Childhood Obesity! A term all parents need to come to terms with. As parents, we tend to let our kids eat anything and everything in the hope that they will grow up as strong and healthy childrem. On the contrary, too much of gorging on food will lead to obesity and that is one condition you don’t want your child to acquire

Recent studies have shown that the percentage of children affected by obesity has steadily been increasing over the past few years and has almost quadrupled since 1962. The current rate of 19% indicates that 1 in every 5 children is obese or shows symptoms of developing obesity in the near future.

Obese children have greater risks of contracting other ailments as they grow. These include heart diseases, asthma, type 2 diabetes, and several hormonal deficiencies to name a few. Added to this is the issue of being socially outcasted and shunned by other children at school and in public places. This can cause serious mental distractions and needs to be addressed as quickly as possible.

If you feel your child is obese and want to know for sure, here are a few useful tips to help you find out.

The weight of a child varies with respect to his/her height. Measure the height and weight of your child accurately. This in turn will enable you to calculate your child’s BMI.

BMI stands for Body Mass Index and can effectively deduce if your child is obese or not in addition to detecting other conditions. By using the BMI Percentile Calculator for Child and Teen (available in all retail medical outlets), you can calculate the BMI and percentile of your child at the same time.

The BMI and percentile chart can be used as a scale for checking the normal and abnormal levels. Percentile ranges from 5 to 84 are considered normal whereas anything above 84 is cause for alarm. Overweight children usually have readings between the 85^th and the 94^th percentiles while obese children fall above the 95^th percentile mark.

In addition to checking for these symptoms on your own, you can take your child to the family doctor and take some blood samples for regular tests. Sometimes obesity can arise due to genetics and other conditions in the body. If all the tests are negative though, it is time to seriously consider reviewing your child’s eating habits.

If your child is obese, you may want to start working immediately to save him/her from future ailments. Here are a few tips on how to tackle the issue.

As and when you find that your child is obese, take him/her to the family doctor or a good nutrionist who would prescribe a healthy diet and exercise chart in par with your child’s body conditions.

In addition to eating the correct foods, exercise should be a part of his/her daily routine now. Don’t let your child become a couch potato.

Rather, make him/her do some activity around the house which requires him/her to keep on moving around. If your child sulks about it, join him/her in some fun exercise routines to make it easier.

This is the time you need to brace yourself for a reality check and throw all the junk foods out of the house. Take it as a moral responsibility and start stocking up your refrigerator with lots of vegetables, fruits and whole grain products. Your child is probably not going to like the change and sulk about it all day or even scream at you, but that’s ok!

You’ll have the satisfaction of ridding him/her of the condition in the long run and tomorrow, he/she is going to thank you for the same. Till then, don’t let go even if it becomes a daily battle.

Remove white bread and alternate it with whole wheat bread. Throw out the soft drinks and stock your refrigerator with carbonated drinks which can be so delicious that your child won’t notice the change anyway. Use skimmed or low fat milk and avoid fat rich dairy products.

Rather than opting for a dinner outside, cook your meals and make your child eat at home. This way, you can be sure they won’t throw a tantrum and gain the upper hand at wanting junk foods like pizzas and burgers when you go out.

By being responsible and careful, you can prevent your child from falling into a life long crusade with obesity and possibly bring him/her back to having a healthy normal life if he/she already has the condition.

Remember! As a parent, you know more than your child and need to take care of him/her the right way to give them a bright future with little or no hindrances at all.