Fighting Obesity In Children

A friend of mine came to me a few days ago concerned about her child’s obesity problem. Finally, she is seeing that there is a problem!

In the past I have tried to tactfully address this issue with her but my words and concern fell upon deaf ears so I backed off. Now that a few weeks have passed, she has approached me about the issue.

History: My friends daughter is a minimum of 35 lbs over weight for her age and she is 11 years old. This problem didn’t happen over night, it has been going on for several years. I will refer to the child as Jessica for the purpose of this blog post.

My friend Jane Doe was made aware of this problem a few years ago but totally got defensive when their doctor, family or friends tried to talk with her about the issue. Most of us got frustrated with her and eventually just backed off.

Now that she has brought up the subject with me, I was more than ready to give her some advice…advice I know she wasn’t ready to hear.

I have firmly told her that this problem with Jessica is her fault. Why am I saying it’s her fault you might ask? Because…she has continually purchased junk food and high fat foods for her to eat the past several years and furthermore, they are fast food drive-thru junkies and visit fast food places a minimum of 3 times a week.

Jessica’s bad eating habits are a learned behavior from her mother’s poor grocery shopping and eating out choices. Yes, I know some readers of this blog post are going to disagree with my opinion and that is fine…however I know this family very well and I am 100% positive that this is the problem.

When Jessica comes to visit me (which is often) all she wants to eat is chips, ice cream, candy, baked pastries, french fries and other junk style food. When I would offer her healthier choices, I would get a reply from her such as, “I don’t like that, I want ______.” Everything she wanted was junk food! I don’t eat like that nor do I feed my family like that.

Another issue that has compounded this problem is that fact that Jessica sits in front of the TV watching TV shows, movies and playing video games for hours during the evenings and the weekends instead of engaging in any type of physical activity. You need physical activity to burn calories and to build a strong body.

My advice to my friend was the following:

1. Purchase healthier food choices at the grocery store. Quit buying the junk food…if it’s not in the house, she won’t be able to eat it.

2. Quit eating out at fast food joints 3-4 times a week. When you do eat out…it should be an ocassional treat and order healthier choices.

3. Enroll Jessica in some physical activities such as a swim club, sports team or even a gym membership for children and as her mother, get involved and participate with her.

4. Turn off the TV. Invest in some outdoor games, bicycles, roller blades and other things to get outdoors and some physical activity going.

If you are truly interested in helping your child lose weight and obtain better health, you will find the time to make the changes. Talk to your doctor and a nutritionist for ideas and come up with a plan. Involve your child in the decision making so that they become part of the plan as it will yield better results.

The time to make the change is NOW!

~ Shelly ~