Fast food

Ready to eat food items, we know as fast food are hugely popular today. Various restaurants and food joints serve delicious food items with relatively cheap prices which tempts consumers to try some. The biggest consumers of fast foods are obviously the children. They seem to love the idea of going out with their friends and parents. We often observe children persistently asking their parents to go out and have various kinds of fast foods rather than having homemade food. This is not unexpected because they are children and are more prone to the attractive advertisements of fast foods.

Fast Food and Child Obesity.

Fast foods are basically high on starch, sugar, salts and fats which is served in a large quantity in just a single serving. It is an agreed fact that children lead a very active lifestyle and they can digest the food high on fat. This is a common assumption that can be wrong at times, as children having a really active lifestyle are also observed to develop fat over large consumption of fast food. Hence, we can say that yes, fast food and child obesity do share a common link somewhere. But is it true? Is fast food good or bad for the health of your child?

Obesity, especially child obesity from fast food is the growing problem in the US today. The main culprit is actually hiding under the veil of yummy taste and low cost ‘happy meals’. Yes it’s the fast food that we cannot simply resist. A study says that nearly one-third of all American children, both boys and girls in the age group 4-19 eat fast food on a regular basis. The study also says that kids also gain weight up to 6 lbs per year on regular consumption of fast food. This is an astonishing fact that definitely needs a lot of attention.

Effects of Fast Food on Children.

Fast foods are really high on fats, sugar and calories than other food items; which makes them low on nutritional value. Fast food and childhood obesityВ are very much interrelated due to the popularity of the various fast food dishes. Children as well as their parents are not much aware of the following fast food facts.

Sugar.

High sugar levels make the children more prone to developing type 2 diabetes. Getting affected by diabetes at such an early age reduces or actually stops the insulin production in their body, which can be very harmful.

Fats.

Saturated fats in the fast food are really very harmful for the kid’s health, which leads to heightened levels of blood cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides, leading to many early age problems with respect to the heart health and many other cardiovascular diseases like dyslipidemia and coronary heart diseases.

Salt.

Excessive salt levels in fast food ultimately results in high blood pressure which leads to rupturing and cracking of the arteries and veins. To repair these blood vessels, the body accumulates lipoprotein and converts it into cholesterol that ultimately results in high cholesterol level in the blood.

Other Effects.

Children in their growing age need a lot of vitamin and iron. High consumption of fast food makes the children more prone to illnesses like loss of appetite, constipation, tiredness, fatigue, lack of concentration and diseases like anemia that are caused due to vitamin deficiencies. All these and more are caused by high consumption of fast food. Fast foods are very high on starch, which raises the food cravings of the children and as a result they eat more and thus gain more weight. High consumption of fast food makes the healthy foods like vegetables, fruits and other natural food to almost vanish from the daily diet of the children, which further results in the calcium deficiencies that affects the health of nails and teeth and.

Fast Food and Child Obesity: What can be Done?

Fast food causes obesity, which is the main reason making children more prone to illnesses, some of them being irreversible. As a result of obesity these children naturally get tired before the normal kids which makes them to stay at home and to perform less physical activities. Child obesity also develops inferiority complex in the children that aggravates the problem of obesity. What is the solution to stop all this? You can’t simply stop the kids from having the fast food items. What you can do is to explain the kids about the harmful effect of pizzas and burgers in the long run.

Try to make healthy and spicy dishes that your kid loves at home only. You can make almost all the fast food recipes with more healthy toppings like green pepper, onion and less amount of cheese. Cook food in a healthy way like roasting, grilling and broiling while cooking the meat and chicken. Try to include many of the delicious salads, fruits, green vegetables and cereals to the daily diet of your kid that will fulfill their dietary requirements and stop the unwanted food cravings. Encourage your kid to take active participation in the events like swimming, field sports and such more calorie burning activities and exercises that will keep them fit and healthy.

This was all about fast food and obesity in children. As we know, a little bit of everything is always good while overexposure to that ‘little bit’ is disastrous more often than not. Fast food is not an exception to this. Fast food and childhood obesityВ are very much interrelated until you try to hinder the need of your kid for fast food with food made by you with added spice of TLC. Take care!

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Pay attention to your child’s daily lifestyle just today, to prevent him/her from obesity in future.

Here are 3 proven ways to keep your children away from obesity:

For snack give children fruits and vegetables instead of bread.

Many parents do not pay attention to how much carbs their children consume throughout a day. Perhaps that is why the number of obese /overweight children is increasing more and more each year.

