Obesity also called overweight, when the body’s weight is greater than normal or simply excess fat in the body. Being overweight puts you at risk at many complications and a number of factors play a role in obesity.
Obesity is a complex condition cause by eating more calories and moving too little. It can affect almost everyone whether you are an adult or a teen. However, overweight and obese children and teens should reduce the rate of weight gain while allowing normal growth and development. Five ways to prevent childhood obesity are given below.
1. Healthy eating and reasonably sized portion
Offer your kids nutritious meals and snacks with an appropriate number of calories. You can help them develop healthy eating habits by making favorite dishes healthier and by reducing calorie-rich temptations. Provide plenty of vegetables whole grains and fruits. Encourage teens to drink lot of water, limit sugar and artificial sweeteners and do not forget to always serve reasonable sized portions.
2. Do cardiovascular exercises and stay active
Children and teens should do at least physical activities most days of the week. Jumping rope, swimming and dancing are good examples that even kids will love to do. Apart from these activities being fun to the kids, regular physical activities has many health benefits including strengthening bones and increasing self-esteem.
3. Reduce teens television viewing
Most teens spend most of their time watching television and playing games on electronic devices. Too much of television watching can lead to the child developing obesity and becoming over weight. Studies found that there is a big link between children and television programs. Limit watching television and playing games on electronic devices of your kids to avoid future complications of diseases.
4. Low fat cooking methods
Try to avoid fats as much as you can. You can always bake, steam, boil, rather than deep fry. Even healthy foods absorb excess fat when fried. Do not deep fry as this can add to teen’s weight resulting to the child developing obesity because of the unhealthy fats consumed. Also do not add additional fats when you serve food.
5. Keep track of your weight
Knowing your body weight can give you a better idea of how much fats you really need to lose. If you start to feel heavy or your clothes getting tight, make sure you start doing some exercises to maintain a healthy weight and a good shape.
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