The influence of the environment on the overweight of children
The obesity It has become one of the great epidemics of today. The sedentary life more and more common in the new generations and a deficit diet is causing that the cases of overweight are more and more common. It is not surprising then that many parents worry about controlling the size of their children to avoid suffering the problems arising from this situation.
At this point, we must highlight the influence that the environment has on the obesity. The environment is a factor that must be taken into account when preventing this problem in homes as indicated Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine and in which it is explained how in some cases the overweight can be "contagious" given the importance of the environment in which the child develops.
Social influence
Although obesity does not spread like other diseases, through the air or through direct contact, it is transmitted through the social environment in which the child develops. To determine this result, this study focused on the cases of 1,300 parents They lived in different military bases, closed environments and with influence from abroad.
After analyzing the situations of a total of 12 bases distributed throughout the country, the researchers observed that those families destined to places with high obesity index, had a greater chance of increasing their Body Mass Index, BMI, after spending some time living in this environment. Another test of how the environment was related to cases of overweight were those families who lived outside these areas.
The families that chose to live in the towns close Military bases usually had fewer cases of obesity, although there were cases of overweight in these workplaces. In these circumstances, households had greater independence when choosing the menu and living with their own standards.
The researchers also stressed that friends and Lifestyle of them, influences obesity. Those individuals with partners who choose a sedentary lifestyle to inactivity, end up copying these practices and finally adapting them to their home. Ultimately it is the children who see these routines as normal in their day to day.
Prevention of obesity
Obesity can not only be controlled by monitoring the environment in which the child develops, also taking care of the lifestyle of the same can keep this health problem in check:
- Breakfast daily. Not having breakfast supposes to drag hunger during all the morning and a greater probability of finishing pecking between hours.
- Avoid industrial pastries and trinkets. Both products contain a high degree of sugar compounds and saturated fats in the case of pastries.
- 5 meals a day. Breakfast, mid-morning meal, lunch, snack and dinner. Fulfilling these 5 meals a day ensures that you do not go hungry and resort to pecking between meals to be satiated.
- Exercise. Not only diet influences obesity, the healthy menu must be complemented with daily activity and a life away from sedentary lifestyle.
Damián Montero
