Child Obesity

Child obesity can have long-term effects on the health and well-being of our children. Help from proactive parents, nutritional guides, and physical activity can help to decrease obesity Causes of childhood obesity are widely spread out, and certain factors are targets contributing to this epidemic which include 2 major factors of lack of physical activity and dietary patterns. (Ryder, 2011).

One major contributor to a child diet that affects their weight is beverages such as soda and juice boxes. The consumption of soda by children has increased throughout the last 20 years by 300 percent. Scientific studies have documented a 60 percent increase risk of obesity for every regular soda consumed per day. With the growing use of computers, and watching TV this is a big contributing factor that takes away the physical activity. Sedentary lifestyles are playing a large factor in my opinion that what they eat.

We all have some experience with young kids that can be picky eaters and often assert their independence through eating, or not eating, whatever they are offered. It is easier to serve foods you know they will like and actually eat, then having them not eat at all. This is the way we believe we are still ensuring they are not starving without all of the meltdowns and frowns. This may be the easiest choice but isn’t always what’s best. As a child care provider, parent or anyone involved in children welfare you have a powerful opportunity to teach kids’ taste buds to appreciate wholesome foods before they can learn differently. And with a little patience, even the fussiest diners can learn to like healthy foods and continued this pattern throughout childhood into adulthood.

Secondly, children today interact in a very different lifestyle. In the past children walked to and from school. This is now been replaced by car and bus rides. After school activities such as sports have been cut, and replaced with watching TV, video games and internet. Parents...