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Italian children are becoming increasingly fat. The trend is constantly increasing, in our country one child out of seven is obese, which means over 20% of what should be the ideal weight. That implies a high risk, as half of these children will become obese adults. Prof. Antonio Liuzzi, in charge of the Italian Auxologic Institute Obesity centre, stresses that the damage caused by being overweight can be very serious: from diabetes to the increase in cholesterol and triglycerids , from high blood pressure to heart attacks and orthopaedic problems. |
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Bad attitudes |
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Often, behind a chubby kid, there are overweight parents, as well as bad eating habits. The genetic aspect is responsible for 25 -40 % of obesity: i.e., you are rarely born fat, but can easily become so. An essential role was played by the changes in lifestyle developed during the last decades. Today kids rarely take part in physical activities; they spend more time in front of the TV. or videogames, rather than playing outside. And they eat far too many sweets. |
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Rules to follow |
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The first rule in the case of obesity is prompt intervention, by the age of 5-6 years. And now the question is: how can you help a kid to lose weight? Usually a proper diet and physical activities will resolve the problem. For the latter, swimming is generally suggested, though any other sport would do: what is essential is that the child enjoys it, and practices it regularly a couple of times a week. |
