Posts Tagged childhood obesity
The New Epidemic – Child Obesity
Child Obesity… it’s everywhere now. Over 1 in 5 kids are obese now. What is happening to our kids?
Things have changed a lot since I was a child, nearly 50 years ago. We had Physical Education in school every single day, it was mandatory. Most of us kids brought our lunches to school, consisting of a healthy sandwich, fresh fruit, homemade cookies, and juice or milk to drink. Or you could purchase milk and apples from the snack bar. Oh yeah, there was candy and Twinkies, etc., But the Washington Red Delicious apples were so good who wanted candy?
After school we’d play tag football or ride bikes around the neighborhood, and on weekends helped our parents with the chores, and then played some more out in the street, or in the backyard with friends. In high school, I rode my bicycle to school, approximately 6 miles from home on a hilly road. Many of my friends had cars, but we couldn’t afford it, and I didn’t like riding the school bus. We rarely had any ‘fat’ kids in school. If there was an obese child, it most likely was a specific health issue.
Tags: body weight, child, child obesity, childhood obesity, children, diabete, diabetes, education, fitness, mental problems, obese children, obesity, obesity among children, parents, school, stress, weightRelated posts
Childhood Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes
When a child is diagnosed with diabetes it is commonly referred to as juvenile diabetes or type 1 diabetes. This type of diabetes is not related to a child’s lifestyle, it is an autoimmune disease that results in the need for insulin injections for food to be turned into energy properly. In recent years there have been an increased number of children that have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. This is an alarming trend and one that can be mitigated because the link between children and type 2 diabetes is childhood obesity.
As it is fairly new that children are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes there isn’t a lot of information or studies on it presently. But what is known is that parents need to take action immediately. Once a child has been diagnosed at an older age there isn’t much that can be done except to manage the disease. But if a younger child is obese and makes healthy lifestyle changes that result in weight loss there is a chance that type 2 diabetes can be avoided.
Tags: child, childhood obesity, children, diabete, diabetes, diseases, insulin, juvenile diabetes, obesity, parents, weight, weight lossRelated posts