Help Us Fight Childhood Obesity

So, what is obesity? Well, it’s defined as a state in which an individual is overweight to the point that it is detrimental to their health. Essentially, it is an excessive accumulation of fat within the body and is an issue that is causing serious concern within modern Western society, with an estimated 35% of children in the USA, in 2008, being classified as obese.

There are a number of factors that can be attributed to causing obesity within children, which are not related to a pre-existing medical or genetic condition.

The first is diet and a simple formula can be used to demonstrate this.

If a child consumes more calories than they use during the day then the excess energy remaining in the body will be transformed into fat and stored in the body. Therefore a child will become obese if they regularly consume more calories than they burn.

The second is a lack of physical activity, primarily related to technology in the home that encourages a sedentary lifestyle, such as watching TV for several hours a day, playing games on a console or sitting in front of a computer for a significant period of time.

This lack of exercise is further compounded by the consumption of snacks with a high calorific content such as candy, crisps, chocolate and soda drinks that have high sugar content.

A lack of what parents may deem a safe environment in which to allow their children to play, without supervision, may also be a contributing factor.

The third is the home environment. If parents do not enforce a healthy lifestyle and sensible eating habits within the home, how is a child to manage this alone?

A combination of these can lead to a child having a weight problem, the effects of which can be separated into two main areas.

Psychological and Emotional

The most obvious effect is the problem of teasing and bullying within the school environment from their peers, although this harassment can also continue in the home from family members. This can often lead to feelings of low self esteem and depression, underachievement, and loneliness.

It has been demonstrated that there is a link between low self esteem, depression, boredom, feelings of stress, and obesity and so the problem of being overweight can be seen to be both caused by these factors and also sustained by them; a self perpetuating cycle where a child becomes obese because they are depressed and the depression prevents the child from conquering the obesity.

Studies have also shown that obese children are both more likely to grow up to become obese adults, as well as it being found that they are subject to an increased risk of early mortality in adulthood.

Physical

Being overweight can create numerous health problems for the young that one would normally only expect to see in a portion of the adult population.
Examples of such conditions are heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or cancer.

Overweight children can also suffer from liver disease, eating disorders and respiratory problems, not to mention the stresses placed upon their joints and bone structure.

A 2008 study has found that children who are obese have carotid arteries which have prematurely aged as much as 30 years, as well as abnormal levels of cholesterol.

What can be done about this?

In simple terms, a child has to eat healthily and exercise more and have this lead to a permanent modification of their behavior so that such a lifestyle becomes the norm, in contrast to their previous lifestyle.

These solutions, however, are where the parents need to lead by example. There has to be a sensible approach to calorie intake in that there must be a restriction on the amount of high calorie snacks and soft drinks a child is allowed to consume in any given day. This level needs to be set by the parents, who need to abide by the same rules that they set their children. If they don’t, as children tend to copy the behavior patterns of their parents, it is unreasonable to expect a child to eat healthily if the rest of the family is still eating junk food.

Exercise is important too but we can’t expect children to exercise in the same manner as the adult population. We can’t force them to go to the gym or take up jogging. Rather, kids need something to absorb their attention and keep them occupied and don’t forget that it needs to be fun. It needs to be a viable alternative to the TV and computer games they could be watching or playing at home right now!

Learning a Martial Art does just this. It makes exercise enjoyable, to the extent that children may not even realize that they’re engaged in regular exercise.

An overweight child can attend a Martial Arts class, where they can learn new skills in a fun, and above all, safe and secure environment.

Class attendance means that they will start to notice a physical difference within a fairly short timescale. Loss of weight, even a marginal loss, will boost their self esteem. As a proportion of overweight children may already be subject to bullying at school, learning a Martial Art will provide added self confidence in their own abilities, especially in how to defend themselves, should the need ever arise.

These positives should lead to a continuation in their progression through Martial Arts training. Each student is left to progress at their own speed, yet they are still maintaining a regular exercise programme, which as previously mentioned has continued positive results.

Furthermore, older and more experienced students are encouraged to coach those below them, which creates an environment where new friends can be made and where a child can learn valuable lessons in personal responsibility, teamwork, how to look out for others and an overall respect for authority.

Whether a student chooses to seriously pursue Martial Arts or continues with classes for the social aspect they will still be maintaining a regular course of physical exercise which, when combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle at home, will go a significant way to either tackling or solving a child’s obesity problem. Training will also teach them future life skills so that obesity should not be a problem later on in their adult life.