Fighting the flab

Jan 9 2009 by Andrew Baldwin, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

KIRKLEES Council’s physical activity development team has unveiled a programme to fight child obesity.

The intentions are great – but it is up to all of us to ensure our offspring don’t get to the stage where they need help.

About a quarter of children are classed as obese, a dramatic indication of the scale of the problem.

As youngsters develop into adults, the serious health consequences – such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and stroke – place an enormous burden on the health services.

It is also a startling fact that obesity vastly increases the risk of dementia, a condition for which there is no cure.

The new MEND campaign is laudable and we echo the plea for families to take the chance to improve their health with this fantastic free course.

Home is where the fight has to begin.

In our industrialised society, we have become heavily reliant on convenience and the likelihood of a healthy, home-cooked meal every night has drastically decreased.

If we want the children in this country to lose weight, we must wean them off fast food – and it’s vital that mum and dad lead the way by cooking at least quick and easy meal recipes.

In addition, we need to encourage children not to be couch potatoes.

The saturation of video games and other technology-driven toys has led children to become sedentary, which only increases the probability they will become obese.

Parents should limit the time kids spend playing video games and should also encourage their kids to get out and play.

A child doesn’t have to take part in sports, but must be taught that exercising is important to stay healthy.

We, as adults, must make it our duty to put a little effort into improving the health of this country’s children.