Simply spending an afternoon in the mall or your children's school could increase your awareness in the rise in adolescent obesity. According to the annual National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one third of U.S. children are overweight or at risk of becomming overweight. In the past twenty years, obesity has doubled in children ages 6-11 and tripled in teenagers.

Whether we blame this on changes in parenting, increased use of "fast-food", or the promotion of industialization, we need to take these issues seriously and find ways to help our children become healthier individuals. Childhood obesity leads to obesity in adulthood, and can result in numerous health issues such as diabetes, high choleaterol, and high blood pressure. Once obesity has become the norm, it is much more difficult to reverse, therefore, the sooner we can teach our children good habits, the more likely they are to have success with this as adults.

The best ways to combat obesity are diet and exercise. We hear these words almost daily, maybe numbing us to their importance in our children's lives. We can impliment a healthy diet and exercise routine for our children fairly easily if we make a few small efforts.

First of all, we need to look at what our children are eating and drinking. By making some small changes, we can effectively decrease their caloric intake and increase the nutritional value of the foods they are consuming. Many children drink 4-5 cans of soda per day. One 12 ounce can of soda contains 150-180 calories. By eliminating soda-pop from their diets, we could potentially decrease their caloric intake in upwards of 600 calories per day. Replacing the soda-pop with water, or low calorie juice gives them the fluids they need without the high calories and sugar. We can make these same changes in the other foods they consume. Replacing sweets with nutritional snack such as fruits and vegetables, and high calorie cereal with healthier cereals and fruit, gives them a well balanced diet without the calories.

Decreasing their calories is only one part of the solution. We also need to increase their physical activity. If a child watches 4-5 hours of television per day, you can replace some of their t.v. time with some kind of physical activity. Basketball in the driveway, a one hour walk in the park, or 45 minutes of yoga are possible ideas. Whatever your child is interested in, he/she can incorporate some kind of physical activity in order to make it interesting, and habit-forming. Parent- participation in these activities will not only encourage the activity, but also show children that we, as parents, see the importance for ourselves as well.

Making small changes, can lead to long-term changes that will have a positive effect on the entire family. Better eating habits, family participation, and regular exercise can build healthy habits for everyone.

Learn more about this author, J L McCormick.
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