Are You Making Your Kids Fat?

Are you regularly over feeding your child? Are you not addressing emotional stressors which are causing your child to overeat? Are you not being a positive role model for your child when it comes to your diet and health habits?

Maryland has the 36th highest rate of overweight youths (ages 10-17) at 28.8 percent in the nation, according to a report by Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). Cultural traditions, values and family income contribute to higher obesity rates in minority children, according to a study conducted by Harvard Medical School.

Childhood obesity is a complex problem that affects not only the child but the whole community. There are many suggestions on how to curb this epidemic such as balancing calories by developing healthy eating habits.                                                                                

However, there is one method that cannot be overlooked. It is parental health habits. It is sometimes a touchy subject for adults to hear and process. Plain and simple good health habits start at home. 

The newest efforts in the fight against obesity try to change the behavior of overweight and obese children by teaching them they should eat more fruit and vegetables, exercise more, and put the soda pop and Doritos down.

An eight-year-old does not control the grocery list. Their parents do. Seven-year-olds don’t regularly ask their parents to go to the park for exercise.

If mommy and daddy tend to have couch potato tendencies, then it is highly unlikely that their children will want to have a healthy lifestyle.

The same goes for eating habits, if mommy and daddy don’t have a balanced diet and McDonald’s is their personal chief, then the children are fairly likely to follow in their footsteps.

I hear all kinds of reasons and excuses for why children are overweight or obese. “Look at her parents, it’s genetic”. “He’s just a big kid. It’s baby fat and not that serious.” Well I beg to differ. Childhood obesity has a long list of complications including physical, social and emotional issues.

1. Type 2 diabetes                                                                                                 
2. Metabolic syndrome
3. High cholesterol and high blood pressure
4. Asthma and other breathing problems
5. Sleep disorders
6. Early puberty or menstruation
7. Low self esteem and bullying
8. Behavior and learning problems
9. Depression

So my challenge is for all parents to embrace a family centered weight management plan, because your child’s future depends on it. There is no time for second guessing about what you did in the past. In the words of Jim Rohn, “It is not what happens that determines the major part of your future. What happens, happens to us all. It is what you do about what happens that counts.” Healthy Habits start at home.

The best way to get your child excited about an active lifestyle is to commit to the changes yourself. Your actions directly affect your child. You teach your child what to eat, how much to eat and when to eat. Make it a priority to be physically active every day. Just remember the apple does not fall far from the tree. Obesity is not a generational curse. It is a condition that can be changed with time, commitment, and faith.