Parents and Their Responsibilities.


In a society paced by immense fast-food corporations and video-gaming enterprises children need all the help they can get to stay healthy? Being overweight or obese at a young age is extremely harmful on any child or adolescent. Activities that are otherwise second nature like running around a baseball diamond or jumping up and down a hopscotch court become difficult when I child is not exposed to physical activities at a young age. Because of this, parents need to pressure their children into dropping the controllers and getting outside before they turn into marshmallows. It is a parent’s responsibility to get their own child involved in physical activity everyday.

Starting in 1963 research began to determine the actual rate of obesity’s incline. Since then the percentage of children in America who are overweight has climbed from four percent to an astounding twenty percent. The first was that parents should be helping to prevent obesity is to simply feed their kids healthier foods. It is sometimes understandable why poverty struck folks buy cheap, fattening foods; however, keeping these foods to a minimum is important in the fight against obesity. Healthy foods, such as fruits and leafy green vegetables are excellent sources of energy that do not add unneeded fats and sugars into a child’s diet. Keeping a child’s diet low on fats should be a parent’s first step in getting involved, most kids love a fresh home cooked meal anyways, so why not give them what they want. Balanced meals are incredibly important to keep children healthy and fit and away from obesity, but healthy balanced meals are not the only way to keep kids in shape.

It is important that kids lead a healthy and active lifestyle to promote good health and habits. Maybe a young person who is being told by their parents to exercise more would be confused but exercise does not necessarily mean jumping-jacks or running a mile. To prevent obesity kids can simply get outside for a few hours each day and play with friends. Getting children and adolescents involved in sports or even activities like skateboarding or BMX can definitely help to keep weight down, especially if they become involved at a younger age. Getting a child to exercise at a young age is crucial because if they are active while still young they make a habit of it and are less likely to become addicted to videogames, another one of society’s great obesity generators.

Videogames are becoming more life-like every time a new one happens to come out, but playing a videogame online or on a console is nothing like playing outside. Also, videogames played to “exercise” the players are far from real movement. Swimming, a popular pastime in almost any state works nearly every muscle in the human body while Wii Games are only capable of working a few. Parents need to keep their children away from these marshmallow makers and outside where they should be. Also, if a parent is looking to save some money they can buy their kid a basketball, football, baseball or tennis ball for a fraction of the price of a current videogame. Being outdoors is not a hurtful experience to children or a traumatic one so parents should start early and urge their children to go out for a game or two whenever possible.

To sum it up; sports, eating healthy and videogame avoidance are all helpful hints when looking to keep children active and adolescents free of obesity.