Child Nutrition and Obesity
Nutrition is essential in achieving and maintaining good health. Obesity on the other hand has cased million of children around the globe to live unhealthy lives. Child nutrition and obesity stand from two opposing corners. Child nutrition is essential in keeping the kid healthy, while obesity threatens the health condition of a child. Child nutrition and obesity are two concerns that parents should not take for granted. Child nutrition should take top priorities among households to keep obesity at bay.
Parents view on nutrition is lacking and sometimes distorted. The inability of parents to put nutritious food on the table has aggravated the vulnerability of their children to becoming obese. Media is also a competing factor in providing the right information on nutrition. Television advertisements show conflicting messages. While some may reinforce the value of nutritious food, others have done the opposite.
Nutritionist and medical scientists have been digging all possible answers to shed light on issues regarding child nutrition and obesity. Milk that is enriched with vitamin supplement has flooded the grocery racks. Food snacks have become vitaminized to compensate the needed nutrient intake of children. Junk foods are no longer called as such. In the same manner, cold cuts sold in different supermarkets now contain vitamins. All these and more were made to respond to the growing inadequacy of the nutrient intake of kids.
Diet programs are now a commonplace. More parents are now becoming conscious of their child’s health and the ill effects of obesity. They watch the food that their kids ingest. They also see to it that their kids eat a balanced diet and the appropriate time. Parents are now more aware that eating too much food high in calories is not helpful and healthy at all.
Nutrition cannot stand alone in achieving the ideal weight vis-à-vis height and age of a child. Frequent physical activities also help in preventing obesity from occurring. Time spent on watching television shows show be minimized so the child can enjoy more the benefit of recreational activities.
More than anything else family support is still the key to the child’s optimum nutrition. Parents can help their children by acting as positive role models in having a healthy life. The road to eradicating obesity is long and tedious, but with the support of significant others, it can be done. Child nutrition and obesity information will continue to fill books, the internet and health talk shows to provide better information that the people should know.