Why Are Children Overweight?

So far I have written articles giving you information about being overweight and what to do about losing those unwanted pounds.Now comes the time for me to write and inform those of us who have children how to proceed in order to avoid the overweight pit falls with our children.
But first, let me tell you that in the last two decades in the US, not only do we have one out of every five children are overweight or obese, but unfortunately this number has grown by over 50% and those who are obese has nearly doubled. With the age of computers, have come the age of being sedentary; seating in front of a TV when they come from school for hours on end, instead of playing outside, exercising, bicycle riding when and where ever possible, playing basket ball and so on.
Most children of today are already beginning to have their arteries clogged with fat and cholesterol from all the wrong foods we feed them, believe it or not. Children who have overweight parents are more likely to become overweight themselves, how could they not, they are eating the same foods their parents are. Children who have one parent who is overweight or obese, have a 40 percent probability that they also will become overweight or obese; if both parents are obese, then the percentage doubles to 80 percent.
Remember, our children do not have credit cards, they are not the ones who buy the junk food, the boxed cereals, the candy, the cakes, the cookies... shall I go on? What about the processed meats including those hot dogs that we love to give them because they are an easy meal. Do we realize these meats are loaded with fat, sodium, nitrites used to enhance the color of the meats and prolong their shelve life? And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
We are embarrassed or reluctant when buying food to tell our kids they are better off eating fruit rather than cereals loaded with sugars when they are having a fit over that box that has the toy in it or offer of one.
If our children are overweight, we as parents are the enablers, because it is our responsibility to teach them about nutrition, about eating vegetables, fruits and grains, so they will develop a healthy eating habit as they grow. Start with those lunches for school, include fruits rather than cookies, sandwiches with lean natural meats without chemicals, they can drink milk in school rather than juices with too much sugar. Try it before it's too late to train them.
We learn early in life that food is for all kinds of comfort. We teach our kids that sodas and sweets are to celebrate and vegetables are a punishment when early in life we should start feeding them those healthy foods so that it will become as natural to them as the air they breathe.
Don't forget that being overweight or obese will bring, in addition to health problems, issues related to their self image. Children in school tend to call them names, make fun of them, and humiliate them. It is important to avoid this route at all cost.
Best of health to you and your family.
Dr. Gladys Alvarez has done what millions of interested people were hoping for; the legwork concerning weight loss and health issues. With 45 years experience in the health, fitness and weight loss fields; and through extensive research and studies in nutrition, she has finally eliminated all the hype out of the losing weight plans that are in the online weight loss programs, presenting you with only the very best, as a correspondent who has traveled world wide and experienced first hand the different styles of nutrition in diverse countries. For more information on health issues, nutrition and weight loss, please visit her website to receive your FREE videos at http://www.weightlossplans4u.com/ TODAY!

Copyright (c) http://www.gladysalvarez.com/ All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

View the original article here

Read More...

