A Pound of Prevention

If there's one thing we know at Dr. Feiz & Associates, it's the difficulty that obese people face in trying to conquer their issues with food and insufficient exercise. While the exact causes of obesity are not always clear, one fact we're pretty sure about: children with weight problems tend to become obese adults. The sooner you address the problem, the easier it will be to fight.

Still, simply telling children to stay on a regimen of exercise and healthy eating isn't going to do the trick. One important factor: parents teach by example. The good news is that people seem to be learning this important lesson; we had a new study this week showing the number of junk food calories families with children were purchasing have declined over the last few years. While some of this has been attributed to food manufacturers reducing portion sizes, some of it is also no doubt due to parents being aware that having too many empty-calorie treats in the house is a definite risk factor for childhood weight issues and, of course, lifelong obesity.

Through his patients, Dr. Michael Feiz has seen how difficult obesity is to fight as life progresses. Of course, it's fortunate that bariatric surgery has made it easier for countless adults to address those problems. Nevertheless, we all know that prevention always trumps cure. Whatever we can do to ensure that the young people in our lives avoid falling into the trap of lifelong obesity, the better.