We’ve all heard about the child obesity pandemic: despite the increasing interest in health and fitness, an alarming percentage of Canadian children are overweight (more than 26%, or 1.6 million kids), which puts them at greater health risks. It’s important that any caregiver strive to implement solutions to childhood obesity—including avoiding it.
You may say, “It’s baby fat” or “Let them eat candy now while their metabolism is still fast” but this is a bad idea. Studies show that children don’t lose their bad habits—they keep them for life. Someone who is overweight or obese as a child is likely to grow into an overweight or obese adult, and obesity increases the likelihood of acquiring disease or illness. This is why solutions to childhood obesity are so important.
How does a child become obese? It’s likely he eats more than he burns off in physical exercise. A child must be encouraged to eat well for her own health. The Childhood Obesity Foundation recommends children have a daily helping of five fruits and vegetables per day, two hours of screen time (maximum), one hour of physical activity and avoid sweetened drinks. This is called the 5-2-1-0 rule.
Easy ways to help children eat more fruits and vegetables: start off your meal with a salad or a vegetable soup. Raw vegetables make a great snack at school. Parents and schools are often children’s greatest influence and go-to for food, so it’s easy to encourage healthy eating.
A survey shows that looking at a computer or television screen for more than two hours a day doubles a child’s likelihood of being overweight. Encourage your child to read a book or find other ways of spending her time. Be sure not to put a television in his or her room!
Finally, avoid packing a sweetened beverage with your child’s lunch. These drinks—including fruit juice—often contain added sugar. A fruit is always better than its juice partner, as it takes more fruits than the recommended portion to create that juice, which means higher levels of sugar. Your child should have only 125 mL of pure fruit juice in a day.
It’s important to follow these solutions to childhood obesity not only for your child’s health today but for tomorrow.
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