Sex: A Mountain to Climb When You're Overweight

Sexual intercourse is an energetic occupation, whether it's a vigorous romp in the hay or a refined coupling in the missionary position. Metabolic studies show that on average it uses up about 200 calories, which makes it as physically demanding as a thirty minute stint of jogging. This makes it an excellent way to keeping in shape. Some years ago a reporter asked the film star Ursula Andress how she managed to maintain her sylph-like figure, to which the Swiss sex symbol replied: 'Loving keeps me slim.' That's one of the unfortunate side effects of carrying excess weight, that it often acts as a barrier to sexual intercourse. For corpulent people, the spirit is often willing while the flesh is weak. This same problem is suffered by other animal species, according to the managers of a zoo in eastern China, who had to put their caged tigers, leopards and lions on a strict get-fit routine when they found they were showing a 'lowering ability to breed as a result of obesity.'Researchers at the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore have found the same tendency in humans. They carried out interviews, and pre-medical examinations, on a small group of obese men and women who were about to undergo an intestinal bypass. The patients - thirteen men and ten women - were questioned about their sex lives, body image, libidinal drives and sexual functioning. The results revealed that there was little or no decline in their sexual appetite. The women had no trouble getting an orgasm, and the men's sexual drive and performance remained unchanged, apart from two who declared that they had occasional potency problems. But what plagued the entire group was the sheer mechanical difficulties they faced. Because of their bulk, they found it difficult to find a position in which they could enjoy easy sexual union. As several explained, their paunches 'got in the way'. Lack of stamina and shortness of breath were other frequent problem. The major finding, however, was that however amorous they felt they were all reluctant to take of their clothes and reveal their unsightly bodies All 23 were recorded as having 'markedly negative feelings' about their body and admitted that they were ashamed of their appearance.
The remedy is clear. Everyone ought to be able to enjoy an active sex life. If obesity makes this difficult, enough surplus fat should be shed to permit comfortable coupling. This should be done by making gradual life style changes, rather than by crash dieting. The body's fat tissues provide a store for sex hormones, which is why a general reduction in adipose tissue frequently leads to a decline in sexual function. This explains why anorexic girls, and sometimes excessively skinny ballerinas, tend to suffer a fall in oestrogen levels, missed periods and reduced fertility. With regard to sexual performance, it's undoubtedly better for a woman to be overweight than underweight. This was shown by researchers at the Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago, who tested a group of women using scales which measured their sexual readiness and erotic excitability. Using these yardsticks they found that mildly overweight women outscored their skinny counterparts by a factor of almost two to one. So don't try to soup up your sex life by crash dieting, one trial having shown that women often stop masturbating and having sexual fantasies when they reduce their energy intake to 1,700 calories a day - which is 500 more than that provided by the Beverly Hills Diet.

View the original article here

Read More...

Overeating: Are You Aware of This As the Cause As to Why You Are Overweight?

Most people who are overeaters don't even realize they are overeaters! And if they do, they wouldn't possibly admit to it. And perhaps that is why, like a drug addict or alcoholic, the healing process is never begun, and the overeater remains fat and unhappy for the rest of their life. Because someone who suffers from an eating disorder has to first admit that they have a problem. Just like the drug addict or alcoholic.An overeater just never seems to feel full! Sometimes, you may eat and eat and eat, and still not feel satisfied. Does this sound remotely like you?

Symptoms that indicate you have an overeating disorder include the following:
You hardly ever feel hungry because you never allow yourself to become hungry before eatingYou spend a lot of time thinking about foodYou fantasize, and sometimes even obsess, about foodYou may eat in secretYou plan bingesYou often find yourself not wanting to socialize, preferring to spend your time with your greatest friend, foodYou eat more than othersYou eat more often than othersWhen you crave something, you fulfill the cravingWhen you get emotional, you turn to foodYou eat when not hungryYou eat when bored, or for entertainment
If you are someone who overeats, you are addicted to food. If you are addicted to food, you crave fulfillment from something that only satisfies temporarily. It's exactly the same for any person who uses a substance as a form of fulfillment. The difference is that someone who is addicted to a drug, or alcohol, will learn that if they want to have permanent victory from their addiction, they need to sacrifice all use of it forevermore. With someone who is addicted to food, this is of course, impossible - if of course, they want to remain alive!
The start of your overeating habit may have been for emotional reasons, but eventually it became habitual and if you carefully consider, it may even have become your master, your idol. If you think of food as anything other than the sustenance your body needs for peak health, you may have a problem.
If you want to lose weight permanently, you need to admit your problem, and the habit of overeating needs to be broken. And not by dieting, which is impossible for the obese overeater.
The answer is in changing the way you relate to food. Food has to stop being used as a source of fulfillment. Instead, food has to be seen as a source of nourishment for your body to stay in peak health.
If you need help to stop overeating, http://www.get-thin-for-good.com/ offers a free "Get Thin for Good" program which coaches you through the steps of how to stop overeating, and aims to help you change the way you relate to food. It does not focus on dieting, pills or deprivation, and it won't be a quick-fix, but if you follow it, you will lose weight - for good.

View the original article here

Read More...