Obesity in Children – A Growing Problem

Recent studies say that today’s children suffer the problem of obesity. And this problem keeps on growing (no pun intended!) unless we curb our unhealthy eating and food preparation practices ourselves.

Kids today are highly influenced by the media–so what they see on TV, or hear in songs have a high likelihood of affecting their habits, and this includes eating. How many times do you see advertisements for fastfood restaurants, and even junk food on TV? And how many times have you seen those shows on TV where kids display a dislike of veggies and just about any food that’s healthy?

And then, of course, the more time that our kids spend in front of the TV watching shows or playing games would mean more time eating snacks that are likely to be oily and fatty.

Childhood obesity can lead to various diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. These usually stay on until a child grows up. There’s a saying that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. So therefore this means you should try to prevent obesity while your child is young, so that he or she will not have to experience health problems as he grows up.

Nutritionists suggest using the food pyramid as a guide to what you should be feeding your child–and it’s a good idea to adopt this as a guide to what the entire family should be eating, too!

• 3-5 servings a day of vegetables, especially green, leafy vegetables;
• 2-4 servings of fruits a day;
• 2-3 servings of meat, fish, eggs, nuts, or beans a day;
• 2-3 servings of dairy products including cheese and yogurt every other day;
• occasional use of fats, oils, and sweets.
• 6-11 servings of grain a day such as rice, bread, cereals, and pasta;

You will notice that even fats and sweets are part of the food pyramid. Of course. There’s no such thing as “junk food,” since everything we eat will have some nutritional value. However, there’s such a thing as a “junk diet.” This means it’s the combination of what we eat, and how much of each portion, that matters.

Happy eating!

Written by jangelo on February 25th, 2007
Filed under Food, Health

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