Practical tip:

So if you don’t want your baby/toddler to become obese, reduce his/her daily intake of carbs, particularly white bread.

For snacks, give your children fruits and vegetables, as well as dried fruits instead of bread, cake, or pie.

Reduce their daily intake of salt and sugar.

Salt and sugar are called as “white poison”. And not in vain! They are very harmful for every organism, especially for children. Overdose of sugar and salt lead to various serious diseases, including diabetes, obesity.

So if you want your child to be healthy and prevent from obesity/overweight, reduce the daily intake of salt and sugar. Do not forget that all natural foods, particularly fruits and vegetables contain the necessary amount of both sugar and salt.

Practical tip 1:
Try to use lemon juice instead of salt in salads and meals you make for your children.

Practical tip 2:
Use honey instead artificial sugar. Instead of sugar, chocolate or other sweet things, you may give your children dates for drinking with tea.

Do not allow them to watch TV or sit at a computer for hours.

Keep your children away from those TV and computer. Pay attention to how long they are spending in front of TV or PC every day.

It is a very important moment every parent should certainly take into consideration.

Studies show that children who are sitting in front of TV or PC for 5 or more hours a day are more likely to become obese than those who watch TV or play on PC less than 2 hours per day.

Practical tip:
Try to gradually reduce the time of watching TV or playing video games on PC. For example, start cutting 20-30 minutes every day. In this way, make your children get into a habit of sitting in front of TV or computer only for an hour or two per day.

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According to 2008 statistics by World Health Organisation over than 22 million children under the age of 5 are affected by obesity/overweight.

Why do children tend to gain weight more than before?

Perhaps their parents do not have enough knowledge about healthy eating tips to teach their children? Perhaps, they do know, but they cannot make their toddlers/children prevent unhealthy eating habits.

How can I keep my child from eating processed or fast foods, such as hamburger, chips, and so on?

The first important moment you should pay attention to is teaching your child healthy eating habits even from their first year. In this case, it will be much easier to achieve what you want and expect from them.

Here are 3 important healthy eating habits to prevent your child from obesity:

1. Try to keep your child from too much consuming bread, especially which you buy at stores.

One of the main reasons of obesity in children is eating too much bread.

But if he/she likes bread, then it would be better, if you could bake it from natural ingredients at home. Here is the recipe: whole grain + water + even germinating wheat. You may also add seedless grapes, dried apricots, etc. to make bread more tasteful and useful. Try not to add ingredients salt and/or sugar.

2. Always give your toddler healthy finger food.

Babies/Toddlers are always looking for something to put into their mouth. Some parents give their children various unhealthy foods to chew, for example butter-breads, bread, or fried potatoes, chicken and on.

First, try not to give any fried foods to your toddlers, as they are not rich in necessary nutrients after being fried for a while. It’d better to give them only baked/cooked foods.

Secondly, get your children eat more and more raw fruit and vegetables. Let them have a snack of such natural foods several times a day. For example, you may give them slices of banana, apple, or slightly cooked carrot, potato, beans, peas, etc.

3. Give your children sour milk before sleeping.

Pay attention especially to their meal they eat before going to bed. It is not recommended to feed them with high-calorie foods, such as meat, high fat cheese, etc. Instead, you may give them a bowl of sour milk added with fresh fruits and some curds.

In this way, your baby will get all the necessary nutrients his/her body needs and at the same time will sleep well, as sour milk has a calming effect.

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1. Top 3 healthy habits your children should get into to prevent obesity are the basic rules to be followed by your child.

Delete the use of fast foods meals. All products from McDonald’s, pies, donuts, pizza, sandwiches with sausage, sweet soft drinks (Coca-Cola, Fanta) – a fried dish with a high level of lipid peroxidation products of splitting. And often this food leads to obesity in children.

2. Particular attention is given to aspects like more time for leisure activities for children at the TV and for computer games. Factors that contribute to reducing the mobility of children. Studies have shown that attitudes to active lifestyles in children is formed as a mirror image of the behavior of their parents. If parents love to lie down in front of TV on the couch, ignoring the gym, then the children are unlikely to pursue active leisure time. Encourage your child as much as possible to move. Ideally there is an option sports. But if the child refuses, then they should at least make physical exercises, to go out there and ride a bike, playing with the ball. If possible, go with him on the street and spend time with him actively.

3. Work out in your child’s habit to give up sweet dough products. Let the child eat as many fruits, vegetables, drink juices, but diluted with mineral water. If he wants a sweet, then you can offer an alternative and to prepare for him a fruit or fruit jelly.

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