Almost one Belgian in two is already too heavy and the World Health Organization warns of even more obesity by 2030. How do you protect your children against the consequences of being overweight?

Obesity leads to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and certain forms of cancer in adulthood. Teach your children to live healthily as early as possible. How? By giving a good example yourself!

1. Eat healthy

Vary the meals of your children. Put a lot of fruit, vegetables, legumes and wholemeal products on the menu and avoid sugars and saturated fats. Also make sure that your children drink enough water.

2. Choose healthy snacks

Children are active and grow fast. They do not have enough of the three main meals. Give them extra energy with healthy snacks and limit the amounts of cookies, chips, candy and soft drinks.

3. Sleep well enough

Children need a good night’s sleep . Ten to twelve hours of sleep a day is certainly not a luxury for a young child. Avoid children watching TV for a long time or working with a tablet, smartphone or game console.

You also need adequate sleep as an adult. If you sleep less than five hours a night, the risk of obesity increases by 60%.

4. Move

Children are already sitting quietly at school and their free time is becoming more and more occupied by TV, computer and games. Make sure your child moves at least one hour a day . Membership of a sports club is good, but not necessarily. Children also move adequately when they are cycling or walking to school, playing outside, or being in a youth movement.

TIP: your health insurance fund partially reimburses the membership fees of a sports club. Your child is also insured through the club. However, it is always useful to have a good hospitalization insurance and family insurance yourself if your child ends up in the hospital or injures someone else during a workout.

5. Have your child supervise

If your child has problems with his weight and wants to protect it from the negative impact on his health, then professional support is possible. ‘It’s going to be okay’, for example, wants to make children from 6 to 15 years fit again through a multidisciplinary treatment plan. Because AG Insurance wants to contribute to a healthy and active society, it supports this project.