Ways to Help Your Overweight Child

Rising obesity rates have become a national epidemic in America. Family history, inactivity, and poor food habits all contribute to childhood weight problems. If you are the parent of an overweight teen, it's important to be aware of his or her increased risk for engaging in unhealthy weight control behaviors. When children gain too much weight, this can increase their risk for some disease, such as cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, and diabetes.

Parents should try not to set children apart because of their weight, but focus on gradually changing their family's physical activity and eating habits.

Tips For Parents

• - You should also be involved in the evaluation and counseling so that you can carry through with the advice that will help you and your child.
• - Offer your child a wide variety of foods, such as grains, vegetables and fruits, low-fat dairy products, and lean meat or beans.
• - Find ways to encourage more exercise and outdoor activity.
• - Encourage your child to avoid chewing gum.

How to Lose Weight in a Healthy Way

Being overweight is a major health problem in the United States, and there are many good reasons to keep your weight within a healthy range. If you want to diet and lose weight, you may need help to do it in a healthy way.

The healthiest way to lose weight is slowly. Plan to lose between one and two pounds per week. The more slowly you lose weight, the better the chance you'll keep it off. When you lose weight rapidly, they starve and grab up whatever they can find. Unfortunately most people aren't satisfied with a gradual loss of one to two pounds per week, even though this is the safest and healthiest way to lose weight.

The only permanent and healthy way to lose weight is to lose fat. So you should eating a healthy diet and increasing activity and basal metabolic rate. If you want to lose weight, always remember to lose weight slowly and following a healthy diet and exercise.

Obesity: What are the Causes?

Perhaps no other area within the field of nutrition is more intensively researched and written about than subject of obesity. Obesity is indicated by an abnormally high proportion of body fat. If we are at least 20% above our ideal weight, we are obese, according the authorities on the subject. Obesity is a serious condition because it increases the risk of developing various chronic health problems.

What causes of obesity? Most overweight persons are too heavy because they are eating too much and are not active enough. Research in this field suggest that many different factors such as genetic, social, environmental, and cultural, are involved in the development of obesity and that these factors influence each other in different ways.

Environmental factors that may contribute to obesity include lifestyle as well as behavioral issues. Family traits, for example, can be important variables. In very rare cases, it is possible to become obese as a result of a serious disease affecting part of the brain that regulates appetite.

Health Risks of Obesity

Obesity is the condition of having an excessive amount of body fat. Obesity is the consequence of nutritional intake exceeding energy expenditure. The rate of childhood obesity is increasing, and over half of overweight children will become overweight adults. Obesity can develop through a combination of genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors.

The short-term risks of overweight in children and adolescents extend to reduce scholastic performance, psychological problems, and a number of significant health risks. Obese people are at higher risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and hypertension, some form of cancer, joint disease, and psychosocial problems.