Chances of them learning about living healthy from their family is very slim where an exception can be a family of professional athletes. But that’s it!

Recent studies indicate that around 16% of children between 6 and 19 years are obese. Growing at an extremely alarming rate 15% more are at the risk of becoming over-weight. If you’re in a snake-oil weight-loss industry then you need to celebrate but if you have kids between 6 and 19 in your household and you seriously believe that they’re NOT healthy then you need to pay attention.

Reasons of Child Obesity

Children need physical activity. They need to go out and play. Kids must move their body, get tired, sweaty and full of dirt. But unfortunately, the current American lifestyle rarely permits them to lose weight. All they’re left with is a lot of burden – of studies, family and relationships. Healthy food is disappering from their plates. They’re forgetting that eating breakfast can work wonders for them in losing weight.

National guidelines recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of physical activity – that’s just 2 hours and 30 minutes! Even if your child considers going to a health gym for 5 days in a week it’ll be just 30 minutes that he needs to invest for his healthy future.

Another major reason for the increasing child obesity trend is fast food. Fast foods have done more harm to America with  regards to health than any other thing. It is estimated that fast foods result in an extra 6 pounds of weight gain in children.

Genetics can also play an important role in child obesity. Kids of obese parents inherit their obesity. Socioeconomics also plays a key role. While for some societies like Afro-American the obesity increased with increase in better socioeconomic conditions. The opposite is also true for White girl teens who showed a loss of weight as the socioeconomic conditions improved.

Sedentary lifestyles, using cars as the only mode of transportation, peer pressure are some reasons that add to the problem.

Effects of Child Obesity

We’ve already seen the causes of Childhood Obesity. While some causes are beyond our control we need to remember that every once in a while we see people completely changing their lives by reducing weight in adverse physical conditions. Kids making news by losing 100 lbs is not very unusual and can be done through a strong will!

If not checked, the effects of Child Obesity can be long-lasting, often lasting lifelong with the obese victim.

Several studies link low self-esteem to child obesity. Even when these kids grow up and live a successful life, they somewhere seem to have a low self-view about themselves. They often hate public speaking, taking part in social sports or even taking part in social parties.

Chances of getting a coronary heart disease increases several folds even with a found pounds of weight gain as a child.

“If you’re trying to prevent this problem, then you want to establish good food habits early. You want to keep children away from the food industry messages to eat unhealthy food. It could be that earlier years will be the best time to begin that education,” says Dr. Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale.

Obese children make a world of their own. These kids often have too much of their own burden that they better stay away  from getting some more of it by unkindly people who try to humiliate them rather then help them. Remember, obesity is in itself a punishment and if you make the child’s life any more miserable then you’re contributing in ruining that kid’s life.

Its high time that parents dismissed the obesity with baby-fat. Instead, they need to prove as role models making healthy choices everytime. Of course, they can treat themselves every once in a while but it is solely upto you!

If you know of any over-weight kid and want to share their problems, challenges then please do so in comments below!

Today, teens are the most prone population to weight gain and obesity. Many parents are worried about the health of their children who are in their teens and don’t seem to get their weight down.

Statistics show that the percentage of teen obesity has nearly tripled in 20 years. One of the main reason for the growth in weight among kids and teens is the sedentary lifestyle they lead today. Watching the TV for long hours, spending time on social networks like MySpace and Facebook and eating junk food with little to no physical activity are the leading causes of teenage obesity.

Then how in the world are you going to lose weight? Is there any way of losing weight so that when you grow up you can wear your favorite clothes? Yes, there are a lot of simple steps that can deter further increase in weight. But you need to keep one thing in mind that is you have to work out sufficiently if you want to lose weight.

Here are the simple steps you need to take -

1. Eat Breakfast in the Morning : Research from Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, PhD, of the University of Minnesota has shown that kids and teens who eat early in the morning feel less hungry and eat less than they would without eating the breakfast.

Eating breakfast can also help in adolescent growth and maintaining the BMI ( Body Mass Index , calculate your BMI), the primary tool to calculate your overall health. It is a ratio of your body weight to height.

2. Go for a Little Run :  Going for a 15 minute run. It will not only give you the energy that is needed to get going for the day ahead but also burns a lot of calories. Running also helps in keeping your physique in shape and its also good for increasing your height.

3. Avoid Eating Fast Food : One of the biggest reason of gaining weight fast is eating fast food or what is commonly known as junk food. Fast food are like an addiction – the more you eat it the more you want it! Besides fast food doesn’t satiate your hunger.

4. Eat Green Vegetables : Green vegetables help you in more ways than one specially when you want to lose weight. It can help reduce the intake of calories and by filling your stomach with life-nourishing nutrients. They not only stop you from gaining but if you take the right vegetables and foods you can actually lose weight by eating them. You can also try Acai for weight loss as it is recommended by Oprah.

5. Take Part in Activities : Taking part in extra-curricular activities can divert your mind from eating and thereby gaining a lot of weight too quickly. Not only will you develop your personality but also you physique! And you thought that extra-curriculars looked good only on your resume, huh?

6. Join a Support Group : Support groups are great when you’re feeling low on weight loss. Networking with like-minded people will not only prevent you from leaving your weight loss plan but also inspire you from their successes! There’s one everywhere you just have to find it or make one.

Getting started is the most difficult part of a weight loss plan. Once you get started your achievements and milestones will be enough to keep you inspired and keep going. Don’t forget to post your success in the comments box below!