Obesity And Kids
March 17, 2009
OBESITY & KIDS: THE MISSING HEALTH LINK
IS OVERWEIGHT THE RESULT OF OVERNUTRITION?
Yes, it is! The determining factors as to whether a child will grow up to be an obese person are set in the childhood stage. Doting parents, money power, rising economic status and wrong conceptions are to be blamed for the erroneous ideas about the health of kids. Till the other day, a fat child was mistaken to be a healthy infant. That is not so nowadays.
The culprits are two: Changed eating culture and sedentary lifestyles. The duo combines to present a person a lifetime of health catastrophes.
Hormonal imbalances are not the prime reasons for the obese syndrome among Indian kids while it is so in some other nationalities.
It is a good sign that parents are now slowly but surely becoming aware of the fact that overweight is a bane not a boon. Following the explosion of information via various media forms, the awareness about a balanced diet leading to the ideal health has been adequately broadcast. This is despite the fact that the fast food culture is still ruling the roost.
Simply because the parents make the time for their children during the weekdays, what with many parents even having to slog out on the weekends, the parents attempt to make up for their guilt by treating their children to junk food. Now, junk food is nothing but full of bad calories that adversely affect the consumers.
Fast food caters only to the palate; but not to the health! On the other hand, these high-calorie and low protein food stuff does not complement the requirement of the body. Consumed over a period of time, it weakens the natural immunity system of the body.
THE FOUR-FOLD STRATEGY
The future generations can be surely brought out of the booby trap of obese syndrome simply by following the four-fold strategy.
These are:
* More information and a concerted follow-up action about healthy lifestyle at the school-level;
* Less of TV viewing;
* More of physical activity; and
* Better food
It is high time that all attempts are made to make the younger generation be in touch with Mother Nature. They should feel the earth, eat healthy and naturally produced food, do more physical work and shun fast food, sedentary activities including watching TV or surfing the net!
