In the United States, the number of children with obesity has been rising at an alarming rate over the past two decades. Childhood obesity can have a harmful effect on the body in a variety of ways, both mentally and physically. Childhood obesity is a complex issue, and as parents, you must tread lightly on this issue or you can make matters worse.

Why is Childhood Obesity a Health Problem?

Childhood obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases and many other chronic health problems and diseases such as asthma, sleep apnea, bone and joint problems, and type 2 diabetes. Overweight children can be bullied and teased more than their normal weight peers. Hence, they are more likely to struggle with low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, social isolation and poor academic performance. The effects of this can last for a lifetime. They are also more likely to have obesity as adults, leading to a lifelong of physical and mental health problems. 

How to Help Your Overweight Kid

 There are 2 ways to help your child with obesity – a healthy diet and regular exercise. It may not be easy for your child to stick to this and as parents, you must provide support and help for your child. You can first help by recognizing that this is a team’s effort, and not just on the kid’s part. As a family, you can implement a plan that helps everyone in the household to get fit and healthy, both physically and emotionally.

Develop a Healthy Lifestyle

Help your child to balance the number of calories he or she consumes from food and beverages with the number of calories your child is able to burn through physical activity and normal growth. Our main goal is to reduce the rate of weight gain while allowing normal growth and development.

A balanced diet will include food that provide enough nutrition and an appropriate number of calories. You can help your kids by encouraging healthy eating habits and cooking healthier meals. Don’t try to help your overweight child eat healthily while you ear poorly yourself. You have to act as a role model and make this a team’s effort. Ways of developing healthy eating habits include eating plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain products, and to limit consumption of sugar.

Do engage your kids in an appropriate amount of physical activity and avoid too much sedentary time. Children should particle in at least 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity every day. A good way to start can be to encourage your kid to play more, be it playing at the playground or playing sports. Remember, children always look up to their parents as role models. So, you can add physical activity into your own daily routine and encourage your child to join you.  

At Fitness Kid, we have a wide variety of products that will work perfectly to keep your children active all day. Choose Fitness Kid as your indoor playground partner and together, we can help your child cope with obesity and lead a healthy and happy life. Head down to our website to read about our testimonials and learn more about our products and the services that we offer.