Fighting Kids Obesity

What is the answer to the billion dollars kids obesity epidemic?

It seems that governments and communities are failing to find an answer or solution to this lifestyle issue. Kids obesity is a complex issue and needs to be treated as such. Governments have a tendency just to throw money at kids obesity hoping that it will be resolved. Kids obesity needs to be tackled on many layers starting with the family environment. Having an understanding of the family pressures and the demands on parents to work longer hours gives you an incite into how complex this issue can be. Parents working longer hours don't have the time or energy to ensure that their children always have the right balance of food and exercise. For most parents, the easiest and most convenient option tends to win out when the time is a real factor. As a result, kids don't exercise enough or eat the right balance of the 5 food groups.

Kids obesity is also interlinked heavily in a child self-worth and self-esteem. Pressures from peers is one such stress which drives kid's to binge eat. Studies show that kids who are down or depressed are more likely to binge on junk foods. This can be extremely challenging for parents and the community when kids these days are connected 24/7 with their peers. Computers and the internet allow kids to see and hear what others are saying about them which can be damaging if the comments are negative.

Kids obesity also has links with safety, especially in large cities where crime rates are prevalent. Parents are more cautious in city environments moving away from children playing in the streets after school to spending time in their rooms where their environment is safe and controlled. This approach has effects on a child's health and well-being as it encourages a sedentary lifestyle.

These complexities of kid's obesity place a huge demand on the health industry requiring enormous resources to treat this lifestyle issue. Doctors, exercise specialists, nutritionists, teachers, coaches and parents all have a vested interest in tackling this issue. The key to overcoming this complex issue involves all these groups working together. Kids obesity can be tackled but will require all these professionals putting their head together to tackle some of these issues front on. If they can achieve this with the help of government funding then we are heading in the right direction to deal with kid's obesity.