Prevention and treatment of childhood obesity starts at home. Read on to learn how you can change unhealthy behavior and design a healthy environment for your family.
Childhood obesity occurs because the child may be eating too much and not doing enough exercise. Therefore, he/she should start eating healthy foods and increase his/her physical activity. But, it might be a tough task for the child to go it alone. Therefore, it is advisable that the entire family adopts healthier habits for treating and preventing childhood obesity.
Change Family Behavior
Adopt the following useful hints to enable your family to make small but effective changes in lifestyle.
Start Small
Do the changes gradually for lasting effect. Start by switching off the television while eating meals. Move from soda to water or skim milk. Ensure the entire family goes for a walk after dinner.
Set Goals
Set a small, realistic goal for each member of the family. Your child’s goal may be to consume fruits as an afternoon snack. Your goal could be to take brisk walks a few times during a week. The family goal could be to reduce fast-food consumption to once each month.
Recognize Triggers
Recognize situations that could make you revert to old habits. For example, you may be used to gorging popcorn at the cinema. So, when you next go for a movie, share popcorn with your family, instead of buying separate cartons for each member.
Celebrate Success
Rewards can increase motivation. So, if you child meets his agreed goal, offer him/her attention and praise. If a family goal is met successfully, celebrate it by going to the pool, a picnic or a movie night out.
Keep It Positive
Keep the focus on adopting a healthy lifestyle. Disregard your child’s looks and his/her weight. Dealing with childhood obesity shouldn’t be a race. Dedication and time are required to convert to a healthy lifestyle and to abort established behavior.
Be Flexible
It will take some time to change to new, healthy habits. But, if the goals are not working, do not be shy to make adjustments. Do not stick to a plan that is clearly not suitable or not working. Improvise and design a new plan, that might be more suitable for your family.
