Why Is the Childhood Obesity Rate on the Rise?

It has quickly become an epidemic with which many of us struggle, yet the childhood obesity rate doesn’t have to be so high. It’s perplexing to many people that they seem to lead a healthy lifestyle yet their kids end up putting on weight. This is when we as parents need to look at the type of lifestyle that we are creating for our children. We need to be in tune with what they eat, how active they are, and what we are doing to teach them healthy habits. Though we may not want to face reality, the truth is that our kids are learning the wrong lifestyle, and we therefore need to put a stop to this--in our own lives, too--and help to put a dent in obesity statistics.

The childhood obesity rate has been on the rise for quite some time. Thus, parents need to evaluate themselves as role models. Are they teaching healthy eating habits for children? Are they showing children the right lifestyle in terms of exercise and activity? Are they working to ensure that they feed them good, healthy foods? Sure, measures have been made at schools, and there is a great deal of health education underway. The truth is, though, that many children are learning sedentary lifestyles too quickly. They may come home from school and watch TV or play video games every day, and this is certainly not helping childhood obesity as a whole. Getting active as a family is an excellent start!

Parents Can Make All The Difference

The reason that the childhood obesity rate is on the rise also has much to do with the fact that we’re feeding our kids a lot of junk food. It’s all of the sugary treats, fried foods, and processed foods that are causing the weight problems in the first place. As the kids eat processed foods in their school lunches as well as on the go after school, they are learning to eat out of convenience rather than for nutrition. Showing our kids that healthy foods offer wonderful benefits and taste is easy enough to do. Taking the time to shop for and prepare healthy meals may require effort, but it’s a great investment into the wellbeing of our children.

When you look at the rising childhood obesity rate, realize that it all starts at home. We as parents need to teach healthy habits and instill a smart lifestyle early on. We need to act as role models and work to keep our kids active. We need to show them what balanced and proper nutrition looks like. We need to show our kids the way when it comes to good, healthy living, and ensure that this becomes their norm moving forward. If parents become more involved and take the time to show their kids the right things, then childhood obesity will go away much faster than you might realize. It all starts at home, and we are the most important role models for our kids!