The Importance Of Parental Involvement On Childhood Obesity

One of the major causes of obesity to be addressed is eating excess calories from energy rich foods. Eating a variety of healthy foods is necessary for optimal growth and development, Protects against disease and provides energy to play, explore and learn. This is also accompanied by inadequate exercising or working out. This results in fats accumulating in the body. Parents should monitor their children’s feeding habits and take them for regular check-up. There are many ways that parents can help their children on a healthier path. Start early to establish healthy eating practices at home; be a role model, kids love to follow if lead by example. Plan healthier snacks that meet the nutritional needs and kids enjoy eating as well. To determine whether a child is obese or not, his or her

Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States. More than one third of children are overweight. This figure is increasing rapidly. This epidemic puts children at risk for various health problems such as type two diabetes and heart problems. Although they are several risk factors for obesity, parents play a significant role in this issue. This paper will look into how parents are influential to their children, how they contribute to this problem and how they may help fight the fight against obesity. Obesity is a very serious problem and there are solutions that parents can apply to help their children lead a healthy lifestyle. Obesity does not only affect a person physically, but mentally and psychologically as well.

The question that has been debated for years is who is responsible for the children’s weight. In the articles that where researched during this paper the parents were responsible. The reason that they were responsible was because the decisions that parent make about their family and the lifestyle that they live affects their child’s health and it can also affect their health in the future. When you move out of your parent’s house you tend to mimic things that they did such as if they always bought Tide as their laundry soap when you got out on your own you probably bought Tide. Now when you were in a pinch one time you may have tried another brand because it was cheaper but for the most part you revert back to what you know. As a parent you should want your children to be as healthy as they can be a lot of parents that where talked to while researching the subject of childhood obesity seemed to just not have the knowledge about obesity.

In the United States alone children’s health is rapidly deteriorating. Since the early 1980’s childhood obesity in America has skyrocketed, leaving overweight children in danger. While obesity is defined as the condition of being very fat or overweight. One third of children “qualify as obese” (Davies), and meet the criteria to be labeled as “overweight as a result of poor eating habits, and a minimal amount of physical exercise. However, the lack of knowledge parents possess surrounding childhood obesity is determent to youngster future. When dealing with such an austere problem as obesity, parents should become more knowledgeable, supportive, and increase family activities to diminish childhood obesity.

In the article “The Childhood Obesity Epidemic,” Lubna Mahmood discussed ways how parents can play a major role in influencing their children to reduce the rate of rapid childhood obesity. She stated.

Parents should shape their children eating habit, by giving them healthy food such as vegetable, and fruit. Parents should prevent their children to have access to junk food, and decrease kids’ food preference. Parents can also encourage their kids to walk to and from school if the school is not too far. Parents should cut off TV time for their kids to two hours a day. Moderate physical activity is very important for children to maintain healthy weight. Kids should be encourage to exercise at 30 minutes a day. This should be done at school since children spend most of their day time at school. Another action that needs to be taken to reduce childhood obesity is food regulation at elementary schools. Government should remove vending machines from all elementary school because these foods contain high calories. The price of low calories food should be reduced to encourage children to eat healthy.

The researchers recruited two thousand three hundred preschoolers for their study and acquired the student’s height and weight in order to solve their body mass index (BMI). The BMI of a person is the estimate of excess fat on their body, but doesn’t take in to account their muscle mass. At the same time the children’s BMI were being taken, the parents were also asked for their height and weight in order to attain their BMI. The researchers found that children with one obese parent are twice as likely to be obese and children with two obese parents are two point four times more likely to be obese (Overweight Parents More Likely to Have Overweight Children). This study directly proves that parents have a huge impact on their children when it comes to their

In conclusion, parents should make a preemptive attempt to educate themselves on how to help their child maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle. There are changes that must be made on multiple levels to deal with the many factors of childhood obesity. The decrease in television time and the increase in physical activity, sleep, and good nutrition are recommended measures for the prophylaxis of obesity. Although it is surprisingly very challenging to deal with this growing issue, a reversal in the trend of obesity starts at

Childhood obesity has become a growing epidemic not only in the United States but globally. The origin of obesity in children is multifaceted in nature. Many individuals emphasize genetics as the number one risk factor, however, other factors include dietary patterns, physical inactivity, secondary activities, parent-child relationship, and social and environmental issues. Parents and schools have a reflective influence on children by promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors and promoting certain values and attitudes, by rewarding or emphasizing specific behaviors and by serving as role models.

