With September being Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, our team at SuperFit Foods wanted to equip you with knowledge on this growing epidemic.
According to the CDC, obesity affects about 13.7 million children and adolescents in the United States alone. Data reveals that nearly 1 in 5 school-aged and young individuals in the United States suffers from obesity. While the overall prevalence has decreased since 2010, childhood obesity continues to be a serious issue. Childhood obesity greatly increases the risk of your child developing chronic diseases such as heart disease or diabetes, as well as an increase in stress, sadness, and low self-esteem.
What Causes Childhood Obesity?
There are many reasons as to why a child may become overweight or obese – yet the most common causes are genetics, lack of physical activity, or unhealthy eating patterns. As technology becomes more prevalent, children spend less time outside or being physically active inevitably increasing a child’s risk of obesity.
Tips for Keeping Your Child’s Diet Healthy
In addition to motivating physical activity with your children, you must promote a healthy and balanced diet. When we say “diet”, we are saying to “calorie-count” or deprive your kid’s from their favorite snacks, but merely monitor what they are eating. Below are a few tips we recommend:
Parents Control the Supply Lines
Since parents are the head of the household, they essentially decide which foods to buy. If a kid is hungry between meals, they’ll eat whatever is in the fridge or pantry – so, stock your shelves with healthy snacks (granola bars, whole-wheat crackers, etc.) and put the less healthy items in a hidden spot that aren’t easily accessed by the kids.
Don’t force them to “clean their plates.”
By not allowing your child to leave the table until their plate is “clean,” you are not allowing them to listen to their bodies when they feel full. When kids realize they are full and correctly respond to this, they’ll be less likely to overeat.
Kids do what you do!
When you eat healthily, you are promoting healthy eating to your child – even if you don’t realize it.
Hype up dinner, not dessert.
While occasional sweets are okay, we don’t recommend convincing your child to finish their meal to be rewarded with dessert. This can cause kids to value their sweets more than their veggies, instead, treat the two as equals.
SuperFit Food’s Solution
We wanted to provide you with an easy solution to prevent obesity in your kids or to assist them in reaching their healthy weight goal.
Our “Lunch Box” plans are catered just for kids between the ages of 3 to 9 (in reality, anyone can get this plan if they like the macros more). These fun, affordable, convenient, and healthy meals consist of three ounces of carbs, three ounces of protein, one-fourth cup of vegetables, and many more “kid-friendly” menu items at just 250-300 calories per meal.
Get your kid(s) started on this fantastic and wholesome meal plan, by visiting the link: orders.superfitfoods.co/