starting point for us all in helping our next generations beat the problems we have created for ourselves in this generation.

If we could even raise the awareness levels in society to get a 10 or 20 % change in attitude and behavior by parents on some of these issues it would save thousands of our kids from the clutches of obesity.

About the Author:

Tim Baird is a certified Personal Trainer and founder of Toodfood Weight Loss & Fitness in South Melbourne. Visit his website is at http://www.toodfood.com.au