I commence another post on obtaining and managing weight loss and diets. This time its not for us as individuals but as parents.
Statistics:
1) According to American Heart Association in 2013, about one in three American kids and teens is overweight or obese, nearly triple the rate in 1963.
2) The Arab Health Blog on the other end in its article “Childhood Obesity: Much more than a UAE Government Agenda” states that “Kelly Scott, in her survey on Teachers’, Parents’ and Students’ Perceptions of Childhood Obesity in the Middle East focuses on the issue of childhood obesity. Based on her findings suggesting 30% obesity rates among UAE children between 6 and 16 years.”
Now thats becoming a universal affair. Those above mentioned statistics are worrisome and eye openers. Dont condemn anyone just look within. We have impaired our habits tremendously. Why not be conscious about our kids health and amend our habits first, to have indirect impact on them? The question arises how? I found the solution by liking 4 tips given by the First Lady Michelle Obama in an article “Michelle Obama gives weight loss advice” written by CNN’s Ashley Killough which are stated below. [Link to the article: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/03/04/michelle-obama-gives-weight-loss-advice/]
4 tips to handle the children weight:
1 Firstly, do not go for looks and appearances.
2. Secondly, “We should really talk to kids about how they feel, how they feel inside so that we are not just dealing with the physical manifestations of the challenge but we are really tapping into what is going on inside that head of that child,” she said. “And then we want to talk about ways to make it fun.” Stated by Michelle in that article.
3. Thirdly do not discuss the weight issue at home.
It is my perception that the more we recall about things the more conscous we get and sometimes things go further out of hands. If this issue is avoided in front of kids they wouldn’t feel bad about it. If kids are getting obese its we who are providing them will all the wrong options. Why not manage ourselves.
4 Lastly, Michelle was facing similar challenges when the kids were little so this is what they did. “We just started to make changes. And we made changes in a way that didn’t make them feel badly about themselves,” she said. “It didn’t even make them feel any ownership over it because truly kids that age can’t control what they eat.”
These steps are very much easy to understand and implement. Adding healthy foods in our meals, doing exercise and physical activity and refraining from TV and on the couch games should be focused first to initiate. Then most of all, always let your children know that you love them. Tell your kids how much you care about them and want to help. Let them acknowledge that you want to see them healthy and happy in their life.