Obesity On Children

Obesity is usually caused by excess person consumes foods that contain high calories. An imbalance between food intake with calorie burning that occurs in the human body until now could not be clearly known cause.

Usually they are experiencing a slow metabolic processes in the body, tend to be obese or overweight, which means burning calories in the body is hampered because of the slow metabolism.

Currently in the United States were making the rules as outlined in a strong law regarding food should and should not be sold in the school environment. It is intended that school children avoid the dangers of obesity as a result of the food sold in the school environment which is usually largely dominated by junk food or fast food. This regulation is referred to as competitive food laws.

Several studies have found that schools that apply the rules of the laws of competitive food average managed to reduce the number of school children are overweight or obese. While schools that do not apply the laws, competitive foods, on average children in the school it difficult to lose excess weight or obesity.

Some schools that exist outside of the United States also has set regulations on the prohibition to sell many kinds of candy and gum during the lunch hour. With the implementation of regulatory competitive food laws are strong and consistent in certain schools, the success of reducing the number of obese or overweight in school children began to decrease.

Causes of Obesity in Children

Many factors that cause a child obese. Some of these factors are:

1.       Heredity or genetics , according to some studies that 33% of the causes of obesity caused by a genetic or hereditary factors.

2.       Environmental factors , in addition to genetic factors, environmental factors and lifestyle all play an important role as a cause of a person obese. Heredity may be unavoidable, but these environmental factors are very likely to be avoided by consuming healthy foods that are high in fiber and low in calories.

3.       Psychic factors , it may affect someone obese or overweight. This is because the majority of children are more likely to consume foods that contain high calories when they are experiencing stress or pressure, such as pressure from parents, the school or the environment.

Food to Avoid to Prevent Obesity in Children

To prevent obesity in children, foods that should be avoided is

§  Foods that contain high calories.

Chips, soda, candy: In school, home, at the corner store, everywhere they turn, children have easy access to good eating junk food the food and drink high calorie, low nutrient and kids love it , In fact, some surveys say that children eat fast food 157 million times a month.
There's not much you can do when the kids are away from home, but you can keep foods and beverages high in calories and low nutrient from your home. Fill your pantry with lots of healthy snacks like cashews, almonds, walnuts, fruits such as cherries, apricots, grapes, sweet and crunchy vegetables like red peppers and carrots. Some children drink a lot of juice, milk, sports drinks, and soda, and almost rarely drink water. Although these types of drinks are high-calorie drinks, but the drinks are generally low in fiber, thus making children easy to over-consume.
Tip: Drink more water. Water makes up every cell in our body and is essential for the digestion of food, so it's better if you encourage kids to drink more water. How much water should children consume? There is no target set for exactly how many children need water, the best idea is to simply encourage children to drink as much as they want. Increase the attractiveness of water to make it easier to obtain. Try to have bottled water in the fridge, add the sliced ​​oranges, lemons, and strawberries to make it look more attractive and refreshing. Other beverages. For children under 13, pediatricians recommend keeping the intake of milk to 24 ounces a day or less. For juices, more or less as much as 6 ounces for children under 6 years, and a maximum of 12 ounces for children over 7 years

§  Foods low in nutritional content.

Maybe your child just like a particular food, or a teenager you do not want to drink milk, picky eating as this can hinder children get the nutrition they need from each food group. Consider the calories that your children need. How many calories children need depends on your age and activity, but here is a rough guide: Children between 2 s / d 6 years old need about 1,600 calories a day, the children are older and adolescents need about 2,200 calories, whereas adolescent boys need about 2,800.
Note serving their food. Encourage children to enjoy what they eat, but also not excessive.One way to stop eating too much: Use small plates, small bowls, and spoons are small.

The last maybe, Give fruits and vegetables high in fiber, especially fruits with the skin. If your child refuses them, try to create a pleasant dish sliced ​​fruit and vegetables by means of forming composite such as satay, or make faces with slices of fruits and vegetables.

You can use raisins for eyes, baby carrot for the nose, and celery to the eyebrows, and apple slices to smile.

Remember not to give carrots to children less than 3 years of age or raisins for children less than 4 years of age because it can cause a choking hazard to children

Children who refuse fruits and vegetables may also be preferred if the dipping fruit or vegetables in yogurt, peanut butter, or salad dressing.

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