Obesity in children

Virginie Bales August 1, 2014 Kids, Weight Loss

According to WHO (World Health Organization), obesity has doubled worldwide since the 1980s and now affects 35% of adults, and 7% of children.

30% of kids in America are obese as against 27% in Portugal and 15% in France.

The governments of the most affected countries are trying implement measures designed to curb this explosion of obesity and excess weight.

The first step, taken largely by several governments including the White House with a campaign by Michele Obama, concerns television:

British researchers analyzed 82 hours of children’s programmes for 5 days: They found that every 4 minutes, there is a reference to food that lasts about 13 seconds!

It is also apparent from this study that high sugar foods are displayed in festive and friendly atmospheres, and are most often associated with rewards that will directly influence the eating habits of children.

These changes in eating habits have a lasting and harmful impact. However, at birth, we all know when we are hungry and when we are not anymore. Unfortunately such effective signals are regularly disturbed by various factors:

• parents and their “finish what’s on your plate”, “don’t eat this”, “don’t eat that”…
• manufacturers who include additives (such as glutamate) or tantalizing scents in their products…
• advertisers singing praises about this or that food through focused visual hype,
• malicious “professionals” who advocate very restrictive slimming diets that totally ignore individual physiologies and foster resulting feelings of deprivation and compulsive compensation.

Conclusion: the extra pounds keep piling on, leading to often-disastrous effects on the health and morale.

5 tips from of Virginie Bales:

Since there exist many reasons for being overweight, it follows that there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to permanently lose weight.

Analyse and revise your health practices from a holistic point of view.

1. Get involved in a physical activity: this doesn’t necessarily mean hitting the gym; it could simply be walking, climbing stairs or playing with your kids. The key is regularity!
2. Eat a balanced diet, one that is in tune with your body’s requirements: you could consult a dietitian for help or simply choose SOSCuisine’s weight loss menus.
3. Follow a natural diet, i.e. the least processed possible by the food industry, which ignores our healthy balance.
4. Manage your stress: the latter will directly affect your diet by encouraging compulsive habits.

Author

Virginie Bales

An accredited member of the French Association of Dieticians and Nutritionists which she was the Vice President for 4 years, Virginia is passionate about psychology and its impact on eating behaviours. Also an expert in nutrition coaching with a special interest in childhood obesity, Virginia specializes in the nutritional management of patients with renal failure and type I diabetes.