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How Weight Loss Programs Affect Child Obesity

Weight loss programs for children are gaining more and more popularity since the rise of child obesity all around the world. Now that we are entering a new decade of the childhood obesity scourge, obesity has become one of the biggest health threats that face our youngsters today. Well developed countries are greatly affected by this epidemic. Studies show that this generation of children may be the first to have a shorter life expectancy compared to their parents.

Large amounts of money, billions to be exact, are already spent trying to fight this deadly epidemic. Numerous federal, state, and local governments and non-profit organizations and foundations have embarked on programs to combat child obesity. These are divided into two categories; the first category is to try to get rid of unhealthy food in our children’s schools. Making their lunches a bit healthier and getting rid of junk food and sodas will have great effects on their health. In addition, making neighborhoods pedestrian friendly will encourage children to walk to school, giving them more chances to exercise.

The second category is all about awareness and prevention campaigns. Educating parents and their kids about the facts regarding obesity and teaching them what they can do to improve their eating habits and lifestyle may help prevent childhood obesity or obesity in general. Showing parents and children how they can increase their physical activity may also be of great help in preventing and combating childhood obesity.

Both types of government initiatives are well-intended; however, neither one of those plans has proven to be, in any way, effective at guiding the millions of kids who are overweight or obese to return to a more healthy weight and avoid health risks that will likely affect them as they become obese adults. A report by the Associated Press in 2007 stated that although the U.S. federal government has spent a billion dollars on education-based programs, just three of those government programs had some impact on children’s eating habits. Sadly, none of those had any effect on the body mass index (BMI) of the children in those programs.

Come to think of it, it makes great sense. Most overweight kids and obese adults know how instrumental it is to eat healthy. Most of them also know how important it is to be physically active to stay fit. The problem is they just don’t do it. It doesn’t matter what kind of activities you provide to these people, if they are not willing to help themselves, there’s nothing you can do about it. Living a healthy lifestyle requires choice and commitment. You have to choose and commit to take care of your weight. The challenge here is how we motivate people to change their unhealthy lifestyle. Weight loss activities are readily available; the question is how we get these overweight children to commit to a healthy lifestyle.