Until obesity became epidemic, type 2 diabetes was virtually unheard of in children and teens. It was originally called “adult-onset” because it was mainly seen after middle age. At least 9 million American children are seriously overweight and another 9 million are heavy enough to be at risk, yet studies show that many parents are in denial about their children’s obesity.
16% of U.S. children have weight problems but doctors make weight reduction suggestions to parents about their children in only 1% of visits. There are a number of reasons for this denial and lack of concern:
Obese mothers nearly always recognize that they are overweight but only 1 in 5 correctly identified their overweight children.
Many doctors are just too busy to become involved in problems not directly related to the symptoms the child was brought in for.
78% of the population of the U.S. does not see being overweight as a health problem.
Many cultures equate thinness with poverty and starvation; to them a fat child is a strong and healthy child.
Many parents believe that the child will grow into their weight.
A child that is overweight will very likely become an obese adult. Studies show at least 15 conditions causally related to obesity. They include diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea, hip fractures, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, end-stage renal disease, liver disease, urinary incontinence and several forms of cancer.
For many overweight children the possibilities of disease in the future is not a concern. There is a far more pressing cause of pain for these obese children on a daily basis. This pain is caused by discrimination by their classmates. Other children are much more direct and cruel then most adults when it comes to ridiculing the “fat kids” they associate with. A first grader is likely to believe that thinner is better and young children will put these thoughts in to action by excluding their heaver classmate from their team or by calling them names.
This ridicule may cause a child to retreat from social interaction or to become a bully, using their weight to intimidate their tormentors. Either course of action only causes the child more grief and frustration in the long run.
Most children are not receptive to traditional restrictive diets. When they are told that they can no longer have the foods they crave, such as: white bread, candy, cookies, and ice cream they feel that they are being punished. It makes little difference how much time the parent spends trying to convince the child it is for their own good.
Children will often find access to the foods that are being denied to them at home with friends, relatives who don’t believe in diets or by spending their own money to purchase the sweets. If the child doesn’t have money they may begin to steal the foods they crave.
Many times when the child gains access to the forbidden items they will binge. 30% of girls and 16% of boys who were on a diet admitted to binging on foods that had been forbidden to them when they got the chance. Now the child not only feels punished by the parent, they have added guild to the emotional mix by defying their parents’ orders or breaking the law. This guilt causes stress that may cause the child to act out in other more serious ways.
Since traditional diets do not work for most people, it is far past the time to start looking for ways to change a person’s way of thinking about food, states Hugh B. Sanders the author of the Subconscious Diet: It’s not what you put in your mouth; it is what you put in your mind! (www.TheSubconsciousDiet.com/ )
This is not hypnosis. Hypnosis implies external control but what is vital to any weight reduction program is a system of internal control. A child or an adult must feel that any change, such as a diet, is not only their decision but it is also something they understand and want to accomplish. Most diets are only restrictions on eating, very few offer the steps to changing a person's mind about the way they approach food.
The Subconscious Diet shows a person how to develop a new operating system for the subconscious mind. The subconscious is very much like a computer in that it holds all of a person’s values, habits, memories, and is constantly working to come up with answers to each situation that life present us every day. Just like a computer we can choose to change how the mind goes about finding the solutions. The steps are relatively simple:
Clearly stating our goals (weight loss is a goal).
Writing out and repeating those goals daily (affirmations).
Getting rid of fear, anger, hate, and guilt (letting go!).
Learning to associate only with positive friends (get away from negativity).
Vividly seeing the desired end result in our own mind (visualization).
Children are ideal candidates for the Subconscious Diet because they are more in touch with the subconscious portion of their minds then adults generally are and they naturally day dream (Visualize). If the parents help the child direct those day dreams to focus on a positive view of the child’s body, eating habits, and physical activities, the parent can assure a healthy path for the future of their children.
The catch for the parents and it is really a benefit, is that they can’t just tell their children what the kids have to do. The parent must lead by example. The adults in the family must incorporate all of these steps into their own lives. “Do as I say, not as I do!” just won’t work and has never worked for children.
Eighteen million children are at risk of suffering pain and premature death if their weight is left uncontrolled. If your child is getting heaver each day, you have to make a decision about the amount of effort you are willing to put forth to make your child’s life as good as it should be.
For more information please check out: www.TheSubconsciousDiet.com.
Hugh B. Sanders is an award wining speaker who has been involved in the study of self-improvement, personal growth techniques, and success training for over thirty years. He has won production awards from every company he has been associated with. The author has conducted training classes and motivational seminars across the country. This book is a project of passion, and one that his readers and peers are very excited about.
Some of the major firms the author has been associated with as Top Salesman, Office Manager, Regional Manager, Sales Trainer, and Motivational speaker are, Marcus & Millichap Investment Brokerage, H. Bruce Hanes, Inc., Wagner / Jacobson, Inc, Trace Miller / American Airlines, Avis, Washington Mutual Bank and Countrywide Home Loan.
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