From Your Health Journal…..”I have found some great articles online from the GateHouse News Service. Today, I found a informative one written by Diana Boggia, which discusses the rise in obesity in children. She suggests how parents can make a big difference by preparing healthy meals, encouraging physical activity, cutting back on the sweets, and educating children on healthy lifestyle. Children and adolescents who are obese are likely to be obese adults. Adult obesity can cause heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, osteoarthritis and cancer, including cancer of the breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder, thyroid, ovary, cervix, and prostate, as well as multiple myeloma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Change is needed to help our children lead a normal, healthy life. Please take the time to read the complete article (link provided below) on the The Taunton Daily Gazette web site.”
From the article…..
I was moved to write this article because an 8-year-old was recently diagnosed with pre-diabetes. Since I have known her, she has been obese. She recently spoke to me about her weight, saying that she is worried about fitting into clothes. Some members of her family have continued to give her sweet treats, saying she shouldn’t be deprived. Under recent doctor’s orders, she must eliminate sugars and carbs from her diet. Her mom reports that she has withdrawal symptoms, including chills, back pain, headaches and stomach aches, and may require insulin shots.
According to government studies, childhood obesity has more than tripled over the past 30 years. Why is that? What is so different today? What are we feeding our children, and how much exercise are they getting?
At the risk of sounding like my beloved Grampy, “When I was a young child…” I walked to school each day. High school was a mile walk, and it didn’t matter if it was snowing, raining or dark outside.
We walked to the roller rink on Friday nights and skated for hours. We rode bikes to the store, played running bases and walked the dog. Television was turned on occasionally after dinner or for a special show on the weekend.
Cookies, candy and soda were not kept in the house, and meals were balanced with protein, vegetables and salad each night.
THE FACTS
• The percentage of U.S. children ages 6-11 who were obese increased from 7 percent in 1980 to nearly 20 percent in 2008. The percentage of adolescents ages 12-19 who were obese increased from 5 percent to 18 percent over the same period.
To read the full article…..Click here