Obesity Problem In Children Could Be Prevented By Low-Carb

We've always been told how much healthier people who live in the Far East are than Americans that we sometimes get the feeling that obesity is only a problem limited to the Western part of the world. But that's a big fat lie (literally) as evidenced by that man in the picture you see above. He's from China!

Which leads me to this Channel News Asia story that details a new obesity study conducted by John Reilly from Yorkhill Hospitals in Glasgow.

The study was released today in the British Medical Journal and it links the likelihood of toddlers growing up to become obese to various environmental and hereditary factors.

Too much television watching (defined as 8 hours per week) among the over 9,000 young study participants was found to be a common denominator of those who eventually became obese by the age of seven.

The study looked at height, weight, body mass index, family history and family eating habits of the study participants to come up with their results.

Excessive television viewing led to less physical activity and a propensity to snack more often than those study participants who watched less television, according to the study.

Well, this is not an earth-shattering revelation! If a child is watching television and mindlessly stuffing his or her mouth with chips, cookies and whatever else they can get their hands on, then that child is not getting a lot of physical activity. Thus, the fact that they eventually become obese is a foregone conclusion.

Does this mean children shouldn't watch ANY television? Of course not. But it should be limited and monitored by the child's parent or guardian and low-carb snacks should be offered to prevent unnecessary sugar and other such carbs from overloading their growing bodies. This will also cut down on their hyperactivity!

In addition to sedentary television watching, the study warns parents and doctors to look for a sudden increase in body weight in the first year or if there is a marked increase in body weight before the age of two.

A lot of parents unnecessarily worry about starving their children that they end up going to the other extreme. A fat baby or toddler isn't the end of the line about whether they stay that way into adulthood. But making smart choices about the foods you give your children will ensure they grow up to be the healthy men and women they need to be to live for as long as God intended.

It probably goes without saying, but the study confirms the longstanding notion that children with parents who are obese will likely become obese themselves. Although, the results of the study were inconclusive about whether this was a hereditary condition or the result of mimicking bad eating habits.

Some of you may not agree with me, but I do not buy into the notion that people are prone to become obese because of some hereditary gene. While your physical makeup is formed by your mother and father, what you do with your own body from the time you breathe your first breath is up to you.

Of course, your parents help you along during the first eighteen years of life where you can pick up either good or bad eating habits along the way. If you pulled a baby out of an obese family and put him with a family who is livin' la vida low-carb, I contend that baby will grow up learning better eating habits and will not become obese. I have no scientific evidence to support that claim, but it just makes common sense.

The fact that I was able to overcome my lifelong struggle with obesity at the age of 32 proves that people who are obese can and do overcome their weight problem. Blaming it on your genes only gives you another excuse to not do anything about it!

On the subject of sleep, the study found that children under the age of three who get less than 10 1/2 hours of uninterrupted sleep at night are much more likely to become obese as they grow older. The study found that a physically active toddler goes to bed earlier, avoids unnecessary eating, and sleeps better than those who did not.

Furthermore, a less physically active toddler who ate a diet mostly consisting of junk food (i.e. loaded with carbs) were even more at risk of becoming obese.

Physical activity is a must at any age. Exercise is highly recommended for people on a low-carb lifestyle to keep you energetic and strong. Being an example to children that being physically active is a good thing will help them make the right choices regarding their bodies as they go through life. I wish I had been taught that lesson earlier in life, but I was not. Nevertheless, I know it now and spread the word to everyone I know that you need to get moving and get active!

Finally, as for those mothers who choose to breast feed your children, the study could neither confirm or deny if that had any effect on the possibility of their child eventually becoming obese.

So what can we take from this study? Children are more susceptible to becoming obese if they sit around watching television all day, scarfing down sugar-loaded, carbohydrate-filled snacks and tossing and turning all night. On the other hand, you can encourage your children to become physically active, eat low-carb foods and sleep through the night (if they're getting a lot of exercise and laying off the sugar, this should not be a problem!).

What better reason do you have to start livin' la vida low-carb today than that?