Child Obesity Prevention Information

In the UK about two-thirds of the population of adults are now overweight or obese. The level of obesity has tripled in the past 20 years, and is still rising.
Childhood obesity in the UK is an increasing concern whilst childhood obesity programs in Europe are slow to develop. In England alone there are more than 1 million obese children.
In the past ten years the population of obese children has doubled in six-year-olds and trebled among 15-year-olds.

See our range of child accident prevention picture books.

More Information

Apart from the social problems involved with childhood obesity there are main concerns about the increase numbers of people becoming overweight, leading to a growth in major health problems. These include type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, stroke, back and joint pain, osteoarthritis, high blood pressure, gallstones, fatty liver, infertility, breathlessness, depression, snoring, difficulty sleeping and excessive sweating.

What are the fast food relations to childhood obesity?

There is a definite correlation between childhood obesity and the fast food industry.

hotdog Approximately 90% of a hotdog is fat.

coke 12 spoons of sugar Up to as much as 12 teaspoons of sugar may be present in a 12 oz. fizzy drink.

The recommended maximum amount of daily salt intake for an adult is 6 grams. The daily amount for a child it is a lot less depending on age. A packet of crisps may contain as much as 3 grams, for many children more than the daily maximum recommendation.

Should manufacturers of “low-nutrition” foods be allowed to advertise their products to children? Quite often children follow the bad example set by parents.
Children are also often allowed to spend too much time in front of the computer or television, instead of active play. Sometimes, the typical modern diet that schools and parents provide does not help either. Some children hardly ever eat fresh fruit and vegetables but live entirely on high-fat, high-sugar convenience foods. If an unhealthy diet is one of the main causes of childhood obesity reasons can also be attributed to the increase in sugar in our food.

The latest publication in the DangerSpot series of kids books on childhood obesity

The Dangerously Big Bunny
Publication date: 7th July 2006. ISBN 0-9546565-7-1
Supporting the TOAST obesity awareness programme.
Harey, the hare-brained rabbit, watches TV all day and eats all the wrong foods. He becomes unhealthy and overweight. He has trouble getting through doorways, too overweight to play on the swings, breaks his skateboard, and sinks the boat in the park. He can't stop eating the wrong foods.
His doctor puts him on a diet. He cuts down on eating biscuits, sweets, chocolate toffee bars, cakes and ice-cream, joins a gym and watches less television. He is soon back to his old fit self.
'Who's a pretty boy, then?' says his friend, Pillow the parrot.

Encouraging your child to exercise doesn't have to mean an expensive outlay on club fees, equipment and clothing; sometimes the simplest and cheapest options are the best. Just walking can burn up to 175 calories an hour, while swimming, football, hockey, squash and skiing can all burn up around 400 calories an hour. Exercise is even more rewarding if your child learns a new skill at the same time.

How much do you have to do to work off an average (50 grams) chocolate bar?
Watching a DVD for 2hrs 45mins or running around for 32mins.
Playing a play station game for 1hr 45mins or going swimming for 20mins.
People often mistake thirst for hunger. What you might need is a drink of water.
It's good to share.
If you want to be strong and healthy, eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day.

Why not get your children to try:

Ball games in the local park or recreation ground.
Join a local youth club, sports team, Brownies, Cubs.
Roller skating and skate boarding.
Dry-slope skiing, ice skating, nature rambles.
Kite flying.
Swimming lessons.

Much of the above information is supplied by TOAST, The Obesity Awareness and Solutions Trust.

Researches in the USA using brainwashing?

Recent research carried out in the USA found that by convincing student volunteers that they had had a bad experience eating ice cream in the past caused them to be put off eating it again. As thought is the most powerful force in the universe this proves that some of the obesity problems could be solved by application of thought and adopting a different attitude towards fitness and health. Although it is well understood that some cases of obesity are physiological and difficult to remedy, in other cases it really can be mind over matter.