Seven Simple Steps to Fight Childhood Obesity.

I know that we are not really supposed to use the word fat anymore when referring to children or adults but sometimes the harshest word is the one that is going to have the most impact.

You can replace the word fat with obese, overweight, chubby, cuddly or anything you want but facts are facts if you are too heavy for your height then all that extra weight is largely made up of fat. There is no doubt that many countries are facing a huge rise in cases of childhood obesity and fat kids do tend to turn into fat adults. But there are ways to fight it and break the trend. You can stop your kids getting fat.

And fat is bad. Very bad. Fat kids can become fat adults. Now, this isn’t going to be a set of instructions on how to cross the road when you see a fat kid coming at you, or what to say to someone who is blessed with a little too much blubber to cause the most upset, or even how to cope when you are sat next to the fat kid in class by a well-meaning teacher who thinks the two of you could be best friends forever if you tried a little harder.

This is simply a little bit of information on how to avoid having a fat kid for a son/daughter or how to avoid becoming a fat kid.

Make a few simple changes to your eating habits and you will soon see great rewards.

1) Drink a glass of water before you start eating. It helps to fill you up.

2) Cut out fried foods, try oven baking instead and you will save yourself a lot of empty calories. Most foods taste better baked than fried.

3) Switch to low-fat milk and cheese, if you can, or just cut down on the amount of full-fat variety you consume.

4) Eat more fresh fruit - all that extra fibre will fill you up and make you feel less hungry.

5) Stop eating when you feel full. Parents please take note and do not press your child to finish their meal and clear their plates, just give smaller portions and offer second helpings if anyone is still genuinely hungry.

6) Try not to eat between meals, if you must snack then keep a supply of healthy snack foods handy. It doesn’t have to be raw carrot sticks- although, in my opinion, they do taste good.

7) Cut down on processed foods as they often contain high levels of salt, sugar and fat. Making food from scratch can be a bit of a chore, but it is worth it.

I speak from a position of some authority here as I was, not all that long ago, (okay it was many years ago but sometimes it seems like only yesterday) the fattest kid in my class at school. Think of just about any derogatory term for a chubby kid and I will have been called it at least once. I have been laughed at, spat at, shouted at and worst of all by far - completely ignored.

I know what it feels like to be the only child in a class to not receive an invitation to a birthday party and I swear hand on well-padded heart that if I had been invited to the party I would not have eaten all of the cake, just most of it. I have known the shame of trying to fit in when playing sports, or indeed the shame of trying to fit into sports kit.

To any mother out there who says ‘don’t worry it’s just puppy fat, you’ll grow out of it’ can I just say – rubbish! Stop filling up your kids’ plate with the wrong type of food and way too much of it too and try making a nice salad instead.

Don't give your children lunch money, just give them a healthy packed lunch. Faced with a choice between chocolate, crisps and chips or something healthy a child will almost always choose the former. Be cruel to be kind.

Do more - eat less is a damn good philosophy to live by for anyone but especially those of us carrying the equivalent of a toddler around with us every day. So kids- put down the play station controller and take control of your life instead, get outside and do some walking – don’t run just yet, trust me, nobody needs to see a fat kid trying to run, it is only going to make you the object of even more ridicule.

Walk and you could be walking to the nearest Pizza restaurant, burger bar or on your way to grab a family sized bag of fat-filled snacks. All things that the rest of the world will expect you to be doing and so nothing to arouse suspicion or invite too many cruel remarks or laughter.

If you really don’t want to take your exercise outside then walk up and down the stairs or around the house, avoid the kitchen! You don’t want to fall prey to the siren call of the last slice of apple pie you know is sitting on the bottom shelf of the fridge just begging to be eaten.

Any movement, no matter how small, will help you lose weight by increasing your metabolism so keep moving. Even something as silly as tapping your feet can help, so if your child is always fidgeting then don't stop them - they are burning fat.

I really don't want to upset anyone with this little article and I hope that no one has taken offence. I just know how terrible it feels to be fat. Being an overweight adult is bad enough but to be an overweight child can be devastating. If a person learns proper eating habits as a child they will benefit from them for a lifetime, and that life will be a whole lot longer if they stay within a healthy weight range. I also think that a sense of humour is a valuable weapon in the fight against fat!

REMEMBER - It isn't easy to lose weight but it is possible.