The percentage of overweight children is growing at a fast rate. Parents must be educated of ways to prevent early childhood obesity or customs which may possibly lead to obesity in later age. Katie Vaughn and Julee Waldrop suggest the potential risks of childhood obesity in “Parent Education Key to Beating Childhood Obesity” of Childhood Obesity: Part 2. Furthermore, Nancy R. MacKenzie informs, in addition, of ways to prevent childhood obesity in “Childhood Obesity: Strategies for Prevention” of Pediatric Nursing. Sara Gable and Susan Lutz inform the fraction of obese adults had already grown immensely to a great 33% in the 1980s; whereas, ten years before the percentage was only 25% (293). Gable et al give great information furthermore in

The diagnosis of obesity is based on Body Mass Index (BMI). Childhood obesity can result from a wide range of factors that act in combination (Flegal & et al, 2012). Children with parents who are obese pose a higher risk to become obese since it may be reflected on the environment and genetics. The cause of obesity in children is mainly due to the family practices that have changed. In general, the number of mothers who breast-feed has decreased and as a result more infants become obese as they grow. In addition to that more children also engage in more indoor activities, such as watching television and playing video games, which increases the risk of becoming obese due to lack of physical activity. In adults, becoming obese is mainly due to unhealthy eating of sweet and fatty foods with high contents of calorie and lack of exercise. If the individual was overweight as a child or other members of their family were obese, then the individual is likely to be obese at adulthood because genetic factors play a major role. Furthermore, medicine and medical conditions in adults can also increase weight resulting in obesity. Overall, parents can help their children from becoming obese by changing their eating habits and exercising together. Mothers on the other hand can avoid obesity by breastfeeding their children and doing physical activities. Policies, laws, and regulations have been in placed to prevent obesity. Indeed, obesity is a challenge and needs to be tackled from all

Our children’s nutritional education is almost nonexistent. Ask a fifth grader what the food pyramid is and you’re likely to receive the same blank stare as I did. Most children have no idea what a balanced meal is because they may have never received one. Schools provide nutritional meals at lunch, but there is no enforcement when it comes to eating your fruits and vegetables. Lets face it, children eat what’s familiar. If they haven’t had it at home they are probably not going to eat it at school. If there are no vegetables at home, they are not going to eat them at school. Home life definitely sets the tone for a child’s eating and exercise routines.

“Parental behavioral patterns concerning shopping, cooking, eating and exercise have an important influence on a child’s energy, balance and ultimately their weight” said diet specialist, Anne Collins (“Childhood Obesity Facts”). Childhood obesity has more than tripled since the 1980’s (“Childhood Obesity Facts”). Childhood obesity often leads to obesity as an adult which can put a person at greater risks dealing with the heart, diabetes, and many other obese related diseases. People want to blame the schools and today’s technology for childhood obesity, in reality, the responsibility lies in the hands of their parents.

Childhood obesity may not seem like a serious problem, but it is a serious medical condition that can have major effects on a child. Although genetics play a role in determining a child’s weight, it is usually due to a child’s amount of exercise and the consumption of healthy meals. Doctors are concerned with the issue, as we all should be, and they are creating new programs that are geared toward helping children learn how to follow a healthier lifestyle. There are some promising outlooks with these programs, and most doctors agree that parents should help their children create a more active and healthy lifestyle. They also agree that the government should provide more attention to the issue as well. Since the growing problem of childhood

Olstad and McCargar (2009) (p551), claims that obesity in children 30 years ago, was not as evident as it is today among Canadian children of all ages. Poor diets and lack of proper exercise are the leading cause for increased risk of obesity in young children. Parents eating and exercise habits play an important role in the prevention of obesity in young children. Involved