The Causes and Solutions for Obesity among Malaysian Children

Obesity is often termed as having an overly high body mass index (BMI). When a person’s weight is extremely more than its ideal weight, we call that individual obese. As Malaysia is rich in variety of food, it is common to see one in every ten children having the symptoms of obesity. There are many factors that result in obesity such as the role of media, choices of food and parenting style. Fortunately, there are also several solutions to overcome these factors.
Firstly, children are active individuals. Television captures the children’s attention, instead of playing outdoors; they would rather watch cartoon television programmes. Due to lack exercise, the fat in the body build up gradually to cause one to become obese. In that sense, parents need to limit the time spent on television. By limiting the time spent on television, children are more likely to be more active playing outside the home. Playing in the park enables them to move their limbs and fight the accumulation of fat.
Secondly, when it comes to the choice of food, “fast food” rank top in children food choice. Fast food is high in sugar and carbohydrate, when children consume too much fast food, eventually the excess glucose will be converted into fat. As children are easily tempted by easting fast food, parents need to be stricter with the choices of food their children consume. A balanced diet is needed for children’s growth. Instead of fast food, more vegetables and proteins are recommended. As vegetables have antioxidants which boost the body’s immune system and protein increases brain power, a healthier choice of food will produces healthier children.
Thirdly, parenting style also plays a role in children’s health. Most parents are overworked, when they came home, the tired adults are too tired to prepare a meal. Thanks to technology, they just need to call for fast food delivery and it will be arrived in front of door steps. In addition, parents do not bother much about what their children consumes. This gives freedom to the children to eat whatever they want which includes junk food, a contributor to obesity. To overcome this matter, busy parents should sacrifice some time preparing home cooked meals. If they are very busy, they could opt for catered food provided that they make healthy choices.
In conclusion, “you are what you eat”. The causes of obesity are numerous. Time spent watching television, poor choices of food and parenting style are some of the causes of obesity among children. To overcome the problem, one should ensure that they limit their children watching television, make smarter choices of food selection, and improve their parenting style.

Written by: Lai Siew Tim