Healthier Lives for Children

Today, many children are obese in this world. There are many reasons for that such as video games, television, choosing unhealthy foods, lack of outdoor activity, and lack of knowledge. By lack of knowledge, I mean children need to learn and understand what a healthy lifestyle is and know the importance of living one.

Children need to be active, like playing sports physically not by some using a computer or game system. It's also not a bad idea for children to start learning weight training basics like the concepts of lifting and most importantly, the proper technique for each exercise you teach them. In my opinion, the age to start with this should be around 10-12 years of age. Kids just need a simple little program like one exercise for a muscle group and do a total body workout about three times a week. Be sure to supervise your kid and make sure he or she is not lifting heavy weight because that will do damage to their growth plates, therefore stunting their growth. With some weight training, children will notice stronger muscles and bones, better athletic performance, better cardiovascualr health, and lower bodyfat and choletserol levels.Keep it light and simple.

For a fun workout, a child could be trained with a medicine ball where they will be throwing and catching a ball and working their muscles at the same time. And always have some cardiovascular activity like walking to the park, running, or bicycling. Children could do this type of stuff including sports at any age.

Now onto another aspect to battle childhood obesity, proper nutrition. Today, kids are into the unhealthy foods and drinks such as pizza, fries, potato chips, soda, etc. This stuff should only be eaten in moderation. Children also should be drinking enough water throughout the day. Keep the sugar and fat intake low. It's important to have a variety of healthy foods daily. With the everything added together (physical activity and proper nutrition) many children could stay clear of obsesity or possibly even get out of obesity and live a healthier, safer, and better life.

For parents, set a good example for your children and live the same lifestyle (healthy, physically active) so your kids follow you in your footsteps. Teach them now so they can fight against obesity and WIN!