It is a fact that our children and getting taller with each generation. Unfortunately, they are also getting wider and this is down to a number of elements conspiring to produce even more generations of overweight, unhappy kids.
In the early part of this Century, children were 'seen and not heard' a great deal of the time. There was no such thing as kids' television; such entertainments, when they came along, were reserved for the pleasure and gratification of adults. After school, kids were sent outside to play in the streets and in the woods, where they raced off whatever calories they had consumed during the day.
'Playing outside' prompted all kinds of innovative games which stimulated children's' imaginations and provided hours of exercise. Kids built tree houses, played tag, plodged in puddles and generally exhausted themselves. Now, our children come home from school and immediately glue themselves to a television screen or perhaps a computer console, where they snack continuously, both before and after supper, until bedtime.
With such a sedentary regime, it is not surprising that our kids are blobbing their way into adolescence. Another unfortunate aspect of out children's' lifestyle is that adults are no longer able to dedicate time to correcting their children's' routine. Both parents are usually employed full time in the modern world and few have a traditional 'Mum stays at home' arrangement. Kids left to their own devices will do what they want - and what they want is to sit in front of a screen and eat chips and candy!
In the communities we live in, it is most ill advised to allow children to play outside unsupervised. Even 'safe' environments such as parks or designated playgrounds might still be prey to child molesters or abductors, therefore supervision is the only solution open to responsible parents, bringing back the same old problem of not having enough time to sit on the sidelines while the kids get their quota of physical exercise each day.
The answer is a controlled diet, of course, but even such a simple solution requires strict supervision if it is to be successful.
After school physical exercise is important, combined with controlled eating. Many schools are now introducing activities within the school environment to combat weight gain and just about any Phys Ed teacher will help with a healthy eating programme if required.
Child Obesity and Sedentary Lifestyles