Over 200 million school children worldwide are either overweight or obese. This is as per a recent joint-survey done by the International Association for the Study of Obesity (IASO) and International Obesity Task Force (IOTF). In India, the obesity percentage for a five-year-old to a 19-year-old age ranges from 3.6 per cent to 11.7 per cent. Their study also adds a worrying figure. By 2025, there will be over 17 million obese children in India alone.

Now, if you are thinking, “So what if my child is obese? They will burn it all off. All this is puppy fat, they will grow out of it”. The main issue with this mentality is that around 50 per cent of these children will grow up to be obese adults. And most of them will have to resort to crash diets and unhealthy habits to compensate for all the years of abusing their body. Even before your child reaches their adulthood, they are prone to health ailments such as diabetes, sleep apnea, cardiovascular and heart diseases, weaker bones and respiratory problems, to name a few.

At Fitbee, we have identified a few important reasons that lead to obesity in a child and will also help you with some of the means to fight this ailment, and keep your child fit.

The main reason for obese in a child is urbanisation (sedentary lifestyle) and the access to inexpensive fast food. The other factors are psycho-social, familial parental education/ occupation, epigenetic.

Now, let’s move to the solution part. How do we raise fit children?

1. Get them habituated to an active lifestyle and a fitness program that they can connect to. Get them to play at least one sport and get them working out 45 to 60 minutes a day.
2. We will need to change our food habits in order to help raise a fit child. For starters, cookie jars need to be replaced with fruit bowls. Aerated drinks and tetra packed juices need to go. Fresh juice and smoothies should be regularly consumed. Deep fried snacks and junk will have to make way for low-calorie snacks and salad bowls. All this will take time and effort and a lot of persuasion, but trust me, this is the best way forward.
3. In a world that lives out of boxes and suitcases, we tend to skip breakfast due to lack of time. This habit has to be discontinued right away. Skipping breakfast is also a contributor to obesity. Cereal bowls topped with fresh fruits and plant seeds are a good option if you don’t have time to cook.
4. Try cooking with your children. They take pride in being helpers. While at it, let them add more colors to their plate. One of the few good things to come out of the global pandemic is that a lot of the families are eating at home with no access to junk food. Make this a habit that the kids can retain for the rest of their lives.

With three balanced meals, a child has earned the right to munch on a bowl of snacks. But don’t treat food as a reward. Make them drink a lot of water and keep them hydrated.

One of our main programs at Fitbee is designing programs to make children healthy. Whether they are underweight, obese, short or unfit, we have the best customised programs to get your child into the best and optimum shape of their lives.

Reach out to us on +91 630 277 2114 or hello@fitb.ee for any questions you may have.