We all know obesity is the leading pandemic as it is the mother of chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia.
Obesity is sadly highly prevalent in children, which is an alarming sign.
Research reviews show that among six to eleven years of children, 20.7% were obese. Among twelve to nineteen-year-old children, 22.2% of children were obese, which has a high tendency to increase in the coming years.
7 tips to eradicate obesity in children
Following are the seven best tips for parents to eradicate and lessen the chances of obesity in children.
- Design a healthy eating plan
Designing and preparing a healthy meal plan for the whole family as a mother will help children adopt healthy eating patterns with time. Including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and dairy products in a meal is a healthy meal plan.
- Encourage physical activity
Physical activity is the main factor that helps to reduce obesity and increase children’s mental and physical growth. In addition, physical activity helps burn the excess calories your child has taken.
Encourage your children to increase their activity by making small changes like taking stairs instead of lifts, going to school on a bike or walking, making their own bed, and participating in sports.
- Schedule screen time and outdoor activities
It is the most vital tip for parents in today’s modern time. More hours in front of the screen means more hours spent sitting in a place without moving, which makes the children lazy and lethargic; however, fixing a particular time will limit the screen time.
Divide the recreational time into screen time and outdoor activities to help children become more active during play.
Moreover, scheduling screen timings and outdoor activities will help improve sleeping patterns.
- Set consistent sleep routines
Research has shown that having excessive sleep hours or disturbed sleep timing will tend to increase the risk of obesity in children. However, sound sleep prevents obesity and other chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes.
Taking gadgets away at least an hour or two before bedtime can help make your children a good sleep routine.
- Do not focus on weight loss
Since children are in the growing stage, they need vitamins and minerals for better growth. Restricting your child from eating food can also make them deficient in other vital nutrients like vitamins and minerals. Instead of limiting them, try to develop healthy eating practices in them.
- Get creative with them
Researches show that as many children watch TV while snacking, they are more to gain extra pounds. Guiding them to do some creative activities like gardening, art and craft, and even dance will help them lose some pounds.
- Give them some house chores to do
Giving them chores like arranging dishes after they are washed, telling them to clean their rooms, and arranging tables during lunch or dinner will significantly increase their physical activity. In addition, you can offer them their monthly allowance when they do house chores. It will also increase tier interest in doing house chores.
Takeaway
Obesity is considered a pandemic and ruins children’s physical and mental health. However, by incorporating simple steps like healthy eating, scheduling sleep patterns, increasing physical activity, letting them work on home chores, and limiting their screen time, one can reduce or manage their weight.