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4 Practical suggestions to help your children lose weight
Suggestion 1 : Encourage your kids to make changes to their general lifestyle
Suggestion 2 : Encourage them to become more physically active
Suggestion 3 : Make it easy for them to eat healthily
Suggestion 4 : Set a good example for them, yourself
Suggestion 1 : Encourage your kids to make changes to their general lifestyle
1. Less television
- Several studies have found a strong link between obesity and time spent watching TV. This isn't surprising.
- We burn fewer calories watching TV than we do sitting still.
TV commercials urge viewers to eat.
The average American child sees 10,000 TV commercials a year. Approx 9,500 of these are for one of four types of food: fast foods, soft drinks, sugar-coated cereals and candy.
- Too much TV is bound to prevent kids from developing the skills and love of sports that make physical activity so enjoyable.
- Playing computer games may be worse than simply watching TV. Not only can they become addictive, but they can be played all day and all night.
2. Less television for parents too
We parents rely on TV to amuse our kids. Then we get upset when our kids get fat. The moral? We have to take a greater interest in our kids and their activities. This doesn't mean we have to entertain our kids from morning till night. But we have to get 'involved'.
- We should encourage our older kids to read, do something creative or participate in school or community sports and activities.
- We should set aside more time to play with our younger kids.
- We should set an example by talking to our kids about different things, in the hope that we can interest and inspire them to undertake new activities and projects.
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Suggestion 2 : Encourage them to become more physically active
Suggestion 3 : Make it easy for them to eat healthily
Suggestion 4 : Set a good example for them, yourself
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