Cause child obesity

Link between dehydration & obesity

This page discusses how dehydration is a cause of child obesity.

To go from cause of child obesity to cause of obesity in teens, click here

Child obesity & dehydration

The epidemic of childhood obesity has many causes. We discuss how dehydration is one important cause of child obesity. Two main reasons for this:

1) Overeating of processed, salty, fast foods. Certainly overeating, combined with less exercise, has resulted in the fattest children in human history.

Put simply, the overeating of foods loaded with salt & chemicals draws water away from certain functions in the body as water is urgently needed to eliminate salts, sugars & chemicals.

This dehydrates the body & as explained in �Obesity� (navigation bar tab) dehydration sets the stage for weight gain.

2)Not drinking water. Over the past 100 years, for the first time in human history, many consumers do not hydrate with water. Look at how many persons turn to available soft drinks & caffeinated products.

This is especially true for youngsters who have been pushed by media to consume an abundance of sweetened drinks.

None of these drinks hydrate as well as water & in fact may draw water from the body lending our children a double whammy of dehydration.

The only real solution is to help children acquire a taste & even an appropriate intense need for water.

Child obesity treatment - how much water to drink

Here is a good rule of thumb regarding how much water kids should drink daily.

From 2 - 12 months of age - one ounce for every month of age.

From 1 - 19 years of age - one glass of water per year of age up to age 5, then add a half a glass for every year above age 6.

So, at 15 years of age, your child should be drinking, 5 glasses of water plus 10 x 1/2 = 10 glasses of water a day.

Adjust as needed according to weight and activity level. Heavier and/or more active = more water.

Child doesn't like to drink water?

This may occur if child has not been offered water as an older infant and beyond.

Encourage child to drink water. Model it yourself. Good for you and good for your child.

Offer increasingly diluted juice. Week one, 20% water, week 2, 30% water and so on.

Since contaminants can lead to dehydration which leads to obesity, should you use water filters to eliminate contaminants in water?

It certainly can't hurt anyone to drink water with fewer contaminants. See navigation bar for more on water contamination.

However, using a water filter is especially important for infants whose only nourishment is powdered formula mixed with tap water.

We provide unbiased water filters reviews including comparisons and costs.

Link to our water filter review & info

3) Finally, childhood obesity has increased as physical activity in childhood has decreased.

Certainly any attempts to curtail obesity must include a exercise. Make sure your child is exercising, playing or otherwise involved in physical activity 5 - 10 hours weekly.

See our sister site for more on exercise for children.

Click for exercise for children