The Childhood Obesity EPIDEMIC

The Childhood Obesity EPIDEMIC

The Childhood Obesity EPIDEMIC

Eat better nothing less

With nearly one in three children either overweight or obese (and therefore at higher risk for many chronic disease), More than 10 percent of world's population is now obese, a marked rise over the last 30 years that is leading to widespread health problems and millions of premature deaths, according to a new–study, the most comprehensive research done on the subject. The study, complied by the institute for Health Metrics and Evolution at the university of Washington and funded by the gates foundation, looked at 195 countries, essentially the world's population, finding that rates of obesity at least doubled in 73 countries from 1980 to 2015 and ''Continuously increased in most countries. Obesity is not just the immediate problem but the implications for the future that are so critical. We have a whole generation of kids who may not live as long as their parents. Analyzing some 1800 data sets from around the world, researchers found that excess weight played a role in four million deaths in 2015 from heart disease Diabetes, Kidney disease and other factors. The per capita death rate was up 28 percent since 1990 and, notably, 40 percent of the deaths were among people who were overweight but not heavy enough to be classified as obese. It is all very nice to talk about the need to eat less unhealthy foods and more healthy foods. But ''unhealthy foods cost less; healthier foods often cost more. People eat what they can afford.'' The research characterized growth of obesity in two ways, one that looked at countries that had the biggest leap in percentage points. The future health and economic burden facing all these countries is immense. Regarding the overall health implications of the study, one point made by researches is the there is good news / bad news pattern emerging. The good news is that the disease burden caused by obesity is actually falling in some of the wealthiest nations. The bad news is those remedies are not available in developing countries or are available only to the wealthiest people leading to growing rates of associated deaths and without a clear solution. In announcing a campaign against obesity we have to lay out four areas that will push for both through public education and federal program:
  • More nutrition information
  • An increase in physical activity
  • Easier access to foods that are healthy
  • Personal responsibility
We need to follow some tips for families to follow to help gain the upper hand against obesity.
  1. Eat together as a family: It you can, shop together as much as possible and invite your kids to help with the food preparation process. ''Studies show that homes where families eat together, the portions tend to be smaller and there tends to be a better attitude toward food.''
  2. Adopt a low glycemic diet: ''Avoid any thing made with white sugar, white flour and saturate fat. It is a very true saying you're sweet enough, you don't need more sugar.''
  3. Get more exercise and more sleep: That would also help most kids in the classroom, and should be something that all schools preach. As it is said Lose your excuses and see your results.
 

Latest Posts

Categories

Tags

Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter for good news, sent out every month.