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Preventing obesity starts with a good understanding of what exactly causes it in the first place. That understanding will go a long way in helping to prevent obesity in children.

Why for example are we faced with an obesity epidemic in children in the first place? The answer lies in the fact that our children's lifestyles and habits have changed dramatically in recent years. This is the age when the great outdoors has been abandoned in favor of video games where children will instead sit indoors for hours on end peering at some screen. So an important part of the answer to obesity is the need to cultivate weight gain prevention habits amongst our children. More exercises, physical pastime and more outdoor activities will therefore help a great deal in fighting off obesity in children.

Then we need to appreciate the fact that genes also play a major role in the obesity problem. Obese parents are therefore much more likely to have obese children. It goes beyond genes because obese parents are also much more likely to pass down their poor habits, which promote and cause obesity, to their children.

Still the biggest cause of obesity has to be overeating. We all enjoy good food and that is the reason why diets are unlikely to work over the long run. A key point to remember here is the fact that it takes almost 20 minutes for the stomach to signal the brain that it has had enough. What this means is the most powerful weight control tip is to reduce the speed of eating. Eating slowly will help children tremendously to know when to stop and is a great way to control obesity.

The diet also matters. Diets rich in fruits, vegetables and whole-grains are very important in the fight against obesity in children.