{"id":2069,"date":"2023-08-14T11:08:09","date_gmt":"2023-08-14T11:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/?page_id=2069"},"modified":"2026-02-05T16:55:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T16:55:27","slug":"raising-healthy-kids-unveiling-the-truth-during-childhood-obesity-awareness-month","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/raising-healthy-kids-unveiling-the-truth-during-childhood-obesity-awareness-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Raising Healthy Kids: Unveiling the Truth During Childhood Obesity Awareness Month"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Children need to eat enough nutrients for proper growth and development. Still, child obesity in America has become a more significant problem in recent years. According to the latest estimates, the US childhood obesity rate is at 19.7%, which means that nearly one in three kids or adolescents are obese or overweight.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The statistics on childhood obesity aren\u2019t promising, but fortunately, there are several effective options for treating <\/span><a href=\"\/pemc-florida\/obesity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">obesity in kids<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Also, parents may implement several valuable approaches to prevent their children from gaining too much weight. In this article, the expert team at the <\/span><a href=\"\/pemc-florida\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pediatric Endocrine and Metabolic Center of Florida <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">has compiled a list of what parents can do to prevent childhood obesity from becoming a trend in their family and ensure that their child grows up to be a healthy adult without any chronic diseases.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Parents and The US Childhood Obesity Rate<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2072\" src=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2023\/09\/Teenage-Girl-Biting-into-An-Apple.jpg\" alt=\"Teenage Girl Biting into An Apple\" width=\"1000\" height=\"664\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2023\/09\/Teenage-Girl-Biting-into-An-Apple-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2023\/09\/Teenage-Girl-Biting-into-An-Apple-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2023\/09\/Teenage-Girl-Biting-into-An-Apple-400x266.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2023\/09\/Teenage-Girl-Biting-into-An-Apple-600x398.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2023\/09\/Teenage-Girl-Biting-into-An-Apple-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2023\/09\/Teenage-Girl-Biting-into-An-Apple-800x531.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2023\/09\/Teenage-Girl-Biting-into-An-Apple.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Parents play a pivotal role in setting an excellent example for their dietary habits. When a child is inactive and overeats, the excess energy doesn\u2019t get used up but gets stored as fat in the body, which may lead to unhealthy weight gain and, ultimately, being overweight or even obese.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On that note, the US childhood obesity rate isn\u2019t just an unfavorable statistic; it also poses several health-related questions and concerns. Obesity in children and being overweight may lead to childhood diabetes and hypertension. Also, if children don\u2019t learn to manage their weight and form healthier eating habits, they may face even more health complications and chronic health problems as adults.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Key Statistics on Childhood Obesity<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Between 2017 and 2018, approximately 19.3% of children aged two to 19 years old, equivalent to around 14.4 million children in the United States, were impacted by childhood obesity (CDC, 2021).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">During the COVID-19 pandemic, children in the 2-19 age group experienced a roughly twofold increase in the rate of BMI growth compared to the period preceding the pandemic (CDC, 2021).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2021, 12.7% of children between the years two and five were obese in the US.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">22.3% of children aged between 12 and 19 were obese in 2021.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The US childhood obesity rate suggests that boys are more likely to be obese between the ages of five and 19.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hispanic children have the most pronounced obesity prevalence in the US, with 26.2%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Asian-American children had an obesity prevalence of only 9%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Obesity prevalence in black children was 24.8%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Obesity in non-Hispanic white children was 16.6%,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Regarding socioeconomic status and the US childhood obesity rate, as the head of the household\u2019s level of education increases, obesity prevalence in children decreases.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Childhood obesity is associated with a grim, threefold greater mortality risk in early adulthood.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While childhood obesity direct healthcare costs were $14 billion in 2014, experts estimate that this will reach $45 billion by 2050,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It is estimated that the childhood obesity rate in the US has reached epidemic levels and can be considered a public health crisis.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>What Can Parents Do to Decrease Childhood Obesity In America?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Parents can set a healthy example for their children; their role is essential in helping their children adopt a healthy lifestyle. Several studies have confirmed that the parents\u2019 dietary choices have a direct influence on their children, meaning if the parent eats healthy, their kids will, too. On the other hand, if the parents opt for junk food and options with poor nutritional value, their kids will likely follow suit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since September is national childhood obesity awareness month, we will touch on a few effective strategies that can help parents combat childhood obesity and teach their children the foundation of healthy living.