CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Childhood Obesity, Intervention Workshop
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When it comes to obesity, Education is the Key to Prevention
The solution is good childhood healthcare.
The solution is good childhood healthcare.
Group Lecture
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Introduction: If you’ve been reading the newspapers or listening to the news, you know that childhood obesity is getting to be a major problem in the United States. Over one-third of our population is overweight. This is alarming because younger people are getting diseases and illnesses that are directly related to obesity. They include heart disease, cancer, stroke, and kidney disease. As the rate of obesity goes up, so does the cost of health care. If the trend continues, over the next ten years, one-third of the children growing up today could be suffering from obesity and have a shorter life-span than their parents.
Normally when we see news reports of overweight children, the pictures show only the overweight bodies but not their faces. But there is much more to overweight children than the fat they carry. They are real people with hearts and souls. They are sensitive about their weight and they get their feelings hurt more often then other children.
===========================================
Throughout this program, you will meet some of those overweight children and get to know them. They may even tell you how they feel about being overweight. Try to understand that this is not an individual problem; it is a national problem.
We can’t afford to wait around until our children get old enough to learn to manage their health on their own. They need to start developing good health habits now. They also need to know that exercise and a healthy lifestyle can extend their lifespan. Also, we have to teach parents and make them understand that what they do now will have a tremendous impact on their children’s lives.
===========================================
Since the cycle of obesity revolves around poor eating habits and incorrect food choices, we can stop the cycle by developing good eating habits and making better food choices for our children. If we don’t stop it now, we will in fact be killing our kids by letting them continue the cycle. It will not be easy, but we can do it.
Culture can play a big part in weight-gain. Most of our social and cultural activities involve eating and drinking. Some might take not eating while attending a social function as antisocial. Children might feel that mom; dad, aunty, or uncle may become upset if they don’t eat very much. That is one reason why some children overeat. They want to please others while participating in social activities.
===========================================
Overweight parents who have overweight children may make the wrong choices for themselves and their children. In some cases, parents simply leave it up to the children when it comes to food choices. In cases such as that, a child may make the wrong choice or overeat because no one has taught him or her what to eat or that it is unhealthy to eat too much.
Children usually grow up following the eating habits their parents allowed them to establish for themselves. Or the children simply eat and enjoy the same types of foods their parents enjoyed. Unfortunately, too many of the parents today grew up with fast food as their number one choice. Their children are following in their footsteps.
===========================================
Children are dependent on their parents to make correct decisions for them. A baby does not know that eating excess calories could lead to health problems and an early death. If you allow your child to have excessive amounts of candy, ice cream, and fast food, they have no way of knowing that when they consume sugar in excess, it’s bad for their health. Children eat whatever their parents give them or allow them to have.
Most parents provide for their children’s needs including a good home environment and entertainment such as video games, television sets, computers, and lots of toys. Some parents will let their children have whatever they want, whether it’s healthy or not. When given a choice, a child will choose sweets and fast foods over healthy food every time. Managing your children’s weight and teaching them to eat for good health is a difficult job. It takes tough love to keep your children healthy.
===========================================
It is not easy to make your child eat whole-wheat bread, vegetables, legumes, and drink water with their meals when everyone else is having hamburgers, fried chicken, pie, ice cream, cookies, and sodas. Your children will refuse baked chicken, baked fish, homemade vegetable soup, whole wheat bread, and brown rice. They will even turn down a ham sandwich with lettuce and tomato for something better.
The logic is simple. If certain foods taste better, why eat something else. When given a choice, a child will choose hamburgers, French fries, cakes, cookies, ice cream, doughnuts, sodas, juice, and candy. Food choices should not be up to the children. It should be up to their parents until the children learn to be responsible.
===========================================
If parents let children make the choices, the children are likely to gain weight and get illnesses and diseases related to obesity. This will shorten their life span. There is no question about it. People, who are overweight, generally die sooner than those who maintain a healthy weight and a good level of fitness.
You might be able to add five to ten years to your children’s life just by teaching them to eat healthy food rather than letting them make bad food choices. Yes, you have to make the choices, especially if the children have made bad choices in the past. Will it be easy? No, but tough choices are what it is going to take to manage your children’s health.
===========================================
If they are used to making food choices for themselves, they will do everything they can to make you give them what they want:
They will scream
Throw temper tantrums
Jump up and down
Throw food away
Turn their plate upside down
Curse and swear at you
Refuse to eat anything at all or
Accuse you of being mean, uncaring, and abusive
Will this bother you? Sure it will! If your child acts up enough, chances are, you will give in. It is human nature to be a good parent. Also, you don’t want to be accused of abusing your children.
===========================================
However, if you let your children win the argument; they are the losers in the long run. When they become obese as a minor, the stage is set. They are not likely to recover from obesity as an adult. Regardless of the excuses one might have for allowing their children to become obese, it is ultimately the parents’ responsibility. When you give in and let your child make bad food choices, you are killing your kid with kindness.
