Obesity is an indicator of how living a sedentary lifestyle can have an impact on our health and wellbeing.

Research has shown that the consumption of junk food and empty calories, is having adverse effects on the health of children and it has reached a dangerous stage where millions of children around the world are obese.

We can know who is obese by checking the body mass index, it is done by dividing your weight by your height, if the number is more than 85%, then you are obese and overweight.

Although it affects people of all ages, obesity has a more damaging effect on the lives of children who eat more and move less.

The information age has made us lazy and inactive, we do most of our activities online, adults can work from home and children do not have to be physically present in school, they can attend online classes and learn from the comfort of home.

What this means, is that children do not meet anyone face to face, there is no physical interaction, when they are bored they can play online games, there are many choices available to them, why play cricket outdoors when you can play the game online against other players remotely, without stepping out the door.

Obesity in children can harm every vital organ of the body and stunt their growth, besides giving them lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, heart problems, difficulty breathing and being unable to sleep.

Prevention is the only way we can save the lives of children and stop obesity from taking lives.

The first thing we can do is to cut down the amount of processed food that are high in fats, calories, sugar and salts, that our children love to consume, whether they like it or not, they need to be taught to eat fruits and vegetables that have the nutrients needed for our body.

Children eat with their eyes, they prefer food that comes in different colours, besides the taste, we need to encourage them to eat fruits such as apple, oranges, mangoes, grapes etc. and vegetables including carrots, onions, cabbage and beetroot which not only add colour but also food value to your diet.

It is difficult to get out of the habit of playing online games, but children are in the growing phase of their lives, they need physical activity to burn all those excess calories that is accumulated in the body. They need to participate in team sports like football and cricket because it helps them to interact with other, develop their personality and learn the importance of working as part of a team.

Children need to get enough number of hours of sleep, if they do not sleep properly, then it has a negative effect on appetite, which makes them hungry and eating between meals leading to weight gain and obesity.

To conclude, children are the future, we need to put to an end to childhood obesity, before it becomes permanent and causes long lasting damage to them.