Childhood Obesity- Family Responsibility
13 Jul 2007
The numbers of overweight children are increasing, and many parents are rightly concerned about their children's weight and how it affects them.
The good news is that parents can help their children live healthy, active lives.
"Sometimes it's best to change your vocabulary." That's what pediatrician Peggy Supple, M.D., of Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove often has to remind the parents of children struggling with obesity.
"I find that overweight children respond better to the word 'activity' than to the term 'exercise,'" Supple explains. "I think it's because some children associate exercise with sweat and work, things they may feel are negatives. To really make an impact with overweight children, you must help them increase their level of activity throughout the day."
Some parents underestimate the health risks of excess weight to their children.
"Overweight children tend to become overweight adults," Supple explains. "Childhood obesity can result in increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, stress and high blood pressure, diseases we traditionally associate with adults."
Here are some strategies to create a family that's active and fun:
-- Make time for the entire family to participate in regular physical activities that everyone enjoys. Try walking, bicycling or rollerblading.
-- Plan special active family outings, such as a hiking or ski trip.
-- Assign active chores to every family member, such as vacuuming, washing the car or mowing the lawn.
-- Limit the amount of TV watching and other activities that require sitting for long periods of time.
To get your family eating heathfully:
-- Implement the same healthful diet (rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains) for the entire family, not just for select individuals.
-- Plan times when you prepare foods together. Children enjoy participating and can learn about healthful cooking and food preparation.
-- Limit the frequency of fast-food eating to no more than once per week.
-- Avoid using food as a reward or the lack of food as punishment.
If their child is overweight, parents also may not realize how difficult it can be to maintain behavioral changes associated with obesity treatment and prevention, says Supple.
"Change takes both time and attention," she says. Parents can establish a lifetime of healthful habits for themselves and their children through a focus on increasing daily activity and improving food choices.
"This (a more active, healthful lifestyle) will benefit the entire family," Supple says.
To learn strategies for the prevention and treatment of obesity among children, visit the American Obesity Association Web site at
http://www.obesity.org and click on the Childhood Obesity link.
Article written by Diane Ahern, Good Samaritan Health and Wellness Center
Childhood Obesity 
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