Childhood obesity is a serious condition that's often a result of an unhealthy lifestyle. A child is considered obese when her weight and body mass index is well above normal for her age and height. Because childhood obesity is a product of an unhealthy diet and a lack of exercise, children tend to maintain this unhealthy lifestyle into adulthood. Childhood obesity also causes children to be affected by health problems that traditionally only affected adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The best strategy for combating childhood obesity is to improve the diet and increase the activity level of the entire family, says MayoClinic.com.
Nutritious Diets
Children should have regular access to a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and low-fat dairy products. These are nutrient-rich foods that don't contain large amounts of unhealthy fats. Typically, it's recommended that the amount of total fat and sugar growing children consume should be monitored, not the number of calories, the Mayo Clinic says. Fast foods, sodas, sugary juices and convenience foods such as cookies and prepared meals often contain large amounts of saturated fats, trans fats, sugars and refined flours, which are high in calories but low in nutritional value. Healthy eating habits such as portion control and nutritious snacking can also help promote weight loss.
Physical Activity
Physical activity is especially important for children. It burn calories, improves focus, boosts self-esteem and helps build strong bones and muscles. The American Heart Association recommends that children 2 and older get at least 30 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity each day. This doesn't have to be a structured exercise program. Encouraging free play activities that children enjoy can drastically increase their activity level. Limiting sedentary activities such as watching television, playing video games and talking on the telephone to two hours a day or less increases the amount of time for physical activity, according to the American Heart Association.
Parental Involvement
Parents are responsible for the purchasing and preparation of meals, as well as modeling eating habits and physical activity levels. To support weight loss in their children, parents should model the healthy lifestyle they want their children to adopt. This could mean eating fresh fruit or vegetables for a snack instead of a cookie or drinking water instead of soda. Other simple changes -- such as cooking healthy meals at home and eating as a family rather than in front of the television -- can improve the quality of meals. Bringing children to the grocery store and allowing them to pick out nutritious foods to involve them in the cooking process empowers them to make healthy decisions. Parents can also role-model and promote physical activity by involving the entire family in fun but active pursuits.
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