Not enough activity too many calories. That’s what experts say is to blame for a record number of obese children in the united states.
Recently, weight watchers released an app called Kurbo that is to help kids ages eight through 17 lose weight. Despite the good intent, dietitians say that putting kids on a restrictive diet can lead to eating disorders and yo-yo dieting.
One in five American children are now affected by obesity. Childhood obesity doesn’t only cause emotional pain like depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem it wreaks havoc on the body, with diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, and fatty liver disease.
Douglas Denham, DO, medical director at Clinical Trials of Texas, “With the increased issues of childhood obesity, we’re seeing a lot of other disease states that we weren’t seeing normally in children. They were more of adult diseases.”
So, what can you do?
Don’t focus on losing pounds, focus on consuming healthy foods and drinks, and get the whole family involved! Switch out soda with water or low-fat milk and ditch the milkshakes for fruit smoothies.
Keep junk food high-up and out of sight, and keep snacks like fruit, veggies, and low-sugar cereal at your child’s eye-line. And with nutrition, kids need to be active.
In fact, it’s recommended kids get at least one hour of physical activity each day.
It can be hard to keep kids active during the winter, but experts say don’t be afraid to go outside. And if it’s too cold, find other indoor locations, like climbing walls or skating rinks, to keep them moving.
If you need something to do at home, have the entire family do an exercise video or invest in a few video games that require kids to work out while gaming.
