According to the KidsHealth from Nemours website, one in three kids is overweight or obese in the United States. Modern lifestyles contribute to children lacking nutritionally and spending more and more time in front of televisions and computers. Obesity in childhood leads to many different health issues in the future, including diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease and joint problems like osteoarthritis. Providing exercise opportunities for your children now will create healthy habits that will follow them as they grow up.
Organized Sports
Introducing your child to organized sports is a way to get him interested in physical activity, make new friends and learn about the value of teamwork. Team sports such as baseball, football, volleyball, basketball, ice hockey or soccer are good, as are individual sports like gymnastics, martial arts or dancing.
Strength Training
Working your muscles is an effective way to lower your weight at any age. For kids, lifting weights in the traditional sense may not be the safest or most productive way to get stronger, but that doesn't mean it isn't possible. Push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups and other body weight exercises will get her moving and get her muscles working without placing undue stress on her joints. Calisthenics such as jumping jacks are also effective.
Chores
Household chores and yard work are not a standard type of exercise to lose weight, but they can be effective to help your child burn off extra calories. Jobs like walking the dog, raking leaves, shoveling snow or mowing the lawn will raise his heart rate and lead to weight loss, says KeepKidsHealthy.com.
Family Exercise
Family exercise is a good way for everyone to bond and for your overweight child to lose some weight. Activities such as nightly walks, bike rides, swimming or hiking trips create a fun environment and disguise the fact that exercise is taking place.
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