As you get older, it gets harder to change your unhealthy living habits due to lack of time. It becomes hard to suddenly start leading a healthy life when you constantly have to deal with the stress of going to work, family obligations, as well as certain medical conditions that you may have gotten from your unhealthy habits.
If you didn’t start living healthy as a kid, you should definitely learn from that mistake and encourage your kids and younger relatives to do so, as learning healthy habits while you’re young will help you lead a fulfilling life as an adult.
First of all, the food you choose to eat at a young age will always be comfort food in your mind. Many people tend to buy junk food that they enjoyed as a kid whenever they feel stressed out.
However, if you choose to eat healthy from a young age, you won’t have these types of cravings later on. An article published in Psychology Today suggests that college students often choose to eat junk food they consumed as children even when they have healthier alternatives.
This same article also mentions how starting healthy habits in your childhood will help you stick to them later on. As you get older, it gets harder to change the habits you developed as a kid. If you didn’t drink soda pop or eat many sweets as a kid, chances are that you won’t do it as an adult.
Poor nutrition and an inactive lifestyle is the main reason for the constant rise of obesity in the world. According to data collected by the World Health Organization in 2013, around 42 million children under the age of 5 are obese.
With the constant reports of the rise of obesity, it’s safe to assume that this number is higher now, even though there are no reports regarding this yet. Childhood obesity is known for increasing the risk of serious medical problems such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
As if that wasn’t enough, it’s common knowledge that young kids that are overweight tend to be bullied in most cases, which can cause mental and physical distress. However, learning to eat healthy at a young age can definitely eliminate problems such as these.
According to a study conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, around a third of 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds go through any given day without consuming a single vegetable. This happens due to their parents never changing their eating habits for the better.
In case your childhood was filled with junk food, you need to start thinking smarter and healthier as soon as possible since that’s really the only way you will improve the quality of life for your children. Not to mention the numerous health benefits that you will see for yourself.
Remember that simply having healthy food lying around isn’t enough. If you don’t teach your kids about the importance of eating fruit, chances are that it will be ignored and will quickly rot.
Kids also tend to eat junk food out of boredom while they’re playing a video game or watching TV. This is why you need to make sure they are on a healthy diet that will provide them with all the needed nutrients. By consuming the right nutrients, they will feel full between meals, which will definitely prevent them from binge eating junk food.
Of course, nobody is saying that they should completely give up on eating junk food, but it is important that children learn early on the type of food that’s good for them and the type that isn’t.
