Being the mother of two young children I constantly hear myself saying “good try” or “great job”. These words come out of my mouth at least 100 times a day. I recently read an article that made me happy I’m such a cheerleader for my kids. The article linked a child’s self-esteem to their weight as adults. It was very interesting!
The biggest indicator of adult obesity is parental BMI and the child’s BMI at age 10. BMI or body mass index is a measurement based on a persons height and weight and can help predict risk for developing certain health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. However, a recent study found that self-esteem, self-reported worrying and self-reported nervousness all significantly predict weight gain as an adult. Although the effect was stronger in women, self-esteem predicted weight gain in both sexes.
The British study was published in BMC Medicine this month. The study included more than 6,500 adults that were born in 1970 during the same week. The results showed that sad youngsters are more likely to grow up to be overweight adults. This was especially true in females.
There could be many reasons for this result. Low self-esteem can lead to disregard for one’s own health and well being. Children with low self-esteem may decide that it really doesn’t matter if they eat healthy and exercise. They may find it easier not to worry or care about their weight or health. They may even overeat to hide their sadness or low self-esteem as is the case in some eating disorders.
If you have children, it is so important to make them feel loved and important. This study is just one more reason. Self-esteem is a collection of beliefs we have about ourselves. Children with a healthy sense of self-esteem feel that the important adults in their lives accept them, care about them, and would go out of their way to ensure that they are safe and well. They feel that those adults would be upset if anything happened to them and would miss them if they were separated. Children with low self-esteem, on the other hand, feel that the important adults and peers in their lives do not accept them, do not care about them very much, and would not go out of their way to ensure their safety and well-being.
There are easy ways to help increase a child’s self esteem such as: Praise the children in your life, show them lots of love and attention, treat them with respect, be consistent, keep your promises to them so they know that you think they are important, don’t let them criticize themselves and simply spend time with them. Any and all of these things can help build a child’s self-esteem. Knowing that building their self-esteem can not only help them succeed in life but stay healthy should be all the reason we need to try to build them a strong foundation and a healthy sense of self.
- Jennifer
Sensei Talks: One more reason to be an optimist
To read more about self-esteem in children click here.
Labels: Body Mass Index, Jennifer, Obesity, Positive Thinking
|
Great post... we must not bog down the children with our own probs & insecurities!!
Also, BMI is not a perfect science. I am very muscular for my height so if you are very muscular, that can throw the whole equation off & provide a higher BMI than you actually have...