Some of the major causes of childhood obesity include poor nutrition and reduced physical activity. Researchers are today putting together manuals and tips for parents and caretakers to prevent obesity in children. Here are some of them.

1. Promote healthy lifestyle habits

If children are encouraged to adopt a healthy lifestyle from a very young age, they eventually tend to identify with these activities later in their lives as well. A healthy lifestyle is a mixture of healthy eating, socializing, physical activities and strong interpersonal relationships. Often parents are hesitant about allowing their children to adequately socialize from a very young age, however socializing is not a bad thing. Over socializing with the wrong crowds can prove unhealthy however, this can be monitored by parents from a very young age. In fact if parents take due interest in their kids social life from the beginning they will not only be able to protect them from entering the wrong crowds but also will be able to teach them socially approved norms and values associated with socializing. Moreover, parents should also encourage children not to have meals in front of the television or any gadgets as they are said to stimulate their appetite even more that way.

2. Encourage a healthy diet

If parents are able to provide their kids with a healthy diet plan, they will automatically be investing approximately 50% in warding off obesity from their lives. A healthy diet includes many components of which the main ones are as follow:

a) Reduce sugary drinks:

Sugary drinks include fizzy drinks and processed juices, both of which are said to increase blood sugar levels and add to the fat levels of the body. Reducing their intake can help reduce inadequate levels of “sugar rush” as well as manage obesity.

b) Reduce high calorie foods:

High calorie foods on a daily basis is highly unhealthy however, children should be allowed to enjoy these as treats once in a while.

c) Invest in healthy but tempting dishes:

It is up to parents how they manage to develop their childrens’ interest in healthy food. Today, you can come across many recipes online that are developed specifically to cater to children’s taste buds.

3. Encourage energetic activities

In recent times physical activities have been phenomenally ignored and eventually overtaken by virtual gaming zones. These in turn encourage unhealthy lifestyles where the children don’t get to release their energy in a productive manner. By spending hours and hours of their day in front of televisions and computers these kids get lazy physically as well as mentally. Therefore it is important that parents encourage healthy energetic games into their kids’ lives to help them grow into healthy and productive individuals.

Conclusion

There is never a perfect right and wrong combination of a healthy lifestyle, however parents should always work hard on fixing a schedule that will encourage the basic components of a healthy lifestyle. At the same time, they should also be lenient in their schedules and should always allow some room for fun which could include sugary sweets or a movie marathon once in a while.
Author Bio:

Bella is a professional social analyst and blogger. Her work on teen parental safety and social issues has collected great appreciation from readers. She is a diverse reader but mostly focuses on including subjects such as protecting oneself from the dangers of the online world especially teen protection and the guidelines for using different cellular applications in her write ups. Follow her on twitter @bellaryan8901