Month: May 2012

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Weight Loss Exercise

Effects of Childhood Obesity



Childhood obesity rates are now at alarmingly high levels, with almost one out of five children and adolescents being obese.  This health concern does not bode well for society today, as scientists believe that the current generation of children may be the first to have a lifespan shorter than that of their parents.  High blood pressure, breathing problems, and type 2 diabetes are just a few of the negative effects of childhood obesity.

How is Obesity in Children Measured?

Body mass index is the best method to determine if an individual is obese or overweight.  In children, BMI is determined using the child’s height and weight.  The child’s weight status is determined using his or her age and sex.  The method is different from that used for adults because a child’s body composition varies with age, and between boys and girls.

Health Effects of Childhood Obesity

Obesity in children can have a number of harmful effects.  Children who are overweight or obese can suffer from:

  • High blood pressure
  • High cholesterol level
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Sleep apnea
  • Asthma
  • Dyspepsia or gastro-esophageal reflux (heartburn)
  • Liver problems

Effects of Childhood Obesity

Effects of Childhood Obesity

Many of the diseases mentioned above used to affect adults only, but with the increasing rates of childhood obesity more and more children now suffer from these diseases.  Obese children are likely to suffer from type 2 diabetes as a consequence of insulin resistance or insulin deficiency.

Obese children are also likely to have high cholesterol levels and hypertension (high blood pressure).  These medical disorders are risk factors for cardiovascular disease.  Likewise, obesity can cause breathing problems such as asthma or sleep apnea.  Overly obese children and adolescents can also suffer from metabolic disorders, liver disease, gallstones and joint problems.

Psychological and Emotional Effects of Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity can have damaging psychological and emotional effects on children who are at a vulnerable age.  Obese children are often teased and bullied by their peers, and can suffer from social discrimination and low self-esteem.  As a consequence, they may react by misbehaving or becoming anti-social.

In a society that places great importance on being thin, beautiful and athletic, obese children are often socially ostracized and bullied.  They can suffer from anxiety and as a result do poorly in school.

Health Risks in the Future

Obese children are more likely to grow into obese adults in the future.  In addition, they can also suffer from weight-related problems much sooner.  As a consequence of childhood obesity, people can have a heart attack as early as their 30′s or 40′s.  Childhood obesity also leads to diabetes as well as some forms of cancer in adults.

What You Can Do Now

The obesity rate is now at a level where it has become a major contributor to chronic disease and disability worldwide.  The level is highest in developed countries, where obesity is now recognized as a grave concern to public health.  A healthy and balanced diet can help control obesity.  Children must be encouraged to engage in regular exercise and physical activity.  The effects of childhood obesity are too serious to be ignored.  In severe cases, medical care may be required and treatments such as liposuction or stomach bypass surgery may have to be considered.

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Weight Loss Exercise

Causes of Childhood Obesity



Strictly speaking, there is only one causes of childhood obesity, and that is consuming more calories than the body can burn each day.  However, there are certain factors that increase the risk of your child becoming obese.  It’s important to take the necessary steps to decrease these risk factors in order to avoid health problems that may arise from obesity.

There are many factors that cause obesity in children and adolescents.  Oftentimes, these factors work in combination to increase the risk of your child becoming overweight.  Below are some of the causes of childhood obesity.

Causes of Childhood Obesity

Environmental Factors – Environmental factors play a huge role in childhood obesity.  American families often eat out, and more often than not, they eat fast food that is high in fats and calories but lacking in nutrition.  Sugary drinks and energy-dense convenience foods like cookies and chips are readily available while wholesome, healthy foods are less accessible and oftentimes more expensive.  Portion sizes are larger than they used to be, so that people tend to eat more without realizing it.

Causes of Childhood Obesity

Kids Need Exercise

Children these days do not get enough physical activities.  They spend too much time using entertainment media such as television, video games, computers and movies.  TV viewing is a major cause of childhood obesity because it discourages physical activity.  In addition, it can lead to increased food intake through snacking and eating in front of the TV.  Television commercials also encourage children to make unhealthy food choices.

Genetics/Family History – Another factor that can cause childhood obesity is genetics.  A child that comes from a family of overweight people is more likely to put on extra weight, too.  While genetics plays an important role in childhood obesity, family factors also have a significant impact particularly if these factors include eating too much without getting enough exercise.  Dietary and lifestyle habits within the family contribute to childhood obesity.

