With childhood obesity such a problem in America, it is no wonder that many people have started placing importance on diet and exercise in children. Even corporations are getting in on the action. Cereal makers have started reducing the amount of sugar in their cereals. Cartoon television channels encourage kids to get up and move around between shows or during commercial breaks. Some commercials even encourage kids to get out from in front of the television and go outside to play, although these usually only air after cartoons for their age group are ended for the morning.
The point is that everyone is jumping on the bandwagon to stress the importance of good diet and exercise in children. However, many people do not fully understand why this is so important. After all, most kids are not obese, and do not have to worry about gaining weight at a young age. Why should they be forced to eat only healthy foods and to get exercise?
The answer is quite simple. Obesity as a whole is on the rise in America, as well as in other parts of the world. It is very difficult for many obese people to change their ways and go on a diet and exercise regimen because they have never done so. If you train children early on in life to have a healthy lifestyle, it will stick with them into adulthood. This will greatly decrease their chances of becoming obese in the future.
It is not necessarily as much about increasing their health now, as it is about increasing their health for a lifetime. It is true that many kids are just fine, some are even overly thin, but that doesn’t mean they will always be that way. If a child has even one relative that is obese, chances are they will find it much easier to gain weight that others when they hit their teens or early twenties. It is important to teach them good diet and exercise habits now so that you don’t have to worry about them in the future. Besides, if you teach them healthy habits now, they will never have the chance to miss the things that they went without like extra chocolates and sweets. It will simply have never been a way of life for them.
