Eating is one of the greatest pleasures in life, but as with everything we like and enjoy doing, we can lose control; therefore, the risk of...
I have a very close friend who will undergo a gastric bypass operation in the next few days. When I met him 19 years ago, he was a slim, active boy with a prosperous future; now, his life is at risk due to his bad eating habits derived from anxiety and monotony.
It can happen to all of us: a season of sedentary life, a job that forces you to sit for a long time, a problem from which you can't find a way out, little or no time to exercise or eat healthy; and you will end up depending on fast food. Here you have the recipe to gain a few extra kilos until you own terrible obesity.
Since when do you start to acquire healthy eating habits?
According to experts, good eating habits are learned at home and since we are children. The way we feed ourselves and take care of ourselves as adults depends on how our parents educate us about it.
But you are wrong if you think that it is limited only to teaching children to eat a little of everything. That education includes the correct way to eat and hydrate, and how a child should behave at the table. All these things influence, incredible as it may seem, the nutritional health of people at any age.
obesity in children
The issue of obesity is something that has alerted all government agencies in the world. Every day there are new laws that put taxes on sugary drinks to reduce their consumption; fast food ads and campaigns about healthy eating and exercise are fought over in the media, bombarding us everywhere; but is this really impacting the right audience?
To be honest, I believe that much of the overweight in children is the fault of the parents and not the fast-food chains or supermarkets that sell ready meals.
The problem is much more severe than you think. First of all, like my friend, many children take refuge in food to console themselves for the absence of their parents, or the family problems that arise within their homes; Yes, even if you insist on denying it, your son realizes everything that happens at home.
The second reason is that parents turn to the easiest thing to feed their families: fast food. How? simple, many children and adolescents spend a lot of time alone at home; Thus, they resort to what is easiest for them: grab what they find to eat from the cupboard or the fridge, and when their parents are at home, the solution is to order something from home that saves them the trouble of getting up to cook.
The main issue is that parents leave home for hours to work, in addition to this they do not teach their children to eat fruit and vegetables or drink enough water; thus, they completely omit proper eating times and do not take advantage of the little time they are at home to eat as a family; instead, they let children eat in their room or in front of the television or computer, habits that isolate them, make them sedentary and also make them fat.
How to reverse the situation
It may mean sacrificing a bit as a parent, but your children's nutritional health is worth the sacrifice. Here you can find some points that will help you take part in the care and health of your children
an active life
It is enough that they make the effort to organize their schedules and do some sport for at least 1 hour every 3 days.
Things like going for a run in the company of your children and your pet, going for a walk, riding a bike on the weekends, will give a change to your lives.
Make mealtime family time
They must both work, I can understand that, but nothing should take away their children's right to have them as active figures in their lives.
Prepare a meal, no matter how simple, and eat as a family; this is a good time to ask them about the school, their problems, their likes, show interest in their lives (which are no less important than yours)
Teach them to eat everything
From infants, it is important to teach them to eat fruit, vegetables, and water. It is not necessary to force them, just have a colorful menu on their plate and let them eat alone.
In case he doesn't want to eat, tell him that it is what he will have to eat the rest of the day, but if he eats it he will have an incentive. Don't force him; My mom said: "Hunger will make you eat", it's true.
It is not about restricting desserts or drinks, it is about eating them, but calmly, without stuffing yourself to the point of boredom. If you choose to force him to eat what he doesn't want and hide what he wants from him, because what you are going to generate in him are serious eating problems, I don't think you want that.
Avoid pre-cooked or fast food as much as possible and even bagged and canned food
Don't buy things like ice cream, french fries, hamburger meat, and that sort of thing at your monthly market. Instead buy fruit and cut it into chunks if your child is young so they can grab and eat, or have cut apples, bananas, pears, papaya, and pineapple in the fridge for them to snack on while you get home.
Taking care of what your family eats is protecting their future and happiness, never forget it.
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