Never has a generation of children been so little exposed to daylight.
Today, more and more children are growing up within four walls... with their eyes glued to screens... This exponential sedentary lifestyle, combined with an unbalanced diet, is accelerating childhood obesity.
The number of children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 suffering from obesity worldwide rose from 11 million in 1975 to 124 million in 2016 - a more than 10-fold increase.
The hours fly by in front of tablets or consoles, reducing physical activity... and disrupting sleep. Yet these two elements are essential for children to expend the energy they consume.
Add to this an overconsumption of ultra-processed foods, rich in sugars and fats and poor in nutrients... a cocktail that fuels... obesity again and again!
It's also clear that children whose parents are overweight are more vulnerable: genetic factors, of course, but also the imitation of sedentary and eating habits from an early age.
Anxiety and tension at school or at home also disrupt appetite, curb the desire to move and feed compensatory behaviours.
It's a spiral that's hard to break without support, and can lead to diabetes, respiratory problems, joint pain... as well as mockery, isolation and loss of self-esteem. The repercussions of childhood obesity affect every aspect of life!
What if every healthcare professional became an ambassador for movement in children? At the hospital, at practice, at school...
Simple, inexpensive equipment enables children to move, have fun... and relax. A trampoline, hoops, balance games, a climbing wall or juggling equipment at home or at school.
Movement is an excellent way to reduce stress in a world where movement is becoming rare. Even indoors, we can create a stimulating environment, a vector for change, conducive to our children's physical and mental health.
Learn more about Pep2Dia to maintain a healthy glycemia!
Sources:
🎥 "Enfants d'intérieur" : 3 choses à savoir sur cette génération qui inquiète les autorités
✍️ L’obésité juvénile, une véritable bombe à retardement de maladies cardiométaboliques
✍️ Indoor play keeps child obesity away, new research shows
✍️ NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC). Worldwide trends in body-mass index, underweight, overweight, and obesity from 1975 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 2416 population-based measurement studies in 128·9 million children, adolescents, and adults. Lancet. 2017 Dec 16;390(10113):2627-2642. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32129-3.