Your influence on your children making an ab workout a part of their daily lives is tremendous. It starts when they see you achieving and maintaining balance with regards to eating and exercising and when you deliberately pick the healthier, as well as smaller, food options in the face of bewildering, tempting choices. When parents make it a point not to live a 'sitting' lifestyle, children will absorb that and subconsciously live the way their parents do.

Child obesity is mostly caused by a 'sitting' lifestyle. Not enough physical movements throughout the day and too much time allotted to watching television and gaming or even just internet surfing leads to the formation of abdominal fat around the inner organs, which makes the stomach hard and protrude.

It is more dangerous to have a lot of fat in the abdominal area than in the thighs, hips and butt because abdominal fat actually enters the bloodstream and wreaks havoc on the liver, blood fats, blood pressure and blood vessels. The result is an increased risk of heart disease with every increase in waist measurement. Sugar metabolism is also slowed down because the body's insulin doesn't function as well as it should.

But these health dangers are manageable with exercises that pulverize abdominal fat. Jungle gym, jogging, walking, dancing or even just playing outdoors at least half an hour 2-3 times a week can prevent childhood obesity. Parents can actively participate in their children's well-being by sharing these activities and more with them and by limiting television and computer/gaming time, greatly reducing 'sitting' time.

Educational institutions should also ensure they have an interesting and modern lineup of P. E. programs and activities, like kickboxing, swimming, dance, and even martial arts that can entice students to readily participate and ingrain the habit while young.

Projects that the community, like schools, restaurants and grocery stores can do include wellness and obesity education, as well as, offering a good selection of highly nutritious foods at smaller servings. Parents can do the same in their homes with the addition of role modeling to inspire their kids to choose and eat balanced, better quality meals.

There is a direct connection with too much gaming and the development of childhood obesity. This distraction, along with watching too much television and excessive internet surfing leads to little or no interest at all in the previously usual outdoor play, increasing the incidences of child obesity.

But your influence on your children and their developing an ab workout is their primary defense against childhood obesity simply because they do what their parents do. The key is getting them active and educated with their choices and lifestyle while they are young to avoid adult abdominal obesity. And your example is the best way to influence your children.