Childhood Obesity & Parents

Why parents play role model in preventing child obesity?
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Childhood obesity prevalence is greatest among children who have two obese parents. Although children of obese parents are predicted to have a 25-30 percent more chance of becoming obese themselves, part of this bigger risk of child obesity is possibly due to eating habits and poor family nutrition (see childhood obesity & nutrition), rather than genetic. It's difficult to separate genetic (see genetic causes of childhood obesity) from family-environmental or behavioral factors as causes of child obesity (see childhood obesity causes).

Family behavioral patterns regarding shopping, cooking, eating and exercise have an important effect on child’s energy imbalance. Parents are liable for putting healthy foods in the kitchen at home and leaving unhealthy foods in the store. You can't blame your kids for being fascinated to, salty, fatty and sweet foods; after all they taste good. Most of the children learn to eat at their homes, if they see that their family eats every day hamburgers, fast food (see childhood obesity fast food) and processed food, they will eat the same and will have an unhealthy diet. Also, one half of parents of elementary school (see childhood obesity in schools) children never exercise (see childhood obesity & exercise) vigorously.

► The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends an hour a day of moderate intensity exercise. This level of activity should raise a child's heart rate to 65-80% of maximum, which will increase cardiovascular health, as well as help to maintain a healthy weight. ► In younger children exercise may equate to a few hours spent out of doors, starting and stopping activity. ► In older children, exercise may extend into running or bicycling for sustained periods or specific distances.

Ellyn Satter, author of Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense, confidently believes in the importance of "the feeding relationship" and its implication for obesity in children. The feeding relationship is the relation that takes place between parents and children around food (see childhood obesity & food). Obese children should learn to listen to their internal cues of hunger and appetite. Parents and childcare providers must help them do so. This includes encouraging children to eat according to these cues, while admitting the emotional aspect of feeding and eating. A limiting diet may make the child feel depressed and neglected, and intensify the overeating problem.

Parents should also emphasize on physical activity (see childhood obesity & physical activity) for their children because without physical activity, managing food intake is only damage control. Exercise provides a person with the means to burn calories, rather than restrict the calories taken in. A good way for a parent to incorporate both the younger and older children in exercise is to plan family activities which help in child obesity prevention.

Tips for parents ► What can you do as a parent or guardian or caregiver to help preventing childhood obesity? We have some ideas in our Childhood Obesity Prevention section.

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