===========================================
Introduction: If you’ve been reading the newspapers or listening to the news, you know that childhood obesity is getting to be a major problem in the United States. Over one-third of our population is overweight. This is alarming because younger people are getting diseases and illnesses that are directly related to obesity. They include heart disease, cancer, stroke, and kidney disease. As the rate of obesity goes up, so does the cost of health care. If the trend continues, over the next ten years, one-third of the children growing up today could be suffering from obesity and have a shorter life-span than their parents.
Normally when we see news reports of overweight children, the pictures show only the overweight bodies but not their faces. But there is much more to overweight children than the fat they carry. They are real people with hearts and souls. They are sensitive about their weight and they get their feelings hurt more often then other children.
===========================================
Throughout this program, you will meet some of those overweight children and get to know them. They may even tell you how they feel about being overweight. Try to understand that this is not an individual problem; it is a national problem.
We can’t afford to wait around until our children get old enough to learn to manage their health on their own. They need to start developing good health habits now. They also need to know that exercise and a healthy lifestyle can extend their lifespan. Also, we have to teach parents and make them understand that what they do now will have a tremendous impact on their children’s lives.
===========================================
Since the cycle of obesity revolves around poor eating habits and incorrect food choices, we can stop the cycle by developing good eating habits and making better food choices for our children. If we don’t stop it now, we will in fact be killing our kids by letting them continue the cycle. It will not be easy, but we can do it.
Culture can play a big part in weight-gain. Most of our social and cultural activities involve eating and drinking. Some might take not eating while attending a social function as antisocial. Children might feel that mom; dad, aunty, or uncle may become upset if they don’t eat very much. That is one reason why some children overeat. They want to please others while participating in social activities.
===========================================
Overweight parents who have overweight children may make the wrong choices for themselves and their children. In some cases, parents simply leave it up to the children when it comes to food choices. In cases such as that, a child may make the wrong choice or overeat because no one has taught him or her what to eat or that it is unhealthy to eat too much.
Children usually grow up following the eating habits their parents allowed them to establish for themselves. Or the children simply eat and enjoy the same types of foods their parents enjoyed. Unfortunately, too many of the parents today grew up with fast food as their number one choice. Their children are following in their footsteps.
===========================================
Children are dependent on their parents to make correct decisions for them. A baby does not know that eating excess calories could lead to health problems and an early death. If you allow your child to have excessive amounts of candy, ice cream, and fast food, they have no way of knowing that when they consume sugar in excess, it’s bad for their health. Children eat whatever their parents give them or allow them to have.
Most parents provide for their children’s needs including a good home environment and entertainment such as video games, television sets, computers, and lots of toys. Some parents will let their children have whatever they want, whether it’s healthy or not. When given a choice, a child will choose sweets and fast foods over healthy food every time. Managing your children’s weight and teaching them to eat for good health is a difficult job. It takes tough love to keep your children healthy.
===========================================
It is not easy to make your child eat whole-wheat bread, vegetables, legumes, and drink water with their meals when everyone else is having hamburgers, fried chicken, pie, ice cream, cookies, and sodas. Your children will refuse baked chicken, baked fish, homemade vegetable soup, whole wheat bread, and brown rice. They will even turn down a ham sandwich with lettuce and tomato for something better.
The logic is simple. If certain foods taste better, why eat something else. When given a choice, a child will choose hamburgers, French fries, cakes, cookies, ice cream, doughnuts, sodas, juice, and candy. Food choices should not be up to the children. It should be up to their parents until the children learn to be responsible.
===========================================
If parents let children make the choices, the children are likely to gain weight and get illnesses and diseases related to obesity. This will shorten their life span. There is no question about it. People, who are overweight, generally die sooner than those who maintain a healthy weight and a good level of fitness.
You might be able to add five to ten years to your children’s life just by teaching them to eat healthy food rather than letting them make bad food choices. Yes, you have to make the choices, especially if the children have made bad choices in the past. Will it be easy? No, but tough choices are what it is going to take to manage your children’s health.
===========================================
If they are used to making food choices for themselves, they will do everything they can to make you give them what they want:
They will scream
Throw temper tantrums
Jump up and down
Throw food away
Turn their plate upside down
Curse and swear at you
Refuse to eat anything at all or
Accuse you of being mean, uncaring, and abusive
Will this bother you? Sure it will! If your child acts up enough, chances are, you will give in. It is human nature to be a good parent. Also, you don’t want to be accused of abusing your children.
===========================================
However, if you let your children win the argument; they are the losers in the long run. When they become obese as a minor, the stage is set. They are not likely to recover from obesity as an adult. Regardless of the excuses one might have for allowing their children to become obese, it is ultimately the parents’ responsibility. When you give in and let your child make bad food choices, you are killing your kid with kindness.
===========================================