Obesity is a serious concern with children across the United States. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as much as 17 percent of children in the U.S. could be considered obese. Aerobic exercise is one of the most effective tools to target high amounts of body fat.
Recommendations
Aerobic activity should be a daily routine for children who are overweight and even for those who are at a healthy weight. The CDC has set forth recommendations to help children stay at a healthy weight and body fat percentage. These recommendations state that children should get at least an hour of aerobic exercise every day. Exercises can include walking, running, jogging or any other activity that increases your child's heart rate such as swimming, bike riding or playing sports.
Calorie Burning
Aerobic activities help children lower their fat percentage by burning calories. As a child exercises, their body's need for energy increases. The body meets this energy need by burning calories to produce energy for the body's cells. When the body runs out of calories from recently consumed food, it can turn to internal stores of fat. These fat storages are broken down into glycerol and fatty acids through a process called lipolysis.
Heart and Breathing Rate
Once fat has been broken down into a usable form, the body still needs oxygen to start the chemical reaction that creates energy. In order to meet this need, the body increases the heart and breathing rates to provide more oxygen to the cells. The increased breathing rate allows more oxygen to be taken into the body, while the increased heart rate increases how fast the oxygen can be supplied to the cells of the body. The oxygen reacts with the broken down fat to create energy, heat and the waste products water and carbon dioxide.
Other Important Factors
Along with aerobic exercise other changes should be made to help a child more effectively burn fat and lose weight. For example, a dietitian or doctor should be involved in helping create a diet that provides enough calories to fuel childhood development while preventing calories from being stored as fat. Strength training should also be added to the aerobic exercise with the CDC recommending adding strength building exercises like push-ups or gymnastics at least three days a week.
Member Comments