How Children Can Beat Obesity

This makes perfect sense, especially considering that another recent report found intensive strength training lowers a teen's risk of type 2 diabetes, one of the major problems caused by the current obesity epidemic.

The most important concept about exercise when it comes to losing weight and keeping it off: Treat it like a drug that must be precisely prescribed to do the most good. And that usually requires far more intensity than the occasional walk around the block.

Thirty percent of children in the United States are overweight. Like most problems in life, preventing childhood obesity is far easier than treating it, although much of the success of prevention depends on parental involvement, and communication is the key.

You will not only need to set appropriate guidelines and talk to your children about nutrition and why what they are doing is so important, you will need to take the time necessary to create nutritious meals and snacks for them to eat.

Perhaps even more importantly, you will need to act as a good role model for them. After all, it is completely unfair to your children to ask them not to eat things they later see you eating.

I have three powerful recommendations for your children's health and well-being:

• Replace those sugary juices and soft drinks with clean water.
• Limit their TV time and get it out of their bedroom immediately.
• Get your children off the couch and onto the playground or, at the very least, to move around vigorously while they are watching TV!

TV is one of the most pernicious influences and I couldn't recommend stopping it more strongly. Not only will it decrease your children's activity levels, but also it will expose them to commercials promoting worthless foods.

It is crucial if you are a parent to step in and set guidelines as to how much TV your children should watch. It is also helpful to encourage them to participate in sports or other physical activities instead of watching TV.