Avoiding Childhood Obesity Is Ensuring The Health Of Our Children
Until recently, the fact that a child is round was socially regarded as a symbol of health. So much so that the mothers of children who were not “plump” suffered and were criticized, to the point of being perceived as bad parents.
The advance of scientific knowledge has changed this vision, transformed it. We are now aware of the fact that childhood obesity does not mean better health, neither now nor in the future. Nor is it a sign that the child’s family has more or less resources to allocate to feeding the child, or whether or not they are the subject of family attention. . Even so, he p was sometimes difficult to get our children to a normal weight. .. What can we do about this?
The psychological dangers of childhood obesity
We are all aware of the health problems associated with being overweight. Childhood is not without the dangers that can arise from a high body mass index. Indeed, diseases such as type II diabetes or high cholesterol levels can appear.
But when we talk about the negative consequences of this physical condition, we rarely mention the emotional and psychological issues associated with childhood obesity. Overweight children can exhibit low self-esteem, as well as body dissatisfaction.
We must not forget that the p ersonn ‘re with excessive weight are socially perceived as people who do not deserve success or popularity , perception is also transmitted to children. Therefore, anxiety and depression disorders can especially appear in children. Also, it can cause our children to have eating disorders in the future.
What can cause childhood obesity to appear?
As we already know, diet is the basis for whether a child suffers from childhood obesity or not. But other psychological factors and lifestyle habits must also be taken into account to ensure that our children are of adequate weight.
Along these lines, we must keep in mind that many people use food as a way to reduce their emotional discomfort. In other words, that they eat more and, in addition, less healthy foods, when negative emotions arise. If this becomes a habit, they enter a vicious cycle.
So that we understand each other: the child eats because he feels bad and the negative emotions disappear momentarily. But by doing this he will gain weight, which brings back the discomfort… And how will he try to reduce it? By stuffing himself again… You see where we are going with this?
But besides using food as an emotional regulating mechanism, different daily habits influence weight gain. In particular, it will be detrimental for the child to eat alone, abuse sweets, skip breakfast or not get enough sleep. Finally, n or s must take into account the time that he spends in front of the television and whether he regularly engages in a physical activity or not.
How can we fight childhood obesity?
Now what can we do around the house to prevent our children from suffering from childhood obesity? The first thing we need to do is establish a set of rules that should be followed at home, which encourage healthy lifestyles. For example, having to eat five meals a day, as well as having dairy products, cereals and fruit for breakfast daily.
Also, one of the meals, lunch or dinner, should be done with all family members. It is very important that parents and children eat all the food that is on the table. We must not forget that the example set by parents is very important, they must serve as role models for their children.
Regarding food, we must try not to use it as a way to calm the boredom or emotional discomfort of the child, in order to avoid entering the vicious circle that we already have. speak. On the other hand, the consumption of sweets should be limited. It is also important to set a time limit for falling asleep, so that children get at least 10 hours of sleep.
Now let’s talk about the use of new technologies. To avoid a sedentary lifestyle, we should limit the time children spend on this type of hobby to two hours a day. Indeed, it is very important that the child performs a physical activity every day, such as walking, going to play in the park or in the playground or playing sports … Let’s promote a healthy weight and lifestyle with our children!
Images by Kelly Sikkema, Annie Spratt and Caroline Hernandez
Our thoughts In a household, it is important to forge strong family bonds, based on trust, respect and empathy.
