Obesity

Ch i ldhood Obes i ty – The Ep idemic and The So lu t i on . by Linwood Gilbert There is a worldwide epidemic that rarely is reported on our nightly TV news, or featured prominently in newspapers. Even though it affects 9 million young Americans. Former President Bill Clinton has called it : “The greatest single tragedy facing our society today.” Childhood Obesity. According to the Center for Disease Control, over 30% of American youngsters are overweight or obese. And,they predict that number will rise to 5O% by 2010. In other words, half of the population under the age of 18. A shocking statistic. But even more shocking, and serious are the affects of the disease itself. Childhood Obesity: causes elevated counts of cholesterol, directly related to increased risk of stroke and heart attack. can cause liver disease due to insulin resistance. can lead to diabetes – especially pre-diabetes, which is specifically related to overweight youngsters. has been shown to lower life expectancy by a factor of 3. causes severe emotional and mental trauma, affecting self – worth and self-esteem. Although obesity can be genetically inherited, the majority cause is lifestyle. Specifically, in childhood obesity, the lifestyle of the parents. It is, literally, “monkey see, monkey do.” If the child sees the parent eating junk food, sprawled in front of the TV, never exercising, the result is obvious. The “pill” parents must swallow, however bitter, is that, like charity, “health begins at home.” With the example the parent sets. By doing,not just talking. True, the accelerated pace of life, and the responsibilities of earning a living, result in too many tired people. It’s understandable that parents come home exhausted, throw something

“qu ick and easy” i n the mic rowave , wh i le the k ids p lay v ideo games . True , the re ’ s prec ious l i t t l e “hea l th” to be ga ined f rom a schoo l sys tem where phys i ca l educa t i on has been cu t to a lmos t noth ing , and you th spor t s have become too compet i t i ve . And , more to the po in t , what obese ch i ld , wi th unders tandab le l ow /no se l f - es teem, wou ld have i n i n te res t i n such spor t s? The So lu t i on… I s the l og i ca l one . The obv ious one . The natu ra l one . Pa ren ts Must Walk The i r Ta l k !…by Res t r i c t i ng , and eventua l l y , e l im ina t ing j unk f oods . Subs t i tu t ing f ru i t and nut snacks f o r candy and sodas . Avo id ing ‘ f ad d ie ts ” – i n s tead prov id ing ba lanced mea ls us ing l ow /no processed f oods . I nc lude a sa lad wi th every l unch or d inne r mea l . Reduce v ideo game/compute r /TV t ime . Make i t a reward . Not a r i gh t ! Encourage your k ids to wa lk , r i de b ikes wherever poss ib le . Consu l t your doc to r to deve lop a f un f a t burn ing exe rc i se program. COPYR IGHT 2009 L INWOOD GILBERT. ALL R IGHTS RESERVED. L INWOOD GILBERT ,ove rwe igh t as a you th ,has a spec ia l i n te res t i n hea l th and l i f e s ty le i s sues . Pa r t i cu la r l y those tha t a f fec t the young and d i s - advantaged . You r ch i ld does ’n t have to have a l owered l i f e expec tancy. More i n fo rmat ion on avo id ing tha t i s he re : http://www.endchildhoodobesity.net/