A Postive Story on Childhood Obesity

This was a great article on a kid who realized he had to lose weight, and did it.

But that's not even the best part: he survived leukemia first.

Doctor's told him after he beat leukemia that if he didn't lose some weight, there was a higher chance that the cancer would return.

So far he's dropped from 320 pounds to 240 pounds. Granted, he's got some more to lose, but to drop 80 so far is a great success story.

Here's an interesting quote from the article:

Programs that involve the whole family, and encourage and support healthy eating habits and plenty of physical activity, stand the best chance for success, health advocates say.

It continues:

Once a week, for six months, the teens meet with one or more of the team members in individual or group sessions. They also participate in regular physical fitness sessions at least once a week or up to three times a week.

Parents have a schedule of their own, attending individual and group sessions every other week during the six-month period.

The sessions are aimed at teaching the whole family to build healthier habits into their lifestyle.

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Since Nick began the program, his mother, 53, a child care worker, lost 17 pounds. Nick's dad, Tony, 57, lost 20 pounds and their son Josh lost 30 pounds.

finally..

Nick Lieto says the family support, the accountability demanded by the weekly sessions and the encouraging staff members when he weighs in weekly, are most responsible for his success.

The point I see, is that the getting the ENTIRE family involved in this is what helped this young man lose this weight (and also the main contributor for the weight loss of the other members of the family).

Think of it this way: How hard is it for an adult to quit smoking, if there's another adult in the household that is continuing to smoke? If someone is trying to quit drinking, isn't it going to be more difficult if another adult continues to keep beer in the refrigerator?

Granted, some people are able to quit smoking and drinking if another adult in the household continues these habits.

But I don't see how a child who is overweight or obese would be able to lose weight, stop eating junk, etc., without the other people in the household doing the same thing. Children eat what they are given, they follow what their parents do, etc.

Bottom line, when talking about the child obesity issue, we can't leave out the issue of obesity in the adult population from the conversation. If the family is the biggest contributor to the problem, it could also be the biggest piece of the solution.

www.leanbodyfitness.com
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