Why are Children Getting Fatter?

It isn't difficult to work out why children are getting fatter, as clearly it is parents who are feeding their kids. Children learn by watching and copying their parents' behaviour. If parents are eating too much junk food and not getting enough exercise, the chances are their children will do exactly the same thing. It is up to parents to feed their children and if they can't be bothered to cook, they might simply bring home some fast food or stick a pizza in the oven. Calorie control probably isn't the main concern of parents who have just come in from work and who can't be bothered planning a healthy meal and spending a long time cooking, especially when fast food is so tasty.

Consequently, children end up consuming many calories, which is only exacerbated by the fact that they are not getting enough exercise. Often, parents are reluctant to let their children out to play and why would they even need to bother when they've got so many video games to play with? There are many children who would prefer to be stuck indoors, watching television or playing on the computer, than running around in the local park or going for a bike ride. Of course, parents who are worried about their children's safety could always accompany them, but then many adults are not getting enough exercise either. Consequently, both adults and children are putting on too much weight.

Since more children are classed as obese, this becomes the normality. Nowadays it's not only one or two children who are a little bit chubbier than they ought to be - a substantial number of kids in the playground will be classed as overweight or obese. Of course, the Body Mass Index (BMI), which is used to ascertain which weight category an individual falls into, isn't always the most accurate guide, but even so it is possible to see that children today are heavier. Unfortunately, most obese kids have picked up bad habits that continue into adulthood, making it harder for them to ever control their weight.

Although it is possible to fall outside a 'normal' weight range and be healthy, quite often those who are obese do pick up health problems eventually, which so much attention is paid to childhood obesity in the media. There is a desire to bring childhood obesity rates under control, so that obese children won't turn into obese adults and end up putting additional strain on health services. However, modern-day lifestyles don't make it easy for anyone but the most determined to control their weight, so whether anything actually changes in the future remains to be seen.