I just read an article that talks about the need to address the obesity in children as young as two years old…or sooner! The idea behind the article is that many of the programs and advocates out there are targeting children 8 years old and older, but this is too late. I would tend to agree with that notion, but starting at any time is better than never starting, wouldn’t you agree?
Another idea behind the article, and one that I tend to get on my soap box and preach about regularly, is that the parents, not the children, should be focusing on health and weight management issues. This is especially true of women that are pregnant or want to become pregnant. There is actually a show on TV that talked about women that didn’t know they were pregnant because they were too large! Doesn’t that seem absurd?!? Obviously that is an issue that needs to be addressed, but that is an extreme case of parents having no regard for their health, let alone the health of their babies.
In my, and doctors, opinions, women should begin to address their weight, eating, and lifestyle habits long before they become pregnant. This way you will set the tone for the pregnancy, and also the years to come. Remember that a child’s brain develops more in the first five years of life than throughout the rest of his or her life. This means they begin to pick up on very important aspects of living: motor skills, speech and communication, basic social interactions, and even eating habits. If mommy and daddy are busy stuffing their faces with Twinkies, ding-dongs, sugary cereal, pizza, and the like, guess what junior is going to learn? I hope that this is common sense and you get the point.
If you want to read the original article that spawned this posting, please click here.