Socioeconomic Factors – Children from low-income backgrounds, including lower level of education,  are more likely to become obese.  Healthy eating and exercise is difficult for families with limited time and resources.  High-calorie processed foods are often cheaper and more readily available than fresh fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods.  Families with low socioeconomic status may also have limited access to safe recreational places, thus making it difficult to participate in sports and physical activities.  However, recent studies into obesity show that the rate of childhood obesity among high- income groups is now on the rise.

Psychological Factors – Some people, including children, are “stress eaters”.  They overeat in order to handle stress or deal with negative emotions.  There are also people who eat to fight boredom.

Medications – Certain drugs can cause obesity in children, such as steroids and antidepressants.  Children who are taking medications for a psychiatric condition or seizure disorder may gain excess weight.  These drugs cause weight gain by stimulating the appetite or slowing down the body’s metabolism so that it burns calories more slowly.  In some cases, the medication may cause the body to retain water.

The CDC has a great page on their plan over the last few years to try and stop these causes of childhood obesity

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Weight Loss Exercise

How to lose 20 pounds in a month



For many people knowing how to lose 20 pounds in a month would be a dream. Put that dream right in front of you because I am saying that there are ways that you can lose 20 pounds in a month.

To get started on any weight loss goal is easy but you need a strategy and tactics in place to know how to lose 20 pounds in a month. Your strategy towards any goal is the broad strokes, the big concepts that are important. Here is your weight loss strategy

Increase your resting metabolism
Reduce your calorie intake
Quickly burn calories during cardio and weight workouts

Now that you have a strategy to lose 20 pounds in a month so now you need the tactics that will make it a reality. You need radical changes to lose 5 pounds a week.

How to lose 20 pounds in a month

How to lose 20 Pounds in a Month

Your tactics are the individual things that will make your dream work out for you.

How to lose 20 pounds – Eating Tactics

Plan your eating the day before – If you plan your eating the night before then you are not going to have to worry about getting into a struggle of eating these crappy foods and instead will know what you are going to eat when.

Eat 5 or 6 small meals a day – This is going to help you to raise your metabolism. When you eat often you are sending a message to your body that you are not going to starve and that you will always have enough to eat.

Have leftovers a lot to make it easier to eat good food – If you make giant helpings of meals then you will have lots of leftovers to choose from. One of the problems that I always hear from people is that they are worried that if they have to eat really often then they will spend their whole life preparing meals. this is just not at all the case.

Eat meals that are small – One thing that drives me crazy is how we allow our bodies to waste food. It is hard to find a steak smaller than 8 ounces in a restaurant but did you know that your body has almost no way for digesting and using more than 4 ounces of that steak?

Eat lots of fiber – Fiber will increase metabolism and make you healthier by cleaning out toxins.

Drink lots of water – Who cares what the so called experts say. Water makes your metabolsim faster and makes you feel great

How to lose 20 pounds – Exercise Tactics

Exercise twice a day – One 20 minutes workout in the morning and another one in the evening.

Do weights once every second day – Getting muscle will help your body burn more fat. The muscle takes a lot of calories to maintain while fat takes nearly none.

Split your cardio workouts between high and low intensity – High intensity to burn a lot of carbs off and low intensity to finish of the fat hanging around

Cardio is 20 minutes of hard cardio – Hard cardio is defined as keeping your heartrate up around 80% of your max. This will raise your metabolism for a long time 12 – 24 hours.

Walking or casual exercise can be an hour long – This is a great way to burn fat as you can exercise low impact by walking for an hour.

Weights should be basic exercises – Basic exercises are things like squats, bench presses, lunges, military presses. These exercises work a lot of muscle groups at once.

Healing between workouts is most important – Now that you are working out it is a good idea to get a lot of rest and sleep so that your body can recover. Your body only recovers when you are sleeping or at least resting.

There are no guarantees of course that you will lose 20 pounds in a month but just look at this plan of attack. Is this different than you are doing now? Are these new lifestyle changes possible for you? It is all up to you to see what radical changes that you can make in your life and what they will lead to. Good luck in your quest and at the very least you now know how to lose 20 pounds in a month.

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