Tips for childhood obesity prevention

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"Childhood obesity has become a major health epidemic, with approximately 15% of children considered to be obese the world over. The main reason for the childhood obesity epidemic is a shift in eating habits, away from fresh food, whole grains and vegetables to convenience food high in fat, sugar and additives. Another major factor is a decline in activity for both children and adults, who now spend more time in sedentary activities like watching TV and playing computer games that participating in exercise. In addition, children who have obese or overweight parents have a high risk of becoming obese themselves as a result of poor family eating habits and unhealthy food choices. Parents today are spending less time with their kids and giving less parental advice about healthy food and activity choices. In the USA, UK and Australia 25% of children are considered overweight or obese. The health risks associated with obesity in childhood are great including low self esteem, depression, hormonal imbalances, diabetes and joint problems. Worse still, the obese child who remains overweight into adulthood has the potential to develop more serious health risks later in their life, including arthritis, stroke and heart attack, high blood pressure, diabetes, and bowel cancer. "