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Focus on The Right Proportion of Nutrients\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Use different guides that focus on consuming the right amount of nutrients with each meal. These guidelines also have recommendations on portion control, and using these rules for long enough will enable your child to develop long-term, healthy eating habits.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Still, it\u2019s important that parents also follow these healthy guidelines and take portion control recommendations seriously to help their child maintain a healthy weight or drop the excess pounds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Developing Healthy Eating Habits\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Creating healthy dietary habits can prevent and even reverse childhood obesity. As such, encourage your kids to:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eat a variety of foods.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gave several smaller meals throughout the day.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Replace refined grains with whole grains.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Help your child get into the routine of eating vegetables and fruits regularly.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Focus on protein-rich foods like legumes, eggs, lean meat, and fish, and prepare these foods with little sugar, oil, or salt.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Encourage the consumption of dairy products as they contribute to healthy growth and development.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Opt for healthy snacks low in sugar, fat, and salt.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ensure your child drinks enough fluids, with water being the go-to thirst-quencher. Also, steer clear of sweetened drinks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Prioritize home-cooked meals prepared healthily, steamed, boiled, grilled, or stir-fried instead of deep frying.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Offer your child healthier options when eating out.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Don\u2019t make any drastic changes all at once. Cut back on unhealthy food options gradually.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If your child chooses healthier options independently, don\u2019t forget to praise them for it.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Have meals together as a family as frequently as possible.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Set an example and opt for healthier choices yourself.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Help your child create a meal routine.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Be patient and persistent \u2013 forming healthier habits won\u2019t happen overnight. Often, you will have to use food as a reward and might have to combine healthier snacks with less healthy options and gradually remove the junk from their diet.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Introduce Physical Activity<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2071\" src=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2023\/09\/Veggies-on-a-Bathroom-Scale.jpg\" alt=\"Veggies on a Bathroom Scale\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2023\/09\/Veggies-on-a-Bathroom-Scale-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2023\/09\/Veggies-on-a-Bathroom-Scale-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2023\/09\/Veggies-on-a-Bathroom-Scale-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2023\/09\/Veggies-on-a-Bathroom-Scale-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2023\/09\/Veggies-on-a-Bathroom-Scale-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2023\/09\/Veggies-on-a-Bathroom-Scale-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2023\/09\/Veggies-on-a-Bathroom-Scale.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Physical inactivity and sedentary habits have been identified as significant contributors to childhood obesity. A case in point is the average daily screen time of approximately <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sph.nus.edu.sg\/2020\/02\/too-much-screen-time-for-young-children-may-lead-to-unhealthy-behaviours-growing-up\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">2.5 hours per child<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. As the appeal of computer and video games continues to grow, many of which are accessible on smartphones, it is probable that children will increasingly allocate their time to screen-based activities rather than engaging in physically active pursuits.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In their capacity as role models, parents play a crucial role in mitigating this trend by encouraging their children to enhance their physical activity through participation in sports or exercise regimens. Furthermore, parents are advised to lead by example, reducing their own sedentary activities such as prolonged television viewing or smartphone gaming. This proactive approach can contribute significantly to fostering a healthier and more active lifestyle for children.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>If You Need Expert Help<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The goal of these tips above is to help you create a supportive environment for your children to adopt healthy and sustainable eating habits. Of course, especially if losing excess weight is required, the shift toward a healthier and more active lifestyle may be more difficult, and it takes a lot of focus and determination both from the parent and the child to lose the extra weight. Still, being at a healthy weight grants children more freedom and more joy and grants them the most important thing of all: a ticket toward healthy adulthood.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On that note, if you need help getting started with your child\u2019s weight loss journey, feel free to contact our experts today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Children need to eat enough nutrients for proper growth and development. Still, child obesity in America has become a more significant problem in recent years. According to the latest estimates, the US childhood obesity rate is at 19.7%, which means that nearly one in three kids or adolescents are obese or overweight.\u00a0 The statistics on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2070,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"100-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-2069","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/pemc-florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}