According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a child is considered to be overweight or obese based on the BMI which is the body mass index. Normally if the child has a greater BMI than 85% then the child is considered over weight. If the BMI is greater than 95% then the child is considered obese. To measure the BMI all that is needed is the child's height and weight. Use this website http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/ to know if your child is overweight/obese or not.
What causes a child to become overweight or obese?
Many children are obese due to the fact that they have a medical condition such as under active thyroid gland or some sort of other diseases which leads to childhood obesity. The reason why majority of the children are overweight though is because they do not burn off more calories than they intake. This is part of behavioral factors that play a role in childhood obesity. Behavioral factors include: eating habits, lack of physical activity, social norms, and parenting styles. All these contribute towards childhood obesity. There are also genetic factors which lead to childhood obesity. One key thing about genetic factors is that genetic factors alone do not play a role in leading towards a child being obese. It is usually paired with one of the behavior factors. Environmental factors that lead to childhood obesity have to do with how children are interacting at school or even daycare programs. It also consists of how the community affects the child's eating habits or their physical activity.
How can you prevent your child from becoming overweight or obese?
The best way to prevent your child from becoming overweight or obese is by training them to be healthy early on in the age. Try making healthy vegetables and fruits appealing to a child at a younger age such as 2 rather than 6 because by age 6 they are not going to want to be interested in fruits or vegetables. Also, as a parent you are their role model therefore your eating habits and physical activity plans should be healthy enough to make the children do the same. Also keep your child involved in family activities so they can have a healthy lifestyle.
Why is it risky for a child to be obese?
A child being obese has long term and short term risks. Childhood obesity can lead towards type 2 diabetes, heart diseases and even liver diseases. Long term risks including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and even depression. If childhood obesity continues at the rate that it is going, then it can lead to their generation being less healthy in the future than their own parents.
Resources:
http://www.childrensnational.org/DepartmentsAndPrograms/default.aspx?Type=Program&id=6117&SubType=ResourceForFamily&SubId=346&Name=Obesity%20Clinic&Subname=Childhood%20Obesity:%20Frequently%20asked%20questions
http://www.nichq.org/advocacy/advocacy%20documents/FAQ_Childhood-Obesity.pdf
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/childhood_obesity_overweight_quiz_iq/faq.htm
I once listened to a podcast about the government banning trans food and surveilling glucose levels in New York City. They monitored glucose levels to inform those citizens that they are at risk of becoming diabetic. According to many people what someone consumes is their personal choice and the government does not have a right to control that. Also, surveilling glucose levels is invading someone’s privacy, and medical history has to be limited to the person and the doctor. In my opinion, I think this is a great idea to help control obesity. What do you think? Is this a good plan?
ReplyDeleteI read an article the other day about how more than half of America drinks sugary drinks daily. Knowing that there are such unhealthy habits out there I believe education about nutrition is so important. I feel like as a kid I wasn't taught much about nutrition - besides knowing that veggies are important and so are fruits -- but I was never really sat down and told about the risks of certain foods. I feel like even though it is the parent's responsibility to monitor what their child eats or plays, it is also the school's job to educate the children on the right foods and to make sure there are many activities during school to keep them active.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a good faq for people looking for information about childhood obesity. What is most important is not the actual information about whether a child is obese however. Instead I think where this faq makes progress is in beginning to give options for alternatives to prevent and treat childhood obesity. I think more information needs to be distributed about how to combat childhood obesity, apart from the normal rhetoric of eating less and working out more.
ReplyDelete