Children Obesity and Heart Health
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014Child weight health and obesity
Simple carbs like bread and corn may not look like sugar on your plate, but in our body, that is what they arte converted to when digested. A bagel is not any different than a bag of candy to your body.
Research suggests that it is the over consumption of carbohydrates sugar and sweeteners that is mainly responsible for the epidemic of obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Refined carbohydrates like those in wheat bread, crackers,pasta cause changes in our blood chemistry that encourages the body to store the calories as fat and intensify hunger, and makes losing weight a difficult task.
The sugars stimulate the production of insulin, which cause fat cells to go into storage overdrive, leading to weight gain. Since fewer calories are left to fuel the body, we start to feel hungry, and metabolism begins to slow in an effort to save energy. We eat more and gain more weight, never feeling full.
The rise in obesity in youth and teens over the past few decades is not only from refined carbohydrates messing with our body and metabolism. There is evidence that processing itself raises the danger posed by food.
A 2010 study that reviewed all other studies on fat concluded that there was no significant evidence that saturated fat is associated with an increase in cardiovascular disease. Another study concluded thst current evidence does not support low consumption of saturated fats or high consumption of the polyunstaturated fats that are often considered heart healthy. More research is needed.
Increasing daily exercise is also important for a child’s physical and mental health. If a child is overweight there self esteem and social interactions will possibly impacted and mood will also be affected . Parents can set limited on : video games, tv, internet, smart phone, you tube and more. Children can do homework, read, and exercise before accessing electronics if parents set limits and boundaries with their children. In my opinion this is vital for physical, mental, and emotional health for your child and teen now and for their future. Exercise is one of the best natural mood regulators. Parents can model exercise daily: walking after dinner, running, going to the gym, and being active.