In recent times, childhood obesity has become an epidemic but where can the blame be placed for this growing issue? The home, school, technology? Perhaps they all play a part and can also play a role in turning the situation around.

According to recent research, today’s children are eating far too much and exercising far too little. Technology can be largely to blame for this. Most children spend much of their free time watching television, and playing the Playstation or computer games. This has led to children leading sedentary rather than active lives at a young age.

To add to this situation, children tend to snack whilst engaging in these sedentary activities. These snacks are generally foods that are poor in nutrition such as potato chips, cookies, candy and so forth. These poor eating habits contribute largely to the child obesity statistics.

Overcoming obesity in children requires a family approach. This means that the whole family lifestyle and eating habits need to change in order to help the obese child. The family must learn to adapt to a more healthy way of life.

There are many things a family can do to change the cycle of child obesity, including:

• Replace snack food with fruit and vegetables

• Avoid cooking with oils; steam or boil foods

• Stick to a routine with meal times

• Ensure children don’t skip meals

• Make time for the whole family to exercise.

Don’t make all of the changes at once as the obese child may rebel against such radical change. Take it slowly and remember that the parents are in control even if it takes some drastic measures.

Offer rewards at each increment of the weight loss process. This will encourage the child to be more determined to reach the next goal. Make each increment of weight loss small to avoid the child becoming disheartened and losing sight of the goal.

Some ideas for rewards could include:

• A family outing to the movies

• Allowing the child to have a special outing with friends

• Bowling

• Theme park

• A small gift

This will make the child feel more positive about the changes to his/her lifestyle and will raise self esteem.

According to statistics, up to twenty-five percent of children and teens are overweight or obese. This is a frightening statistic indeed and one that needs to be drastically reduced for the sake of the next generation.

Families as a whole need to adopt a healthier lifestyle and must develop a healthy weight regimen, particularly focused on the obese child. A health conscious attitude needs to become the norm in the home environment, including a beneficial level of exercise.

If the family remains consistent with the healthy lifestyle plan, the obese child will emulate these habits, most likely engaging in the physical activities he/she sees. It is difficult to change any habit but consistency is the key to the obese child attaining his/her goal.