Child's health Health

Managing Childhood Obesity : Effective Strategies

Managing Childhood Obesity

Learn about the most effective ways to manage and prevent childhood obesity in children. Four factors in the prevention of obesity among children: the expensive price of healthy food, the desire for immediate satisfaction from the feeling of hunger, the desirable taste of snacks, and social pressure.

The most common medical condition known today is childhood obesity, a disease that is on the rise. Obesity is characterized as a physical condition in which there is an excessive buildup of body fat that could be harmful to one’s health. Changes in diet and exercise habits are to blame for the rise of obesity as a social issue.

What are the 4 main causes of Childhood Obesity?

The nutritional causes of obesity among children are divided into four main types, Improper nutrition, Overeating, Screen timing, and physical activity.

  1. Improper nutrition – drinking a lot of sugary drinks and/or eating a lot of sweets and snacks.
  2. Overeating – children get fat from eating large amounts of food, even if it is considered healthy food.
  3. Screen timing – Many hours of watching TV or playing on the computer.
  4. Active – Lack of physical activity.

Limit drinking and eating what causes obesity. Like:

  • Beverages with added sugar, such as fruit juice and soda
  • Refined grains, such as white rice, white pasta, and white bread
  • Red meat such as beef, pig, and lamb
  • Additionally, a lot of highly processed foods, like fast food.

Some symptoms of Childhood Obesity

There are a few symptoms of obesity, among these difficulty of sleeping, fatigue, Joint pain as long as back pain, lots of sweating, depression, etc.

What are the 3 keys to preventing Childhood Obesity?

The best solution to obesity in children is to prevent it. The prevention of obesity should be aimed at normal-weight or overweight children with the aim of preventing weight gain, and at obese children with the aim of losing weight. Everyone is advised to make changes in their diet and do more physical activity. Nothing is more crucial to managing weight and maintaining health than regular exercise, in addition to eating a balanced diet.

Are obesity prevention programs really effective?

This is exactly why the study published in November 2022 was conducted. The researchers wanted to identify the barriers to a healthy lifestyle and evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention program to change the lifestyle at school.

The researchers followed the food choices and the level of physical activity of children between the ages of 11 and 15 years in five schools in England, where main children of South Asian origin studied.

The researchers focused on this population because previous studies have shown that people of South Asian descent, who live in Western countries, are at increased risk of developing diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The way to prevent these diseases starts with teaching children correct eating habits and preventing obesity.

Data on lifestyle – nutrition and physical activity – were collected at the beginning of the study and later observations of the children and focus groups were also conducted, which helped to identify barriers to a healthy lifestyle. Based on the knowledge gathered, an intervention plan was designed, which included changes to the meals provided by the school, the removal of the vending machines for food and soft drinks, and healthy lifestyle messages that were included in the curriculum.

What did the researchers discover?

1. When children are given a limited amount of money to buy food, they do not try new products but buy their favorite snacks. In addition, they think that less healthy foods, such as chips, will satisfy them more than fruits.

2. Although the students knew what was considered a healthy food, they gave a low priority to the effect on health. The more significant factors in the choice of food were: price, hunger satisfaction, taste, and social pressure.

3. The ways to overcome the obstacles are difficult to assimilate. The program raised awareness of a healthy lifestyle, but the students’ lifestyles did not significantly improve at the end of the program. Although a number of limited positive changes have been made in terms of improving dietary habits and physical activity.

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