The effects of obesity are becoming so widespread that American children are under threat from their own fat.
A report revealed that obesity is ranked as the most common health problem facing children and shows they are more likely to be overweight, poor and make more suicide attempts than 30 years ago.
Despite the fact that children today are less likely to fall victim to an accident and develop stronger connections to their communities, they are not doing as well as they should considering the country’s advances in education, health and social programs.
According to statistics, 15 percent of U.S. children are overweight and the number continues to steadily rise each year. Studies have also shown that overweight children who grow up to be overweight adults greatly increase their risk of heart disease, diabetes and some forms of cancer.
Other statistics showed that obesity is coming closer to being the number one cause of death and type 2 diabetes has been beginning to affect children at younger ages.
The study consisted of children aged one to 19 and factored in characteristics such as health, wealth, safety, educational achievement, community connections, family, friends and emotional and spiritual well-being.
Overall, the conclusions of the study revealed that the well-being of U.S. children have made tremendous improvement, particularly over the years from 1994 to 2000, however the progress has been gradually slowing.
Reuters March 24, 2004
It’s great to hear that the well-being of American children in regard to accidents and having a stronger connection to their communities has improved, however the rapidly increasing rate of childhood obesity is completely devastating.
What bothers me most about this growing epidemic is how reversible and preventable it is. Parents need to get involved now with their children and could start by taking the following four simple steps:
These are critical steps that will lead your child in a positive direction to improving their overall health and preventing serious health conditions such as diabetes that is associated with obesity.
In addition to the things you should do, there are some things that you should absolutely avoid doing. These include:
If parents can pay careful attention to these above factors, especially limiting television time and having them commit to a nutritious eating program, they can make huge strides in helping their child resist obesity and all of the chronic disease that is associated with it.
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