After doing a little research I noticed that a lot of people search for/ask about childhood obesity treatment and programs for treating childhood obesity. That’s good that people are looking for a solution, but there’s a fatal flaw in the thinking.

There is No Childhood Obesity “Treatment”

It’s not a disease or a genetic disorder. It’s not something that “happens” to you. So you can’t “treat” it like you would treat cancer or something like that. As long as you look at it as something that’s treatable, you’ll never be able to make a difference because that’s the completely wrong mentality.

If you’re looking for a treatment, then you’re looking for a pill or a surgery or something involving doctors – generally something mostly out of your control. But that is RARELY the case. Yes, in very few instances obesity is not your fault, and it is caused by some sort of (sometimes genetic) disorder and it’s not really controllable by you. However, don’t just assume that you’re one of those people and don’t use that as an excuse.

Many people think they have no control over it when the truth is, they just have no self control or no knowledge of how to treat your body.

When looking for treatment for childhood obesity, stop thinking of it as a medical condition or something that requires doctor approved treatment. There is no treatment, but there is a solution. The solution is the same as the cause – parents.

Childhood obesity is not like adult obesity. Adult obesity is caused by ignorance, laziness & lack of self control. Childhood obesity is caused by parents not caring about their children. And the solution is getting the parents to care. This is important, so let me mae sure you got it:

The Solution Is Caring from Parents

Now before you get all mad at me and say that it’s not totally the parent’s fault, let me explain:

You could say that it’s not the parent’s fault – the kid just hates exercise and won’t eat their fruits and vegetables. You know what I say? Bad parenting. Kids ove exercise – it’s in their nature. The only reason they wouldn’t is if their parents plunked them down in front of the TV with movies & video games and gave them a phone long before they needed it. In other words – because the kids were trained to be sedentary. And the only reason a kid wouldn’t eat good food is because the parents let them get away with eating garbage all the time.

If the parents encourage the kids to play in active ways, there are many forms of exercise and there’s at least one that the child will enjoy. If the parents don’t let the child have desert, candy/etc. until they’ve eaten their fruits and vegetables, the child will learn to eat healthy foods – and often enjoy them.

You could say that it’s not the parent’s fault – they’re just confused by the media and don’t really know what their kids need to be healthy. I say what a load of baloney. You know what that is? A lack of caring. If a parent truly cares about their child(ren), they will figure out what they need to do and learn what they need to know.

With that said, let’s discuss a few ways parents can help their children get fit.

How Parents Can Fight Childhood Obesity

1. Forget Fast Food - Look, we know fast food isn’t good for us, and it’s definitely not good for our children. I know, it’s fairly cheap and it’s quick & easy but there are A LOT of meals that can be prepared quickly at home. All you need is a little planning to ensure that you have the ingredients you need. Now if you’re out and you don’t really have time to go home to eat, once in a while it won’t kill you to have fast food. But if/when you do (aim for a maximum of once a month) eat fast food, avoid the deep fried items (fries, nuggets, etc.) and drink water
2. Buy Healthy Snacks – If the food in your home is unhealthy, your kids won’t eat healthy. I’ve seen it a number of times. The pantry is filled with cookies, candy and all sorts of unhealthy, sugary snack items that the kids can access easily. Then whenever the kid wants a snack, they go to the pantry and grab one of these fattening treats and eat it. By the time supper roles around, the child isn’t hungry because they’ve already eaten a ton of sugar. If you only have healthy snacks in your home and you don’t allow your children to eat snacks all day, that will make a BIG difference. And when there’s no unhealthy snacks at home, it doesn’t take any willpower to avoid eating them.
3. Prepare Healthy Meals – Frozen dinners, cheap pasta & take out do not constitute meals. Healthy meals simply consist of a variety real food. No need to complicate things – just have some fruits, vegetables, meat & water. Use some common sense. If it’s got a lot of bad fats, sugar or preservatives – it’s not healthy. Do a bit of research, find some meals you enjoy that are healthy and cook healthy meals.
4. Encourage Children to Exercise – Children like to run around and play. It’s just how they are. Don’t sit them down in front of the TV, don’t give them video game systems, don’t give them cell phones. Give them toys that encourage them to move around (NOT Wii or Kinect Sports – that doesn’t count. Get them outside!). Play games with them that don’t require screens. If they want video games, make them pay for them themselves (that’s how it was for me, and I didn’t die or anything). They don’t need cell phones until they’re driving on their own – I didn’t have one until I had a license and my life was just fine. Just encourage them to play and be kids!
5. Educate Children – If your child doesn’t know why they should eat certain foods and not others, or why they shouldn’t play video games all day, they have no reason to live a healthy life – and they won’t. Educate them. Teach them how to live healthy. Explain why you make them eat their fruits and vegetables and play games outside. The younger you start, the better.

I understand that there is a lot of misinformation out there, but there is a lot of GREAT information out there as well. If you care enough about your children (or even the children you take care of), then you need to educate yourself – learn what you need to know about childhood obesity and how you can raise fit kids. This blog is a great place to start.

And if you’re looking for a complete guide on how to lose weight for kids, then the homepage of this website http://fitkidsweightloss.com is the best guide I’ve found (put together by fitness epxert Jeff Anderson).

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