Parents Play a Vital Role in the Health of a Child

The number of overweight children in America has skyrocketed. Today approximately nine million children over 6 years of age are considered extremely overweight and 54% of American children say they are concerned about their weight. This has occurred over the past three decades and continues to be on the rise.
Obesity is a vicious cycle. Research has shown that overweight parents are the single most predictor of weight problems in children. Parents play an important role in teaching their children to lead a healthy lifestyle. Studies have shown that if both parents are a healthy weight, the child only has about a 7% chance of being overweight. If one parent is overweight, they have a 70% chance of being overweight. If both parents are overweight, that risk increases to 80%.
Parents play a vital role in the health of a child. If home cooked, healthy meals are prepared on a daily basis, this makes a huge difference on how a child eats throughout his life. Also, if healthy snacks such as: fruits, vegetables, whole wheat crackers, yogurt, etc. available, then that is what the child will eat. Instead, if candy, soda or chips are readily available; these are what the child will get in the habit of eating.
Also, if parents are active and regularly exercise or take their children to do family activities, this will also become a healthy habit. Children form habits at a very early age so taking your children to do active things early on is very important. When our children were babies we put them on our backs and enjoyed taking hikes often. This was fun, and since then they have always loved hiking.
As a parent, overcoming your own unhealthy habits will contribute to the habits of your children. Genetic makeup may predispose a child to being overweight but the child’s environment is the greatest contributor.
Many times I hear my clients in my weight-loss classes say after they’ve changed their diets and added more healthy foods; their children also ate healthier. At first they did not believe they could change their family’s food dynamics, but when they took the initiative and set the standard, they saw a change. It’s not always easy to talk your family into trying different foods, but if you can get creative and not give up it will be worth it!