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Saturday, April 18, 2009

Ab Workout - Combating Childhood Obesity

By Jose Loni

Include combating childhood obesity in your ab workout arsenal as childhood obesity is the leading cause of adult abdominal obesity. Children today have lost the balance between the energy they take in and the energy they expend, which is key to a healthy weight. They are faced with more food choices, more processed foods and large food portions. And modern man has engineered physical activity out of our children's lives, replacing it with remote controls, computer and video games. As a result, childhood obesity is on the rise.

The single largest factor in childhood obesity is lack of physical activity and excessive sedentary behaviour-watching too much television and playing too many video games. This sedentary lifestyle is the greatest risk factor when it comes to collecting fat around the abdomen. Abdominal fat is the invisible fat surrounding the inner organs, which gives the stomach its roundness and height.

We have to be concerned about abdominal fat because this fat enters the bloodstream and affects the liver, blood fats, blood pressure and blood vessels in a negative way. An increase in the waistline means an increased risk of heart disease. Abdominal fat also gradually disables the body's insulin, slowing sugar metabolism.

But health risks can be dealt with relatively easily. Exercise is the best way for the body to rid itself of abdominal fat. Exercising at least twice a week for at least half an hour at a time decreases incidence of abdominal obesity. And parents can encourage their children to be more active and join organized sports, dance classes or just being outdoors more instead of letting them be couch potatoes and playing computer and video games all day long.

Educational institutions should also ensure they have an interesting and modern lineup of P. E. programs and activities, like kickboxing, swimming, dance, and even martial arts that can entice students to readily participate and ingrain the habit while young.

School cafeterias can also serve healthier food choices and smaller portions for its students to increase alertness (high fat and high carbohydrate foods lead to lethargy) and avoid overeating. At home, parents should lead by example and serve nutritious food and a well-balanced diet.

There is an unfortunate correlation between the increase in child obesity and the popularity of video games. In addition, a decreased interest in customary outdoor play, overuse of the internet and the proliferation of television programming contribute to the rise in childhood obesity.

However, teaching youngsters how to exercise properly as part of their ab workout program can still be done. It is never too late to teach them how to enjoy physical activities on a daily basis, to choose better quality foods and to impart the wisdom of portion downsizing. In these tougher economic times, doing all this can actually help you save more than you know. - 17274

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