Our Children, Our Future! How to Stop Child Obesity

Unfortunately for certain circumstances, I had to interrupt this important series of articles on child obesity. In the four previous ones, I discussed the detrimental effects of obesity on the human body and health, caused by fast food and bad eating habits as well as lack of exercise and other unhealthy behaviors. Below, I will summarize in a few lines what I wrote earlier.
Excess body fat silently secretes inflammatory substances. Such chemicals were found to be causes of obesity, diabetes, heart and vascular disorders, hypertension and among others, cancer. Other influencing factors on obesity, I discussed before, are sleep loss and irregular bedtime hours as well as the absence of regular physical and mental activities. Sedentary lifestyles increase the tendency of obesity, laziness, boredom and snacking off-hours, resulting in weight gain, lethargy and thus illness.
Today in this last episode, I chose to discuss a different type of trigger that leads to obesity, frustrates weight loss and results in a variety of ailments, especially metabolic syndromes (obesity, hypertension, clogged arteries, diabetes) and cancer even at a very young age. It is none else than stress.
Stress is a devastating phenomenon that ruins physical and mental health. When a person is under emotional, mental or physical pressure, the glandular system secretes the hormone cortisol to prepare the body and brain for short emergency situations. The condition should not last long because when long-term pressures release stress hormones continuously, insulin floods the system. Both hormones wreak havoc in the body and cause silent inflammation, resulting in obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disorders, heart disease, mental conditions and cancer.
Stress has a variety of faces, ranging from illness, chronic pain, emotional or physical distress, financial problems, divorce, loss of a loved one, loneliness, broken relationships to anger, hate, grudge, altercations, physical, mental and emotional abuse, failure and more. Obesity is also a physical form of stress. Excess body fat releases inflammatory chemicals that make stress hormones secrete, resulting in many adult ailments in children. Here are a few examples of childhood emotional and mental stressors.
Children who miss on parental love, affection, care and attention suffer from low self-esteem, making them resort to overeating starchy fatty “comfort” foods to compensate for the emotional vacuum they feel. They become the “preferred targets” of the fast food industry.
Such children are found to have no motivation because the parents are not involved in their mental and emotional development. Parents’ interest, moral and physical support and unconditional love provide invaluable guidance to the directions children take. Loving care improves their behavior, lifestyles and consequently their health.
Another kind of stress is mental, emotional and physical abuse of children by parents, teachers, peers or others. This may become a factor that drives them to resort to “comfort” and fast foods. They become a way to pacify broken feelings, hide low self-esteem and ease emotional distress. “Fatso” (in Arabic doubba) or “You are good for nothing” are deflating abusive words. Such words hurt a child’s ego, even if it is not apparent.
Emotional and mental stress, boredom and lack of parental guidance, attention and care make children and adults resort to fatty fast food, snacks, chips, crackers, ice-cream, cookies, candy and sugar-laden soda drinks. Isolation and reclusiveness, too, can become stressful and food again becomes a comfort.
Alarming studies show that obesity in children affects their adult health more than obesity in adulthood. According to an American health expert, “What happens in the first years of a baby's life has a big effect on how healthy they are in the future.” I once saw a young mother bottle-feed her baby Coca Cola in a park. At first, I was shocked and then I became outraged by such ignorance, influenced by the industry’s marketing ploys. Reckless actions destroy health and the future of children.
Researchers in Clinical Pediatrics in the UK found that obesity at the age of two sets the ground to teenage and adult obesity. They also suggested that the reasons for early weight gain are likely to be “poor diet, early introduction of solid food and not getting enough exercise…” The condition becomes more difficult to change and to switch to healthier eating habits and exercise at a later age, especially when parents and friends have equally “damaging” behaviors, difficult to get rid of.
According to a study, the leanest women and men were found to live longer and were at a much lower risk of death by cardiovascular disease than their heavier counterparts. Therefore, thin children and adults should not be urged to increase their weights, but should be encouraged to remain slim and build muscle bulk instead with exercise and healthy eating, which protect health and give energy, confidence and feeling of wellness.
Parents should become proactive and work on their children’s self-esteem and motivate them. They should encourage them to replace fatty food and soda drinks with nutritious whole foods (fruits, vegetables, raw nuts) and healthy beverages; direct them to take hobbies; become more active physically and socially; join sport teams; provide guidance; praise their efforts; and finally give them rewards and incentives for their cooperation and achievements.
Restful night sleep, parents’ moral support, attention and quality time, interactive entertainment, physical and mental activities, social or charity work, teamwork and sports are significant de-stressors that combat obesity.
Ways to release pressure and mental frustration are therapeutic exercises (yoga), physical and mental activities, relaxation methods, loving touch, moral support, social interaction, understanding and love. Such constructive behaviors develop in children self-esteem, assurance, creativity and social skills and bolster their immunity.
Schools should also give extra-curricular classes about holistic health and nutrition, apart from biology classes, in order to enlighten students about their body needs and health and raise their awareness. They should also offer healthy meals and ban sales of burgers, fries, soda drinks, cakes, doughnuts, cookies and candy in their premises.
To divert the attention of children from snacking and eating, parents and schools should stimulate their creativity and curiosity for knowledge and keep them productively occupied. They should be encouraged to join in competitive sports (tennis, football) and constructive games. They should participate in tournaments and interact with other youngsters to raise their self-esteem and learn to share. According to studies, children should have a minimum of six cumulative hours of physical activity a day in order to have optimal mental and physical development.
Youngsters should learn to entertain themselves with the encouragement of parents and schools. Their self-confidence needs to be bolstered and “not inflated” to enable them to do things on their own, with friends and classmates and participate in teamwork. Their interest should be stimulated for learning new skills.
Everything we eat or drink has become a danger to our hearts, brains, waists and mere existence. From the reasonably slim people we once were, we have become obscenely obese and diseased. Sadly enough, most children in schools are either fat or obese and afflicted with adult onset diabetes, Type 2, virtually unknown among children before the fast food trend, which provoked the obesity epidemic.
We, as parents, schools, society and governments, should rally our efforts to stop this overwhelming invasion of “unhealthy” lifestyles and correct “bad” habits instilled in our children and adults, in order to prevent the escalation of undesirable and harmful conditions, which contribute to the ruin of future generations. Profits should not be put above human health and interest. That is why we should strive to put an end to fast food and soda drinks that have led to today’s prevalent bulge.
Remember when our children suffer, we suffer. When they are obese, they become sick and unproductive. When they are sick and unproductive, they become costly and burdens on society and progress is halted. Money will not solve the problem; care, awareness, effort and perseverance will help protect our young ones, build societies and nations. Our children are our most precious investment today for a better tomorrow for all of us!!!
References and sources:
PETA's website
http://www.popsci.com/science/gallery/2013-02/5-things-grosser-horse-mea...
From articles by New York Times bestselling author Gretchen Reynolds
N.B.: Individuals with medical conditions or on medication should consult their physicians when they decide to introduce anything new in their diet even if it is natural.

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